In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you needed by
setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit in a
column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in columns 10
characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.

Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri and 11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit in a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in columns 10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as mmmm. Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to 9 - the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and 1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8 letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri and 11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit in a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in columns 10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of 9, as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters will not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to 9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and 1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8 letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September typed in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as a result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format mmmm) DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore, words such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm (also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of 9, as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters will not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to 9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and 1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8 letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore, words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9 characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm (also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of 9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to 9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with the same
style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should' display
correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space at the
beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number of
characters displayed.

This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 - try it
for yourself.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore, words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9 characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm (also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of 9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to 9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

I'm sorry that you don't understand what you've been told.
What is said on the Microsoft page (to which I gave you the link) is clear
to me, but obviously not to you.
"If the default font is a non-proportional (fixed width) font, such as
Courier, 8.43 characters of any type (numbers or letters) fit into a cell
with a column width of 8.43 because all Courier characters are the same
width. If the font is a proportional font, such as Arial, 8.43 integers
(numbers such as 0, 1, 2, and so on) fit into a cell with column width of
8.43. This is because numbers are fixed-spaced with most proportional fonts.
However, because letters are not fixed-spaced with proportional fonts, more
"i" characters fit and fewer "w" characters fit. "
I don't think either I or Microsoft can can explain it any more clearly.
Surely you can see it for yourself if you compare WWWWWWWWW and lllllllll in
a proportional font?
That page applies to:
"
. Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Office Excel 2003
. Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

"
so it's not new to Excel 2007.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with the
same
style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should'
display
correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space at the
beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number of
characters displayed.

This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 - try it
for yourself.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September
typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore,
words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9 characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm (also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of
9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters
will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as
mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to
9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width
you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would
fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal
style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

No, you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm comparing the word September
produced by a custom format with September typed in normally - the custom
format one does not fit and should not be affected by proportional spacing
issues as it should be not different to September typed normally. Please try
this for yourself and you will see what I mean.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

I'm sorry that you don't understand what you've been told.
What is said on the Microsoft page (to which I gave you the link) is clear
to me, but obviously not to you.
"If the default font is a non-proportional (fixed width) font, such as
Courier, 8.43 characters of any type (numbers or letters) fit into a cell
with a column width of 8.43 because all Courier characters are the same
width. If the font is a proportional font, such as Arial, 8.43 integers
(numbers such as 0, 1, 2, and so on) fit into a cell with column width of
8.43. This is because numbers are fixed-spaced with most proportional fonts.
However, because letters are not fixed-spaced with proportional fonts, more
"i" characters fit and fewer "w" characters fit. "
I don't think either I or Microsoft can can explain it any more clearly.
Surely you can see it for yourself if you compare WWWWWWWWW and lllllllll in
a proportional font?
That page applies to:
"
. Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Office Excel 2003
. Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

"
so it's not new to Excel 2007.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with the
same
style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should'
display
correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space at the
beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number of
characters displayed.

This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 - try it
for yourself.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September
typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore,
words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9 characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm (also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width of
9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters
will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as
mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width to
9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November) and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an 8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width
you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008 would
fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal
style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

We'll have to let someone else with Excel 2007 try that. On Excel 2003 they
are of identical width, and the only difference is that typed in will
default to left-aligned and the custom formatted date will default to
right-aligned, but of course in either case the alignment can be changed.
As a matter of interest, if you've got different widths between those two
options, what do you get with =TEXT(A1,"mmmm")?

Another simple question; are you sure that you haven't got any spurious
spaces in your custom formatting spec? If instead of just mmmm you have
spaces either before or after the mmmm string in the custom formatting
dialogue box, those spaces will be included in the format.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
No, you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm comparing the word
September
produced by a custom format with September typed in normally - the custom
format one does not fit and should not be affected by proportional spacing
issues as it should be not different to September typed normally. Please
try
this for yourself and you will see what I mean.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

I'm sorry that you don't understand what you've been told.
What is said on the Microsoft page (to which I gave you the link) is
clear
to me, but obviously not to you.
"If the default font is a non-proportional (fixed width) font, such as
Courier, 8.43 characters of any type (numbers or letters) fit into a cell
with a column width of 8.43 because all Courier characters are the same
width. If the font is a proportional font, such as Arial, 8.43 integers
(numbers such as 0, 1, 2, and so on) fit into a cell with column width of
8.43. This is because numbers are fixed-spaced with most proportional
fonts.
However, because letters are not fixed-spaced with proportional fonts,
more
"i" characters fit and fewer "w" characters fit. "
I don't think either I or Microsoft can can explain it any more clearly.
Surely you can see it for yourself if you compare WWWWWWWWW and lllllllll
in
a proportional font?
That page applies to:
"
. Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Office Excel 2003
. Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

"
so it's not new to Excel 2007.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with the
same
style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should'
display
correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space at
the
beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number of
characters displayed.

This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 - try
it
for yourself.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter
word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in
a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September
typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as
a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format
mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore,
words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom
format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9
characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm
(also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width
of
9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters
will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a
cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as
mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width
to
9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November)
and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an
8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use
the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's
Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width
you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008
would
fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal
style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

Oh, I thought you were answering because you actually had Excel 2007. I know
it works fine in other versions of Excel, but it certainly doesn't in Excel
2007. I've double-checked my custom format and it definitely doesn't have a
space on the front.

It would be nice to hear what other Excel 2007 users think of this, I'm sure
it's a bug.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

We'll have to let someone else with Excel 2007 try that. On Excel 2003 they
are of identical width, and the only difference is that typed in will
default to left-aligned and the custom formatted date will default to
right-aligned, but of course in either case the alignment can be changed.
As a matter of interest, if you've got different widths between those two
options, what do you get with =TEXT(A1,"mmmm")?

Another simple question; are you sure that you haven't got any spurious
spaces in your custom formatting spec? If instead of just mmmm you have
spaces either before or after the mmmm string in the custom formatting
dialogue box, those spaces will be included in the format.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
No, you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm comparing the word
September
produced by a custom format with September typed in normally - the custom
format one does not fit and should not be affected by proportional spacing
issues as it should be not different to September typed normally. Please
try
this for yourself and you will see what I mean.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

I'm sorry that you don't understand what you've been told.
What is said on the Microsoft page (to which I gave you the link) is
clear
to me, but obviously not to you.
"If the default font is a non-proportional (fixed width) font, such as
Courier, 8.43 characters of any type (numbers or letters) fit into a cell
with a column width of 8.43 because all Courier characters are the same
width. If the font is a proportional font, such as Arial, 8.43 integers
(numbers such as 0, 1, 2, and so on) fit into a cell with column width of
8.43. This is because numbers are fixed-spaced with most proportional
fonts.
However, because letters are not fixed-spaced with proportional fonts,
more
"i" characters fit and fewer "w" characters fit. "
I don't think either I or Microsoft can can explain it any more clearly.
Surely you can see it for yourself if you compare WWWWWWWWW and lllllllll
in
a proportional font?
That page applies to:
"
. Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
. Microsoft Office Excel 2003
. Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

"
so it's not new to Excel 2007.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with the
same
style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should'
display
correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space at
the
beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number of
characters displayed.

This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 - try
it
for yourself.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter
word
*should* fit in a column width of 9".
Read the rest of what I said.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't fit in
a
column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word September
typed
in
normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September produced as
a
result
of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format
mmmm)
DOES
NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007. Furthermore,
words
such
as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom
format
(which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9
characters
wide
whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm
(also 8
characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.

Andrea

"David Biddulph" wrote:

There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column width
of
9,
as
(unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the letters
will
not
be of equal width.
In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared with
lllllllll.

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further explanation.
--
David Biddulph

"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still having a
problem
which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in a
cell
(01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it as
mmmm.
Write
the word September in a cell underneath and set the column width
to
9 -
the
custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07 (November)
and
1/12/07
(December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also an
8
letter
month does.

Andrea Jones

"Jim Rech" wrote:

Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to use
the
Normal
font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's
Calibri
and
11.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
...
| In older versions of Excel you could work out the column width
you
needed
by
| setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008
would
fit
in
a
| column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit in
columns
10
| characters wide, even when the font is the same as the Normal
style.
|
| Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to me?
|

I don't think this is a bug. It is merely a side-effect of MS changing
default fonts in Excel 2007.

Try this:
-Open Excel Options (on the Office [round circle in top left corner] menu).
-On the Popular tab change "Use this font" to Arial and "Font size" to 10.
-Close and restart Excel 2007.
-Try your test again.

It will behave the same as in Excel 2003 since you're using the same font as
Excel 2003's default.

If you go the other way, changing the default font in Excel 2003 to Calibri
as I just did as a test, you get the same result as in Excel 2007. So it's
the font not the Excel version.

--
Jim
"Andrea Jones" wrote in message
...
| Oh, I thought you were answering because you actually had Excel 2007. I
know
| it works fine in other versions of Excel, but it certainly doesn't in
Excel
| 2007. I've double-checked my custom format and it definitely doesn't have
a
| space on the front.
|
| It would be nice to hear what other Excel 2007 users think of this, I'm
sure
| it's a bug.
|
| Andrea
|
| "David Biddulph" wrote:
|
| We'll have to let someone else with Excel 2007 try that. On Excel 2003
they
| are of identical width, and the only difference is that typed in will
| default to left-aligned and the custom formatted date will default to
| right-aligned, but of course in either case the alignment can be
changed.
| As a matter of interest, if you've got different widths between those
two
| options, what do you get with =TEXT(A1,"mmmm")?
|
| Another simple question; are you sure that you haven't got any spurious
| spaces in your custom formatting spec? If instead of just mmmm you have
| spaces either before or after the mmmm string in the custom formatting
| dialogue box, those spaces will be included in the format.
| --
| David Biddulph
|
| "Andrea Jones" wrote in message
| ...
| No, you don't understand what I'm saying. I'm comparing the word
| September
| produced by a custom format with September typed in normally - the
custom
| format one does not fit and should not be affected by proportional
spacing
| issues as it should be not different to September typed normally.
Please
| try
| this for yourself and you will see what I mean.
|
| Andrea
|
| "David Biddulph" wrote:
|
| I'm sorry that you don't understand what you've been told.
| What is said on the Microsoft page (to which I gave you the link) is
| clear
| to me, but obviously not to you.
| "If the default font is a non-proportional (fixed width) font, such
as
| Courier, 8.43 characters of any type (numbers or letters) fit into a
cell
| with a column width of 8.43 because all Courier characters are the
same
| width. If the font is a proportional font, such as Arial, 8.43
integers
| (numbers such as 0, 1, 2, and so on) fit into a cell with column
width of
| 8.43. This is because numbers are fixed-spaced with most proportional
| fonts.
| However, because letters are not fixed-spaced with proportional
fonts,
| more
| "i" characters fit and fewer "w" characters fit. "
| I don't think either I or Microsoft can can explain it any more
clearly.
| Surely you can see it for yourself if you compare WWWWWWWWW and
lllllllll
| in
| a proportional font?
| That page applies to:
| "
| . Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
| . Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
| . Microsoft Office Excel 2003
| . Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition
|
| "
| so it's not new to Excel 2007.
| --
| David Biddulph
|
| "Andrea Jones" wrote in
message
| ...
| I did read it but the custom format mmmm data is also formatted with
the
| same
| style settings as the Normal style for the worksheet so it 'should'
| display
| correctly. The custom format seems to add a bit of invisible space
at
| the
| beginning of the cell which makes it longer than the actual number
of
| characters displayed.
|
| This problem does not occur in Excel 2000 but does in Excel 2007 -
try
| it
| for yourself.
|
| Andrea
|
| "David Biddulph" wrote:
|
| You misread my message. I said "There is no reason why a 9 letter
| word
| *should* fit in a column width of 9".
| Read the rest of what I said.
| --
| David Biddulph
|
| "Andrea Jones" wrote in
| message
| ...
| I know there's no logical reason why a 9 letter word shouldn't
fit in
| a
| column that's 9 wide. If your 9 letter word is the word
September
| typed
| in
| normally then it fits the column fine HOWEVER, September
produced as
| a
| result
| of formatting a date to show just the month (using custom format
| mmmm)
| DOES
| NOT fit in a column 9 characters wide in Excel 2007.
Furthermore,
| words
| such
| as November and December produced as a result of the mmmm custom
| format
| (which are both 8 characters long) DO NOT fit in a column 9
| characters
| wide
| whereas February produced as a result of the custom format mmmm
| (also 8
| characters) DOES fit in a column 9 characters wide.
|
| Andrea
|
| "David Biddulph" wrote:
|
| There is no reason why a 9 letter word should fit in a column
width
| of
| 9,
| as
| (unless you are using a fixed-width font like Courier) the
letters
| will
| not
| be of equal width.
| In a proportional font, see how wide SSSSSSSSS is, compared
with
| lllllllll.
|
| See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123 for further
explanation.
| --
| David Biddulph
|
| "Andrea Jones" wrote in
| message
| ...
| Sorry, don't know what I was doing there, but I'm still
having a
| problem
| which seems to be a bug. Enter the date 1 September 2007 in
a
| cell
| (01/09/2007 or 09/01/2007) and use custom format to format it
as
| mmmm.
| Write
| the word September in a cell underneath and set the column
width
| to
| 9 -
| the
| custom format cell does not fit. The dates 1/11/07
(November)
| and
| 1/12/07
| (December) also don't fit but 1/2/07 (February) which is also
an
| 8
| letter
| month does.
|
| Andrea Jones
|
| "Jim Rech" wrote:
|
| Exactly 10 here. Try it in a new worksheet. You have to
use
| the
| Normal
| font name and size. Unless you've changed the default it's
| Calibri
| and
| 11.
|
| --
| Jim
| "Andrea Jones" wrote
in
| message
| ...
| | In older versions of Excel you could work out the column
width
| you
| needed
| by
| | setting the number of characters. A date like 01/01/2008
| would
| fit
| in
| a
| | column 10 characters wide. In Excel 2007 dates do not fit
in
| columns
| 10
| | characters wide, even when the font is the same as the
Normal
| style.
| |
| | Does anyone have any ideas on this, looks like a bug to
me?
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|