Seeking help for an unusual problem- In Excel xp, when I need to insert a
symbol, I use Insert / Symbol (clever, no?). The list of fonts, however,
only shows the first half (alphabetically) of the fonts I've got installed
(it starts with the "normal text" choice, then Abadi MT and ends around MS
Dialog Light). The slider on the right side is fully down. I cannot type in
Wingdings or another font not shown- the font box reverts to the last font in
the list, MS Dialog Light.

Other Office apps don't show this problem; I've worked around it for Exel by
using Character Map (and losing my vision in the process). I haven't seen
anything like this in the forums, nor have I successfully used Google or the
MS Knowledge Base to find an answer. I've also tried the "Repair
Installation" tool in Excel and actually reinstalled Office with no effect.

Is there some limit to the number of fonts available for symbols? Should
the dropdown only be showing fonts identified as symbol fonts? Is there an
adjustment I can make to the Excel initialization file?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

RBW