Microsoft Excel Patch for the "15 digit number" bug the "Link to same cell different sheets" bug the "Transposing ranges" bug the "Single cell dependency" bug Microsoft Excel 7.0 (95) Version Thank you for using Microsoft Excel. Along with this readme you should have received a file called PATCHXL.EXE. This patch will fix four bugs: the "15 digit number" error in Microsoft Excel that was discovered in September 1995, the "link to the same cell in a different sheet" bug, the "transposing ranges" bug, and the single cell dependency bug discovered in December 1995. The "More Information" section of this readme contains a full description of the problems. To install the patch, copy the PATCHXL.EXE into the same directory where you installed Excel 7.0. Double-click on the patch from File Manager in Win/NT 3.51 or the Windows Explorer in Win 95. A Command Prompt window will appear briefly and then disappear. To verify that patch #1 is installed correctly, boot Excel and enter 1.40737488355328. If the number maintains the correct value upon entry, the patch has been successfully installed. NOTE: You will receive an error message if the first patch has already been installed saying that the first patch was not applied. This is expected, and the above verification will tell you if your EXE indeed is fixed. To verify patch #2 and #3, enter the number 5 into cell K25 on Sheet1. Select Sheet2, , type "=", and click once in cell K25 on Sheet1. Press enter, and the two cells will be linked. Select Sheet1 again, and change the number in cell K25. Select Sheet2; if the number hasn't changed, the patch isn't applied. If it has, then the patch has correctly been installed. To verify path #4, enter the number 1 in cell A1 on Sheet1. Select cell A3 and enter the formula "=A1". Then select cell B2 and enter the formula "=A1" (the formulas must be entered in this exact order). Now change the number in cell A1 to 2. If the numbers in cells A3 and B2 do not both update to the value then the patch has not been installed. If the numbers in cells A3 and B2 both update to 2 then the patch has correctly been installed. Thank you again for using Microsoft Excel. We hope these problems have not inconvenienced you. If you have any further questions, please call Product Support. MORE INFORMATION - 15 digit bug =============================== In Microsoft Excel for Windows 95/Windows NT, certain 15 digit numbers may unexpectedly change value when they are entered into a worksheet cell or when they are calculated by a formula in a worksheet cell. The three numbers are: 140737488355328 281474976710656 562949953421312 If you enter a variation of these numbers (for example, 1.40737488355328), or if you calculate a variation of one of these numbers, the number may resolve to a different value, such as 0.64 (or some multiple of 0.64). The following information is taken from a Questions and Answers file that was posted on the CompuServe Information Service. This information was originally posted on September 22, 1995. 1. Q. I heard there is a problem with Excel changing the values of some specific numbers, what’s the situation? A. In Microsoft Excel there is an error that will cause three specific sequences of fifteen digits to change their value either when entered as an individual entry or when derived from specific functions. This was brought to our attention earlier this week and we are in the process of creating a solution that will be available within the next 10 days to correct the situation. 2. Q. Can you tell me what that means in more common terminology? A. What this means is that if you have entered one of three specific fifteen digit numbers or come to this number as the result of a formula, Microsoft Excel might have changed the value of the number. 3. Q. What are the chances that I have been affected? A. Although it is hard to have an exact number, we believe this will only affect a very small number of customers. In fact, based on our internal analysis the likelihood of any one of these sequence of digits appearing in a customer’s spreadsheet is approximately 1 in 5 billion. Remember, the only way that this will affect you is if you have these three specific combinations of fifteen digits. 4. Q. If there is such a small likelihood of this occurring, why worry about fixing it? A. Our customers depend on Microsoft Excel to compute their numbers accurately and we want them to feel confident when using the product. Even though the probability of one of our customers having a problem with this is low, we can’t judge the probability for each and every customer. So, we are trying to get all of the facts regarding this out so that you can determine for yourself if you need the patch. The solution will be available to all customers that own Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office. This patch will be available at no charge beginning October 1, 1995 in the U.S. 5. Q. What are you doing to fix this? A. We have created a solution that will correct this error. We are in the process of testing this solution on various hardware, it will be available in the form of a patch which we will make available beginning on October 1, 1995 in the U.S. 6. Q. So, what are the numbers that cause this error? A. The specific sequences of digits are: 140737488355328, 281474976710656 and 562949953421312. The decimal point may be in different places. In addition if you are dealing with calculations, the result has to be one of these three sequences of digits, plus or minus a number less than approximately one- half of the next decimal, times a power of 10. And this is only a problem when you refer to the result in certain functions, namely: int(), ceil(), floor(), roundup(), and if(). 7. Q. Why these specific numbers? A. The common bond between these numbers is that they happen to be 2 to the 47th, 48th, and 49th power, respectively. 8. Q. Does this mean I have to check to make sure any 15 digit numbers in my files have not been changed by Excel? A. No. Unless you entered in one of the three specific sequence of digits mentioned above or have utilized one of the specific formulas mentioned above with very long numbers you should be fine. To double check, however, all you have to do once you have installed the patch is to open a file and press Control/Alt/F9, by doing this the patch will correct any numbers that were derived from functions incorrectly. 9. Q. How did you find out about this? A. One of our customers actually found it when they were working with a formula that derived the number 1.40737488355328. This customer's work required that he create a formula in Microsoft Excel which explicitly calculated 2 to the 47th and take the integer portion of it. We were not previously aware of this error and are grateful that it was brought to our attention. 10. Q. What versions of Microsoft Excel does this affect? A. We have found this in versions of the product dating back to Excel 3.0 for Windows, the Macintosh and OS/2. Other versions of the product affected include Microsoft Excel 4.0 for Windows and the Macintosh, Microsoft Excel 5.0 for Windows, Windows NT and the Macintosh, and Microsoft Excel for Windows 95. We will make the patch available for no charge for any of our customers using any of these versions of Excel. 11. Q. How do I get the patch? A. Simply call Microsoft at (206) 635-7070 on or after October 1, 1995 and the patch will be sent to you at no charge. Our goal is to have the patch available for the Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 versions of the product beginning on October 1, 1995 with other platform versions following soon thereafter. MORE INFORMATION - Link to same cell bug ======================================== In Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 there is an error that will occur when you have linked certain specific cells from one sheet in a workbook to the same exact cells in another sheet in the same workbook. Basically, what happens is that if you change your data after those specific cells have been linked, the data will not update on the second sheet. This was brought to our attention by a customer and we have created a solution that fixes the problem. Our customers depend on Microsoft Excel to compute their numbers accurately and we want them to feel confident when using the product. If there is a problem we take it seriously and we provide as much information as possible so that customers can decide for themselves if they need the patch. Remember, this will only occur when linking a specific cell on a sheet in a workbook (for example, cell S20) to that same cell on another sheet in the same workbook. The most common way for this to occur would probably be if a customer created a "roll up sheet" that speared data from one cell in a sheet to the same exact cell in an another sheet in the same workbook. This only affects Microsoft Excel 7.0. Once the patch is applied, any sheets affected by this problem will automatically work correctly (ie there's no conversion required to correct the problem in the sheets). MORE INFORMATION - Transposing Ranges bug ========================================= In Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 there is a problem that will cause Excel to become unstable if you transpose a range that contains a reference. Transposing a range means that you copy a range and then use the "transpose" option in the Paste Special dialog, which reverses the rows and columns (ie the row-wise cells are turned column-wise and vice-versa). Once the patch has been applied, this action should complete normally. MORE INFORMATION - Single Cell Dependency bug ============================================= In Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 there is an error that can occur when you have two or more cells that are dependent through a formula to another specific cell. What can happen is that if a number in a given cell is changed, it is possible the recalculation may not occur in other cells that are dependent on this cell. For this to occur, there must be formulas connecting two or more cells to the specific cell where the number has changed and these formulas need to have been entered in a particular order. This was brought to our attention by a customer and we have created a solution that fixes the problem for Microsoft Excel users. The following information is taken from a Questions and Answers file that was posted on the CompuServe Information Service. This information was originally posted on December 12, 1995. 1. Q. I heard there is an error that occurs with recalculation when two or more cells are dependent upon a single cell in Microsoft Excel, what’s the situation? A. In Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, an error can occur when you have two or more cells that are dependent (through a formula) on another specific cell. If a number in a given cell is changed, it is possible the recalculation may not appear in other cells that are dependent on this cell. For this to occur, there must be formulas connecting two or more cells to the specific cell where the number has changed and these formulas need to have been entered in a particular order (from the bottom up - entering references to a cell above previous references to the same cell). In addition, the dependent and precedent cells must be in different columns. This was brought to our attention by a customer and we have created a solution that fixes the problem for Microsoft Excel users. 2. Q. What are the chances that I have been affected? A. Although scenarios where multiple cells are dependent upon a single cell are common, we feel relatively few people have been affected since it occurs only when the formulas have been entered in a specific order, when the formulas connect two or more cells to a single cell where the number has changed, and when the dependent cell is in a different column than the precedent. You can very easily ensure accuracy in your spreadsheet simply by pressing Ctrl Alt F9 (the recalc keyboard command). This will force Microsoft Excel to update all of your cells. In addition, once a user closes and reopens a workbook containing the error, the link is restored. Also, we have received no support calls on this issue other than the customer who brought it to our attention. Regardless, we feel it is important to offer customers a solution as quickly as possible. 3. Q. If this won’t affect that many people, why bother fixing it? A. Our customers depend on Microsoft Excel to compute their numbers accurately and we want them to feel confident when using the product. If there is a problem we take it seriously and we provide as much information as possible so that customers can decide for themselves if they need the patch. 4. Q. What are you doing to fix this? A. We have already created and posted a solution that will correct this error. The solution or "patch" will be available on line beginning the week of December 11 in the U.S. 5. Q. Have you notified customers? A. Yes, we have alerted accounts we regularly work with. In addition, we have posted this on-line for end users. 6. Q. Is there a workaround I can use if I don’t want to wait to get the patch? A. Yes. The most direct workaround is to enter Control/Alt/F9 after making any changes in your data which will automatically refresh your workbook and update all data. 7. Q. Does this mean I need to check all of my Excel files to see if I have been affected by this? A. No. Unless you have a workbook where formulas have been entered in the order mentioned above, you do not need to worry about this. If you have created a workbook where you have used this type of formula, simply perform the workaround previously described. 8. Q. How did you find out about this? A. This was brought to our attention by a customer in early December. We were previously not aware of this error and are grateful that it was brought to our attention. 9. Q. What versions of Microsoft Excel does this affect? A. This error only affects Microsoft Excel for Windows 95. 10. Q. How do I get the patch? A. Simply call Microsoft at (800) 360-7561 or (206) 635-7070 beginning on December 13, 1995 and the patch will be sent to you at no charge. Or get the patch on-line on The Microsoft Network in the Excel Forum (GO "MSEXCEL"), on CompuServe in the Excel Forum (GO "MSEXCEL") and on the Internet on the Microsoft world wide web site (http://www.microsoft.com/msexcel).