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From: pj@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Paul Jacoby)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Excel vs. MultiFinder
Message-ID: <4219@orbit.cts.com>
Date: 26 Feb 91 17:05:01 GMT
Sender: news@orbit.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet51], Minneapolis, MN.
Lines: 42

I reported this problem to Microsoft yesterday. They talked to Apple, and both
agreed that it was a combination of fault in Excel and MultiFinder.  I thought
I'd post it here in case the System 7.0 folks can figure a way around it.

Follow these steps:
(1) Boot your Mac with System 6.0.3 or above, and run under MultiFinder
(2) Open Excel 2.2 or 2.2a, and close all documents.
(3) Switch to the Finder.
(4) Select three or four Excel Charts in the Finder
(5) Go to the File menu and select Open, or just double-click
(6) Excel activates
(6a) The first chart opens
(6b) Excel pops up the "Update references to unopened documents?" alert
     [since we have only opened the chart, not the worksheet]
(6c) Excel beeps one time for each chart you had selected.
(7) Hit the Yes _or_ No button (it makes no difference).
(8) You are left in Excel with ONLY the first chart open.

Microsoft said that because MultiFinder handles multiple-file opens
differently than the Finder, the Excel dialog causes an interrupt in the
process from which MF can't recover.  They said that Apple had said future
versions of MF should solve this kind of problem.

Since I have some developer friends, I had one try this scenario out under
System 7.0b4.  The exact same problem occurs.  In addition, he found something
else that might be a bug:
  If a program is active in MultiFinder (Excel in this case) and you switch to
the Finder, select a few documents, and select Print from the File menu,
NOTHING happens.  It works fine if the parent application is NOT running
already.  Bug?

  I just wanted to be sure that the folks at Apple found out this problem
still exists in 7.0b4.  I don't know if it is solvable, but I have a few
clients who would like it to be! :-)

p.s. Thanks to Don Hieschler at Microsoft for his help!

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