Microsoft Knowledge Base

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Slide Show add-in macro to create a slide show that displays pictures of charts, worksheets, and graphic objects. If the image or cell range you copy is sized very small and contains text, when you paste the picture into a slide show template and then run the slide show, the fonts may be scaled much larger relative to other elements in the picture. This scaling will be most apparent with charts but may also occur when you copy cells that are zoomed out (less than 100-percent), text boxes, or other graphic objects that contain text.

STATUS

This is by design of Microsoft Excel.

WORKAROUND

To get the best results in your slide show pictures, use one of the following methods:

• Size the source image as close as possible to the image you will see in your slide show.

  -or-

• Size the source image so that it is in proportion to your screen. For example, if you have a VGA screen adapter, your screen ratio is 640 by 480 (or 4 by 3). You'll get the best results if you size your object so that its width appears roughly one-third larger than its height.

MORE INFORMATION

When you copy a chart, cell range, or object and choose the Paste Slide button in the slide show template, the Slide Show add-in macro cancels your original copy and copies the image again as a picture. The picture is then placed in the Slide Image column and the dimensions of the original picture are stored in the cell underneath the picture. When you run the slide show, the picture is internally restored to its original dimensions, copied as a picture again, and then scaled to the largest width and height ratio possible without altering the image. The picture is then displayed as a slide.

If you began with a very small picture, the image may appear to be scaled correctly when you run the slide show but the fonts may appear much larger in proportion. This occurs because the degree of change required to fill the screen is much larger than with an image that is sized closer to the final size or proportions of the screen. You'll see this same behavior if you use the Camera tool to copy a small chart or other image with text and then scale the picture to fill the screen.

REFERENCES

"User's Guide 1," version 4.0, pages 518-523