Microsoft Knowledge Base

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 4.0, 5.0
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, if you have the Black And White (Black & White Cells in versions 4.0, 4.0a) option selected in the Page Setup dialog box, cells formatted with white text on a black background will not print as formatted. Instead, they are printed and appear in print preview as black text on a white background. However, text boxes with the same formatting, will print with white text on a black background even with the Black and White option turned on (except in Microsoft Excel 97).

Steps to Reproduce Problem

1. Enter the following data in a new worksheet:

       A1: one
       A2: two
   

       and select these cells.
   

2. Format the selected cells with white text on a black background and select the Black And White print option with the following steps:

       Versions 5.0, 7.0 and 97
       ------------------------
   

       a. On the Format menu, click Cells.
   

       b. In the Format Cells dialog box click the Patterns tab. Select black
          from the Colors box under Cell Shading.
   

       c. Click the Font tab, select white from the Color drop-down list and
          click OK.
   

       d. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
   

       e. Click the Sheet tab and under Print, click the Black
          And White check box. Click OK.
   

       f. On the File menu click Print Preview.
   

       Versions 4.0, 4.0a
       ------------------
   

       a. From the Format menu, choose Patterns, and select black from
          the Foreground list. Choose OK.
   

       b. From the Format menu, choose Font, and select white from the
          Color list. Choose OK.
   

       c. From the File menu, choose Page Setup.
   

       d. Select the Black & White Cells check box and choose OK.
   

3. From the File menu, choose Print Preview.

NOTE: Text boxes formatted with white text on a black background will print as formatted, even with the Black and White print option selected in the Page Setup dialog box (except in Microsoft Excel 97).

REFERENCES

For more information about Formatting Cells, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 97 Help, type the following text

   formatting cells, colors

"User's Guide," version 5.0, page 242 "User's Guide," version 4.0, page 536

For more information about the Page Setup Command (File Menu), choose the Search button in Help and type:

   setting up pages

   setting up documents (versions 4.0, 4.0a)