KB173798 - XL97: How to Change the Font in a Cell Comment

Article ID: 173798

Article Last Modified on 11/23/2006

Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q173798

SYMPTOMS

When you record a macro in which you change the font of a cell comment, and then subsequently rerun the macro, the font of the comment does not change as you expected.

CAUSE

Depending on the method you used to select the comment while recording the macro, your recorded macro may not contain the necessary code to modify the font of the cell comment.

RESOLUTION

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http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

The following sample macro changes the font of the active cell's comment to Courier, Bold with a size of 14:

   Sub Comment_Font_Change()
       With ActiveCell.Comment.Shape.TextFrame.Characters.Font
           .Name = "courier"
           .Size = 14
           .Bold = True
       End With
   End Sub

You can also change the font of all comments in a worksheet by running the following macro:

   Sub All_Comment_Font_Change()
       For Each x In ActiveSheet.Comments
           With x.Shape.TextFrame.Characters.Font
               .Name = "courier"
               .Size = 14
               .Bold = True
           End With
       Next x
   End Sub

STATUS

This is by design of Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION

Depending on how you select a cell comment, a different version of the Format Comment dialog box appears when you click Comment on the Format menu. If you have the comment frame selected, and the cursor is not within the comment text, then the Format Comment dialog box displays seven tabs: Font, Alignment, Colors and Lines, Size, Protection, Properties, and Margins. However, if the cursor is flashing within the comment text, you are in edit mode, and the Format Comment dialog box will display just one tab: Font.

If you record a macro in which you change the font while in Edit mode, the recorded macro does not produce the necessary code for modifying the comment font. The following code is representative of a macro recorded while changing the comment font in Edit mode:

   Sub Macro1()
       Range("A1").Comment.Shape.Select True
       Range("A1").Comment.Text Text:="Username:" & Chr(10) & _
           "this is a test"
       Range("A2").Select
   End Sub

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

155375 XL97: Unable to Rotate AutoShapes While in Edit Mode

REFERENCES

For more information about the Comment Object, click the Office Assistant in the Visual Basic Editor, type comment, click Search, and then click to view "Comment Object".

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Microsoft Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

For additional information about getting help with Visual Basic for Applications, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

163435 VBA: Programming Resources for Visual Basic for Applications

Additional query words: XL97 note modify

Keywords: kbhowto kbprogramming KB173798