Visual Basic on Mac Not Showing Checkboxes in Tools>References

Question

I am running Office 365 on a Mac.  I wrote a macro that used Solver commands so I needed to add Solver to the references in Visual Basic.  Usually not a problem.  However, when I go to Tools>References, I see the list of available references, but there are no checkboxes or checkmarks indicating which ones are selected.  This issue is unique to my Mac since I upgraded to Office 365 Home.  It worked fine before (Office 2011) and works fine on my PC (Office 365 Home).  It turns out that I can select Solver, but I can't see that it has been selected.  

I put a screenshot below.  I think the first five items have been selected and the ones below have not.  But its hardd to tell without checkmarks!

Any suggestions?  Is this a bug?

Answer 1

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your detailed information.

I have tested in Excel 2016 for Mac version 16.18 Mac OS 10.14 Mojave and I can reproduce the issue and it doesn't happen on Mac OS 10.13.

But when I test with Excel 2016 for Mac version 16.19 (Insider Fast), the checkboxes all show correctly in the preference.

You may join Insider Fast or waiting for it to release to production.

To join Insider Fast, please refer to this article: What is Office Insider?

***Note:*The insider version is best for Insiders who want to use the very earliest builds to identify issues and provide feedback about new features still in development. Insider is ideal for those who don't mind the bit of risk involved in using unsupported builds.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best Regards,

Gloria

Answer 2

Hi Gloria,

Thank you for the suggestions.  I've completed everything suggested, including Orssi's suggestion, and I still can't see the checkboxes.  The good news is that I can select items anyhow so everything is working--but it is annoying not to be able to see which references have been selected.

Steps I've taken:

-  Restarted Mac in safe mode.  It made no difference.

-  Completely uninstalled both Office 2011 and Office 365 (including all the miscellaneous files referred to in the article) and reinstalled Office 365.  Then I restarted in safe mode again.  It made no difference.

You also asked for additional information.  Here it is:

1. What is the version of your Office applications?  16.18 (181014)
2. When did the issue start to occur? Did the issue just happen after you update from Office for Mac 2011 to Office 365?  I just got the Office 365 license a few days ago.  I noticed the issue within that time.  I did not observe the issue before upgrading.  Before I uninstalled Office 2011, the issue was happening there too.  It was working normally 2 or 3 weeks ago.  I don't know about in between.

Were there any changes made prior to the issue occurring?   I upgraded to Mojave about a week ago (osx 10.14).  It is possible that the problem started then.

Here's additional evidence that Mojave might be the culprit.  I have access to another Mac that is still running High Sierra.  On that machine, the checkboxes show up both for Office 2011 and the new Office 365 (same version as above).  Finally, I did some research about Mojave and apparently it caused problems with checkboxes in Chrome.  Perhaps there is a related issue with this window in VBA.

3. Does the issue happen with this specific file or all the files? Does the issue only happen if you have a VBA code in the file?  All files, with and without VBA code.

Please let me know what the next steps are.

Peter

Answer 3

Hi Orssi,

Thanks for sharing your situation.

@Peter, you can also refer to the suggestion provided by Orssi to see the result.

Best Regards,

Gloria

Answer 4

I had the same problem.

Running in safe mode and or uninstalling did not help.

I tried double clicking the reference and then > ok. it worked for me.

Answer 5

Hi Peter, 

I have tested from my side and I can see the checkbox correctly.

Please try to run your Mac in safe mode to see if it helps: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac

If the safe mode doesn't work for you, please try to do the complete uninstall of Office applications and reinstall them.

Here is an article for your reference: Troubleshoot Office for Mac issues by completely uninstalling before you reinstall

To better understand your situation and provide help for you, please help confirm some information:

1. What is the version of your Office applications?

You can check it by clicking top Excel menu> About Microsoft Excel> Version number.

2. When did the issue start to occur? Did the issue just happen after you update from Office for Mac 2011 to Office 365?

Were there any changes made prior to the issue occurring?

3. Does the issue happen with this specific file or all the files? Does the issue only happen if you have a VBA code in the file?

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.​

Best Regards,

Gloria