Horrific "Feature" uncovered at huge expense

[stebro]

Today I sent an email that I wish I'd never sent - all because of an
undocumented "feature" in MS Office. I maintain a spreadsheet of personal
items with many tabs which happens to include a personalized calendar in one
of the tabs. I wanted to cut and paste the calendar into the email as a
visual of what I was trying to explain. In Excel I selected about 40 cells
and "copied" it to the clipboard, then went to Outlook and selected "Paste
Special" and selected Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object. Wha-la! My 40
cells appeared in the email just as I intended - looked great - so I sent it.

One of my co-workers came to me after he noticed the huge size of the email
and showed me that what I had just done was sent all of my personal
information - with the entire workbook (every blessed tab) to our entire
business unit.

O.K. Microsoft - what the *#%% is this all about? Since when did paste 40
cells mean paste the entire workbook ???????

Oh, if only the purpose of my existence is to serve as a warning to others
that they would heed..... Sign me - depressed & embarrased (and make me
the poster child for the next Southwest airlines "wanna get away?" ad...)

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/comm...lic.excel.misc

[Adam Kroger]

I've emailed portions of my spreadsheet many time, using almost the process
you described, except I did not use "Pase Special" Just paste; it only sent
the portion I copied.


"stebro" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Today I sent an email that I wish I'd never sent - all because of an
> undocumented "feature" in MS Office. I maintain a spreadsheet of personal
> items with many tabs which happens to include a personalized calendar in
> one
> of the tabs. I wanted to cut and paste the calendar into the email as a
> visual of what I was trying to explain. In Excel I selected about 40
> cells
> and "copied" it to the clipboard, then went to Outlook and selected "Paste
> Special" and selected Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object. Wha-la! My
> 40
> cells appeared in the email just as I intended - looked great - so I sent
> it.
>
> One of my co-workers came to me after he noticed the huge size of the
> email
> and showed me that what I had just done was sent all of my personal
> information - with the entire workbook (every blessed tab) to our entire
> business unit.
>
> O.K. Microsoft - what the *#%% is this all about? Since when did paste
> 40
> cells mean paste the entire workbook ???????
>
> Oh, if only the purpose of my existence is to serve as a warning to others
> that they would heed..... Sign me - depressed & embarrased (and make
> me
> the poster child for the next Southwest airlines "wanna get away?" ad...)
>
> ----------------
> This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
> suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
> Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow
> this
> link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
> click "I Agree" in the message pane.
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/office/comm...lic.excel.misc

[Nick Pomponio]

I found this out the hard way, too. I had pasted an Excel Chart into
Word and sent the document, only to find out that the entire
spreadsheet had been included. It is also true of any of the Office
applications, as well as many other, non-Microsoft products. If you
paste an Excel Worksheet, or a Visio Diagram, etc., it seems that the
entire contents of the file is included in order to provide a copy
that can be completely reproduced and edited within the host
application.

Now I usually paste as a Picture or Bitmap. If I need to be even more
cautious, I print the excerpt to PDF and send that instead.

"stebro" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Today I sent an email that I wish I'd never sent - all because of an
> undocumented "feature" in MS Office. I maintain a spreadsheet of personal
> items with many tabs which happens to include a personalized calendar in
> one
> of the tabs. I wanted to cut and paste the calendar into the email as a
> visual of what I was trying to explain. In Excel I selected about 40
> cells
> and "copied" it to the clipboard, then went to Outlook and selected "Paste
> Special" and selected Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object. Wha-la! My
> 40
> cells appeared in the email just as I intended - looked great - so I sent
> it.
>
> One of my co-workers came to me after he noticed the huge size of the
> email
> and showed me that what I had just done was sent all of my personal
> information - with the entire workbook (every blessed tab) to our entire
> business unit.
>
> O.K. Microsoft - what the *#%% is this all about? Since when did paste
> 40
> cells mean paste the entire workbook ???????
>
> Oh, if only the purpose of my existence is to serve as a warning to others
> that they would heed..... Sign me - depressed & embarrased (and make
> me
> the poster child for the next Southwest airlines "wanna get away?" ad...)

[stebro]

It's very frustrating feeling like your voice isn't being heard by anyone
who can make a difference, especially when a "feature" can cause so much
damage, but it's good to know there are others who have had the same
experiences. Thanks for sharing and validating.


"stebro" wrote:

> Today I sent an email that I wish I'd never sent - all because of an
> undocumented "feature" in MS Office. I maintain a spreadsheet of personal
> items with many tabs which happens to include a personalized calendar in one
> of the tabs. I wanted to cut and paste the calendar into the email as a
> visual of what I was trying to explain. In Excel I selected about 40 cells
> and "copied" it to the clipboard, then went to Outlook and selected "Paste
> Special" and selected Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object. Wha-la! My 40
> cells appeared in the email just as I intended - looked great - so I sent it.
>
> One of my co-workers came to me after he noticed the huge size of the email
> and showed me that what I had just done was sent all of my personal
> information - with the entire workbook (every blessed tab) to our entire
> business unit.
>
> O.K. Microsoft - what the *#%% is this all about? Since when did paste 40
> cells mean paste the entire workbook ???????
>
> Oh, if only the purpose of my existence is to serve as a warning to others
> that they would heed..... Sign me - depressed & embarrased (and make me
> the poster child for the next Southwest airlines "wanna get away?" ad...)
>
> ----------------
> This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
> suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
> Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
> link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
> click "I Agree" in the message pane.
>
> http://www.microsoft.com/office/comm...lic.excel.misc