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Can anyone help with a queer font issue experienced in MS Excel on the Windows XP platform?

The Postscript Optima and OpenType Optima LT Std fonts used in our production department do not work properly in MS Excel 2000 or 2003 on the PC (with Windows XP). Specifically, when combining the Postscript Optima Oblique with regular Optima in the same cell, undesirable and uncontrollable spacing occurs before and after the oblique text. The same thing happens when combining regular Optima with italic Optima that has been styled with the italic attribute button. This problem also occurs when using the OpenType version of Optima.

Excel creates extra space before and after the italicized or oblique text. This space increases the further out along the line the italic or oblique text appears. In other words, if an italic word occurs at the end of a long line of unwrapped text in a single cell, there will be a large amount of extra space created around it. If it occurs at the beginning of the line, there will be little extra space created around it.

Why is this and is there a way to correct this?

The solution I found was to use the Mac with the OpenType version of Optima in MS Excel version X (10). Converting the text in Excel to Optima LT Std and manually applying Optima LT Std Italic (from the font drop-down menu) to the necessary italic words works correctly. Excel version X on the Mac will not create unexpected extra space in this scenario. However, this solution only works with the OpenType version of Optima because similar problems found on the PC (explained above) also occurred on the Mac using a non-OpenType format of the Optima font.

Anyone know when MS will allow better typographic control in Excel? Other related problems occur in Excel when combining variations of a typeface in the same cell. I work for a scientific research company and we must format tables of numbers in Excel for use by the government and the public.

Thanks for your help!