Problems With Microsoft Excel On Mac

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Aug 20, 2015 Working with external data in Excel 2016 for Mac By the Excel team These days we all live and work in a multi-device, multi-platform world, and so when building Office 2016 for Mac, one of our key objectives was to make it as easy as possible to transition from using Office for Windows to using Office for Mac and back again. Apr 16, 2018 Open Microsoft, and then drag the following file to the desktop: com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist; Note If you do not locate this file, Excel is using default preferences. Go to step 12. Open Excel for Mac 2011, and try to save a file. If the problem continues to occur, quit Excel, and restore the file to its original location. Go to step 12.

2017-9-9  How to open Microsoft Excel spreadsheets using Apple Numbers on a Mac Numbers has the ability to open Excel files so you can work on them. You can also export spreadsheets in. Hi, I have just bought a new Macbook and downloaded Home office for Mac 2016. And I have some problems with excel. It is very slow and hard to work in, the cursor is very slow and the file has to. With this window remaining open, Microsoft Excel for Mac should be opened. If the application does not quit, the Microsoft Excel problem was with the preference. If the problem persists, it can be related to some other function such as a bad font. Microsoft Excel is an effective tool for data analysis and organization whether it is on Windows or Mac.

Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Symptoms

One or more toolbars are missing and cannot be added in Microsoft Excel for Mac.

Cause

There are two possible causes of this behavior:

  • The oval button in the upper-right corner of the document was clicked. This button 'toggles' the display of toolbars on and off.
  • There is an issue with Excel preferences.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use the following methods in order.

Method 1: Make sure that toolbar display is not turned off

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Excel window, click the oval button.

    Note

    When this button is clicked, the toolbars are hidden (in any Microsoft Office for Mac application). A second click causes the toolbars to be displayed.

  2. If the toolbars reappear, quit Excel, and then restart Excel to make sure that the appropriate toolbars are displayed.

If Method 1 did not resolve the problem, try Method 2.

Problems With Microsoft Excel On Mac Free

Method 2: Remove the Excel preferences

Step 1: Quit all applications

To quit active applications, follow these steps:

  1. On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.
  2. Select an application in the 'Force Quit Applications' window.
  3. Click Force Quit.
  4. Repeate the previous steps until you quit all active applications.

Warning

When an application is force quit, any unsaved changes to open documents are not saved.

Step 2: Remove the Excel Preferences

To remove the Excel preferences, follow these steps.

  1. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac applications.

  2. On the Go menu, click Home.

  3. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  4. Open the Preferences folder. Click View, click Arrange by, and then select Name.

  5. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Excel.plist.

  6. If you locate the file, drag the file to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, the application is using the default preferences.

  7. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Excel.plist file to the trash.

  8. Quit all Office for Mac applications.

  9. On the Go menu, click Home.

  10. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  11. Open the Preferences folder.

  12. Open the Microsoft Folder.

  13. Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist.

  14. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If cannot locate the file, the application is using the default preferences.

  15. If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Excel, and then check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Excel.prefs.plist file to the trash.

  16. Close all Office applications.

  17. On the Go menu, click Home.

  18. Open Library.

    Note

    The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.

  19. Open the Preferences folder.

  20. Open the Microsoft Folder.

  21. Open the Office 2008 or Office 2011 folder.

  22. Look for a file that is named Excel Toolbars (12) or Microsoft Excel Toolbars.

  23. If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you cannot locate the file, the application is using the default preferences.

If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Excel, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Excel, and restore the file to its original location. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Excel Toolbars (12) file or the Microsoft Excel Toolbars to the trash.

Note

If the problem still occurs after you follow these steps, the problem is not related to these files. If the problem no longer occurs, one of these files was causing the problem. If this is the case, restore the files to their original location one at a time. Test the application after you restore each file. Continue to do this until the problem occurs again. When the problem recurs, you can then assume that it is caused by the last file that you restored. Drag that file to the trash.

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Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Symptoms

When you open or use Microsoft Excel, Excel stops responding, hangs, freezes, or stops working. Additionally, you may receive one of the following error messages:

Excel is not responding.

Excel has stopped working.

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available.

Resolution

Use the following methods in the order in which they are presented. If you try one of these methods and it does not help, go to the next method.

Method 1: Start Excel in safe mode

Safe mode lets you safely use Excel without encountering certain startup programs. You can open Excel in safe mode by pressing and holding Ctrl while you start the program or by using the '/safe' option (that is, excel.exe /safe) when you start the program from the command line. When you run Excel in safe mode, it bypasses functionality and settings such as alternative startup location, changed toolbars, the xlstart folder, and Excel add-ins. (However, COM add-ins are excluded.)

If your issue is resolved after you run Excel in safe mode, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

291288 Description of the startup switches for Excel

280504 How to troubleshoot startup problems in Excel 2013

If your issue is not resolved after you start Excel in safe mode, go to method 2.

Method 2: Investigate possible issues with COM add-ins Many developers create add-ins for Excel. These add-ins are divided into two types

  • Excel add-ins that are saved as .xla, .xlam, or .xll files.
  • COM add-ins. These add-ins usually have to be installed and include DLLs and registry keys. COM add-ins created for one version of Excel frequently are incompatible with a newer version, and may cause the system to stop responding. They are not disabled by safe mode.

The simplest way to resolve this possible cause is to run this troubleshooter.

If the troubleshooter resolves the issue, but it recurs, you'll have to determine which add-in is causing the problem. To disable COM add-ins, follow these steps:

  1. Select File > Options > Add-ins.
  2. At the bottom of the dialog box, change the Manage dropdown to COM add-ins, and select Go.
  3. Clear the check box for any enabled COM add-ins. select OK.If disabling the COM add-ins alleviates the issue, try enabling them one at a time to test for the problem add-in.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, continue to method 3.

Method 3: Investigate Excel file details and contents

Excel files can exist on the computer for a long time. They are upgraded from version to version and frequently travel from one user to another user. Frequently, a user inherits an Excel file but doesn't know what is included in the file. The following areas can cause performance or crashing issues:

  • Formulas referencing entire columns.
  • Array formulas referencing an uneven number of elements in the arguments.
  • Hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of hidden or size 0 height and width objects.
  • Too many styles caused by frequent copying and pasting between workbooks.
  • Too many (as well as invalidly defined) names.

Inspect and simplify your files if possible.

If these steps do not resolve your issue, continue to method 4.

Method 4: Check whether your file is being generated by a third party

Sometimes Excel files are generated by a third-party application. In this case, the files may be generated incorrectly, and some features may not work correctly when you open the files in Excel. If this occurs, test the features in new files outside the third-party application. If the features work correctly, make sure that the third party is aware of the issue.

If your issue is not resolved after you test it outside the third-party application, go to method 5.

Method 5: Perform a selective startup to determine whether a program, process, or service conflicts with Excel

When you start Windows as usual, several applications and services start automatically and then run in the background. These applications and services can interfere with other software on your device. Performing a selective startup (also known as a 'clean boot') can help you identify problems with conflicting applications. To perform a selective startup, see How to perform a clean boot in Windows.

Selective startup is used to help identify the process, service, or application that conflicts with Excel.

If your issue is not resolved after a clean boot, go to method 6.

Method 6: Check whether your antivirus software is up to date or is conflicting with Excel

Antivirus software can interfere with Excel, and cause performance issues. Frequently updating your AV software can correct the issue.

How to check whether your antivirus software is up to date

To keep up with new viruses that are created, antivirus software vendors periodically provide updates that you can download from the Internet. Download the latest updates by visiting your antivirus software vendor's website. For a list of antivirus software vendors, see the following Microsoft website:

How to check whether antivirus software is conflicting with Excel

If your antivirus software includes integration with Excel, you may experience performance issues. In this case, you can disable all Excel integration within the antivirus software by creating exceptions for Excel files.

Important

Changing your antivirus settings may make your PC vulnerable to viral, fraudulent, or malicious attacks. We do not recommend that you try to change your antivirus settings. Use this workaround at your own risk. You may have to contact your antivirus software vendor to determine how to configure software to exclude any integration with Excel.

If updating your antivirus software or excluding it from integrating with Excel does not resolve your issue, go to method 7.Method 7: Verify or install the latest Windows and Office updates

Windows updates

You might have to set Windows Update to automatically download and install recommended updates. Installing any important, recommended, and optional updates can frequently correct problems by replacing out-of-date files and fixing vulnerabilities.To install the latest Windows updates, see Microsoft Windows FAQ.

Office updates

For more information about the latest Office updates, see Office Updates.

If your issue is not resolved after you install the latest Windows and Office updates, continue to the advanced troubleshooting in the More Information section.

More information

Advanced troubleshooting

If the methods that were mentioned earlier did not resolve your issue, the issue might be either environmental or file-specific in nature. The following section describes how to troubleshoot additional issues that can cause Excel to stop responding.

Environmental factors

Environmental factors are just as important as file contents and add-ins when you are troubleshooting problems. You can help us determine the cause of your issue by taking the following actions:

  • Follow basic troubleshooting steps.
  • Test files in the cleanest possible environment.

The following sections describe troubleshooting tips that might help diagnose the problem.

Where the file is stored

Several issues can arise when you save an Excel file over a network or to a web server.Moving the file locally will help determine whether there's something wrong with the file or the server where the file is saved. Save the file to your local hard drive is one of the following scenarios is true:

  • You have redirected 'My Documents' folder to a server location.

  • Your files are stored offline.

  • You are trying to open files from SharePoint or a Web folder.

  • Microsoft word for mac print only black and white clipart. You are using Remote Desktop or Citrix.

  • You are using network appliances.

  • You work in a virtualized environment. For more information about Microsoft software that's running in a virtualized environment, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

    897615 Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software

Memory

Excel files can grow fairly large when you add text formatting and shapes. Make sure that your system has enough RAM to run the application. For system requirements of the Microsoft Office suites, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Printers and video drivers

When Excel is started, it examines the default printer and video drivers that will display the Excel workbooks. Excel is printer-intensive. Therefore, it will run even slower when Excel files are saved in Page Break Preview view. Testing the file by using different printers such as the Microsoft XPS Document Writer printer driver or the VGA video driver will determine whether the problem is with a specific printer or video driver.

With

Problems With Microsoft Excel 2007

If you still have hanging or crashing issues in Excel after you work through the resolution methods that are mentioned here, contact Microsoft Support for guided troubleshooting.