6 Ways to Fix Excel Files Closing Automatically

Q: Question: While working on an Excel spreadsheet, it closes by itself, and when I am working in another window, it closes even though the spreadsheet is open. When I reopen it, I get an error message. I click "Repair Now," but this does not stop the spreadsheet from closing every few minutes. Why is my Excel closing on its own? I have lost several worksheets due to these unexpected shutdowns.

The issue of Excel opening and closing automatically could be due to a conflict. Typically, conflicts can occur within the program itself or with associated third-party components. Furthermore, if you observe similar issues with other Microsoft Office suite applications, the problem might point towards your Microsoft Office installation or the Windows operating system.

If your Microsoft Excel file keeps crashing after copy and paste, save (as), or closes on its own right after opening, it could be due to an Excel crash issue. Here, you can find 5 fixes to address this problem.

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1. Repair Corrupted Excel Files (Protect Your Excel Data)

If Excel closes immediately after opening, it might be due to some corrupted data. In this case, try using a Document Repair Tool to fix the corrupted Excel file. This software can repair damaged Word, Excel, and PPT files from Microsoft Office 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and earlier versions.

The <a href="/repair-tools/">Fixo tools</a> let you repair multiple Office files at once. Additionally, it can <a href="/video-repair-tips/repair-corrupted-excel-file.html">fix corrupted Excel files</a> and mend issues with text, hyperlinks, forms, and more. It can also address common Excel problems like <a href="/video-repair-tips/excel-cell-contents-not-visible.html">unvisible content in Excel cells</a>. Download this file repair toolkit for free now and quickly fix any damaged Excel file.

Step 1: Download and run Fixo on your computer or laptop. Select "File Repair" to fix corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDFs, and others. Click "Add File" to select the damaged document.

Step 2: Click “Repair All” to fix multiple files at once. If you want to repair a single document, hover over the target file and select “Repair.” You can also preview the document by clicking on the eye icon.

Step 3. Click “Save” to save the selected documents. Choose “Save All” to save all repaired files. Select “View Repairs” to locate the folder with repaired files.

Fix 2: Check Compatibility of MS Office with Windows 10

Firstly, there are two things you could recall that might help determine when and why the crashing issue started. [1] What is the current version of the Excel application installed on your computer? [2] Have you recently updated your Windows 10? Was it around the same time when the Excel files started closing automatically?

If you're using one of these, you should check whether this version of Excel is compatible with Windows 10. For earlier versions of Excel before 2013, we recommend that you upgrade, even if you haven't experienced any stability issues so far, to ensure that it will run on Windows 10.

In addition to using a newer version of Excel, you can try running your current version of the program in Windows Compatibility Mode, as described in Microsoft Support guidelines.

Make an older app or program compatible with Windows 10

Fix 3: Repair Microsoft Office

When Excel starts crashing, freezing, becoming unresponsive, or closing on its own, as it is doing now, you should be careful when creating new files, since their content might be lost entirely. It would be a good idea to check whether Word is also affected, or other Office suites, such as PowerPoint. If so, the problem almost certainly lies with Microsoft Office, and a repair installation is in order.

Open Programs and Features by going directly to Control Panel:

Press Windows Key + R, type appwiz.cpl, and hit “OK.”

In the list, find “Microsoft Office,” right-click it, and select “Change.”

Choose Quick Fix, then click the Fix button.

Fix 4: Disable COM Add-ins

When working with large Excel files, COM add-ins can cause issues. They consume a significant amount of memory and can contribute to general problems with Excel, such as freezing or crashing. It is therefore strongly recommended to disable add-ins in Excel.

In Excel, go to File > Options > Add-ins. From the dropdown, select COM Add-ins and click Go. Uncheck all boxes, then click OK.

Fix 5: Disable Conditional Formatting Rules

Are you using Conditional Formatting rules in any of the specific worksheets? Conditional Formatting is a feature that highlights or distinguishes information in a spreadsheet by choosing different colors based on certain criteria. If you're only encountering the automatic closure issue in specific Excel worksheets, you might consider temporarily disabling this feature to see if it allows your Excel file to run normally.

1. Under the "Home" tab, click on "Conditional Formatting." 2. Select "Clear Rules." 3. Choose "Clear Rules from Entire Worksheet." 4. Close and reopen your Excel file.

Fix 6: Start Excel in Safe Mode

If all else fails and you're still having trouble, try starting Excel in Safe Mode. If the problem isn't with the program itself, it could be that some rogue startup process is interfering with it.

Press Windows + R to open the "Run" window. Type excel.exe /safe in the box and press Enter.

How to Recover an Unsaved Excel File After Closing Automatically

The immediate effect of the “Microsoft Excel closed unexpectedly” issue is data loss. The good news is that Microsoft Office has a feature that saves draft edits in a recoverable folder. AutoRecover is usually turned on by default, so you might be able to retrieve an unsaved Excel file from the AutoRecover folder, unless you disabled it yourself.

Recover an unsaved Excel file from AutoRecover:

Open a new Excel file in Windows. Click "File" > "Open" > "Recent Workbooks." Check the list of recently used Excel documents and find the file that was not saved before Excel closed unexpectedly.

Click “Recover Unsaved Workbooks,” and wait for the program to restore your closed Excel files.

• When the prompt appears telling you that the recovered file has been temporarily saved on your computer, click “Save As” to save the Excel as a new file in a secure location on your computer.