Excell opens with an open file ?

[Blair]

A friend has a problem. When he wants to open a file in Excel he finds the
file already open with a message which says the file cannot be opened as it
is already open.
I have tried to simulate this condition on my own PC but failed to do so.
Can anyone explain what is happening and how to stop it?
Blair

 

[Dave Peterson]

Maybe this from Debra Dalgleish's site will help:
http://www.contextures.com/xlfaqApp.html#AlreadyOpen

 

[Blair]

Thanks Dave. I have passed your information to my friend
Blair

 

[Blair]

I have now had this reply from my friend

"Due to the help from Dave Paterson I have achieved part success where he
pointed out that two X's will appear in the top-right corner - one below the
normal one - and I am able to delete the second one as he suggested. The
screen then goes blank but I can recall the file from the bottom toolbar. I
don't know what it really does as the same thing still happens every time I
open My Documents but it at least gets rid of the mystery 'other' file when
the file is opened.

I tried Dave Paterson's main suggestion to help solve the problem but when I
followed his directions I failed to complete the final part of his coded
instruction where a 'regserver' entry was required and I tried all sorts of
answers for that but without success."

Could you solve what his problem is ? I think he may mean regressive?
Blair

 

[Dave Peterson]

If your friend is seeing two x's in the top right corner, maybe one is for the
application window and one is for the worksheet window.

It sounds like he is closing the worksheet window. Maybe just maximizing that
window would look more familiar to him.

 

[Blair]

Dave ,
This is a further message from my friend.
Can you make sense of it.
I should say that I found he stores all his data on the same partition as
his programmes in other words his Excel data is shown as a sub set of Excel.
I told him it would be better if his data was stored as a group in a
different partition.
Here is the message
Blair

Thanks for latest e-mail. Will look for information about an 'Application'
window and a 'Worksheet' window but think I'll have to live with the matter
The two-window problem really is a nuisance rather than a problem.

The main problem is that I cannot consistently open my Excel files by
double-clicking the Folder icons but very often have to resort to opening
them by the 'Internet Explorer' option from the rt/click menu.. This is not
satisfactory because the window does not show the 'Status' bar at the
bottom - which I use quite a bit with quick calculations and was of course
part of my initial window set-up..

Fortunately, however, I have found that if I close the opened I/T window I
can re-instate the file window either by now double-clicking its icon in its
opened Folder or by choosing the 'Microsoft Excel" option this time from the
rt/click menu - and the file window is brought up complete with 'Status
bar.

Not satisfactory but am pleased to accept the method as a workable one.

Bob

 

[Dave Peterson]

It sounds like it's a minor problem with the way the windows are displayed.

Try this on your own pc.

Open excel.
If you don't have a workbook open (even that default blank one), start a new
one.

Look at the application window title bar's caption. It should look something
like:

Microsoft Excel
or
Microsoft Exce - Book1

If you see "microsoft Excel" but without the workbook name, then the worksheet
window is not maximized within excel's application window.

If you can't see the worksheet title bar, then click on Window|Arrange|Tiled.

You'll see a blue caption for that worksheet window. There are three icons to
the far right on that title bar.

One that looks like an underscore to minimize the window
one that looks a box with a heavy line at that top to maximize that window
and one that looks like an X to close that window.

Click that middle icon to maximize the window.

Dave ,
This is a further message from my friend.
Can you make sense of it.
I should say that I found he stores all his data on the same partition as
his programmes in other words his Excel data is shown as a sub set of Excel.
I told him it would be better if his data was stored as a group in a
different partition.
Here is the message
Blair

Thanks for latest e-mail. Will look for information about an 'Application'
window and a 'Worksheet' window but think I'll have to live with the matter
The two-window problem really is a nuisance rather than a problem.

The main problem is that I cannot consistently open my Excel files by
double-clicking the Folder icons but very often have to resort to opening
them by the 'Internet Explorer' option from the rt/click menu.. This is not
satisfactory because the window does not show the 'Status' bar at the
bottom - which I use quite a bit with quick calculations and was of course
part of my initial window set-up..

Fortunately, however, I have found that if I close the opened I/T window I
can re-instate the file window either by now double-clicking its icon in its
opened Folder or by choosing the 'Microsoft Excel" option this time from the
rt/click menu - and the file window is brought up complete with 'Status
bar.

Not satisfactory but am pleased to accept the method as a workable one.

Bob