Do unwanted files open automatically when Excel starts? Perhaps something changed in your computer, and Excel files are opening automatically, and you want to get rid of them. Keep reading, to see where those files might be located, and how to stop them from opening.
Stop Unwanted Files Open Automatically
To stop files that automatically open in Excel 2007 and Excel 2010, you can remove a folder name in the Excel options:
- Click the Office Button, then click Excel Options (In Excel 2010, click the File tab, then click Options)
- Click the Advanced category, and scroll down to the General section.
- In the box for ‘At startup, open all files in’, you might see the name of a folder, and its path
- Clear the folder information from that box (or go to that folder and remove the unwanted files).
- Click OK, to close the Excel Options dialog box.
Check the XLSTARTUP Folders
If there was nothing listed in the Startup box, the unwanted files might have been accidentally saved to one of the XLSTART folders.
- C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12XLSTART (for Excel 2007)
- C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14XLSTART (for Excel 2010)
- C:Documents and SettingsUser nameApplication DataMicrosoftExcelXLSTART
In Windows Explorer, go to those folders, and remove the unwanted files, to prevent them from opening automatically when Excel starts.
Check for Add-Ins
Thanks to Sarah, who commented below. She discovered that her unwanted file had been installed as an add-in. Here’s how she fixed it:
“When I moved the file to a different folder, it wouldn’t open but I would get an error every time I opened Excel saying that if couldn’t find that file.
I finally fixed it by going to Options -> Add-Ins -> Manage (Go…) and I saw that file had been created as an add in. From here, I deleted it, and it’s working perfectly.”
Excel 2003 and earlier versions
For earlier versions of Excel, there are instructions in the Contextures Excel FAQs: When I start Excel, why do a million files open up automatically?
More Ways to Prevent Files from Opening
You can also use a command-line switch, or the Esc key, to stop files from opening automatically.
For more details on how to block files from opening automatically, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: How to prevent files from opening automatically in Excel.
For help with troubleshooting other problems when starting Excel, see Jan Karel Pieterse’s article: Startup Problems.
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Still having trouble. I have a file that always opens on the launch of Excel 2010. I can click File > Open File Location and see that the folder is not an XLSTART folder, but just an ordinary location on a networked drive.
I confirmed that the ‘At startup, open all files in’ entry is blank. I even replaced it with the folder location and the file opened twice.
I tried changing the file name but Excel evidently still tried to open the file (and now fails). I wonder if I have accidentally set Excel up to us a macro that means it needs to open the file? I’ll inverstigate further…
Neither these nor any other answer anywhere on the web has been able to help me stop a blank workbook from also opening when I open an existing file.
– All instances of XLSTART are empty (no hidden files either)
– I’ve even tried appending the “/e” to the target (in Excel properties)
– Also, the “At startup, open all files in:” box in Options>Advanced>General is empty
I open 50 to 100 files throughout a day and every time I do I have to manually close the blank “book1” file that also opens. I’ve asked on multiple forums.
Please help. It’s driving me crazy.
Thanks
DM
dorron margalit
C:Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\
Username is your username…
delete any folders in here, should be blank except for the .xlb file
Ooops!!! It worked for me
Thanks for sharing
Dorron, the only thing that helped me was to try the ‘sneak up on it’ method from pcavers — when “book1” opens, click on ‘save as’ to see where in your computer/system it is saved so that you can then navigate to that location and delete it. Good luck – I know how absolutely maddening the situation is!
Shu
Hi LollyShu, WOW thx, your comment helped me, I’ve done everything to get Rid of two unwanted files (Pasta1 & Pasta2) so I read your comment, well it worked. THANK YOU.
André
THANK YOU! wish I knew how it happened in the first place, but this helped a user out tremendously. J
I am having the exact same issue as Dorron. I’ve tried all of the steps, but no success. When I do the “Save As” trick, it just opens up the My Documents folder.
Anyone else have any suggestions? Dorron, have you found a solution?
Finally found solution today. I had installed an Add-in for some additional Excel functions. Once I removed the Add-in the problem went away!
Searched every forum and tried every trick. Turns out it was an Add-in. Unchecked each Add-In separately and reopened to figure out which one. Removing it did the trick. Thanks.