Short-Lived Book1

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated April 5, 2014)

Fred ran into a problem with Excel—when he first starts the program, Excel opens Book1 as it should. Then, after a second or two, it switches to Book2 where Fred can start working. He's curious as to why Excel switches to Book2, and what happened to Book1.

Startup problems in Excel can be rather tricky to track down, but there are a few things you should check. First, make sure that there is nothing in the XLStartup folder on your system; it is possible that Book2.xls is stored there, and Excel is opening it whenever you start the program.

Of course, it is also possible that errant add-ins are making the switch, or that a template is responsible for it. You'll need to do some detective work in this case. A good place to start is this Web page, maintained by Excel MVP Jan Karel Pieterse:

http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/StartupProblems.asp

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3048) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Forcing Dates Forward

Want to push a date to some pre-defined day of the month? Here's some ways to force the issue.

Discover More

Quick AutoFill Variations

The AutoFill feature can be used for more than just incrementing information into cells. This tip explains how to access ...

Discover More

Understanding WordArt

One of the small graphical features provided with Word is the ability to apply artistic treatment to words or phrases. ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Comma-Delimited Differences for PC and Mac

When you choose to save worksheet data in CSV format, Excel gives you three choices for file formats. Those choices are ...

Discover More

Saving Information in a Text File

The VBA programming language provide with Excel allows you to create and modify text files quite easily. Here's how to ...

Discover More

Changing Link References

If you use UNC paths in your links to external information, those paths may need to be changed at some point. You can ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 8 + 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.