Excel 2013 starts up with blank screen when opened from explorer

Anonymous
2013-02-27T17:34:15+00:00

When I double click any Excel file in windows explorer, Excel starts up maximized and I can see the ribbon but the whole grid area where my data should be is blank, no gridlines or row/column headers.   If I "restore down" the Excel window then everything appears as normal.

I sometimes get subsequent Excel crashes.

I also get an Excel crash by clicking on an Excel file in windows explorer, as if to preview it.  The Excel file preview function is not working since I installed Office 2013 Professional.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-11-10T01:52:37+00:00

    Tried everything (turning off hardware acceleration, ignore DDE, repair, KB2994633 etc) but none of it worked.

    The Windows Explorer Preview pane showed the xlsx file fine but Excel showed a blank gray screen.

    My solution:

    1. Double click the problematic Excel file
    2. Go to View tab in Excel
    3. Click on Unhide - a window appeared to me where I could select to Unhide workbook.
    4. Voila! :)

    I had to re-save / overwrite the file to make the solution permanent. Perhaps if anyone has the same problem, take a backup of the problematic file and send it to Microsoft so they solve this problem once and for all.

    I wasted 2½ hours on this - and even installed Office Configuration Analyzer but that did not help either.

    Running Windows 10, Excel 2013 with all the latest updates as of Nov 10th 2015.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-02T23:25:25+00:00

    I have figured out that if you have the sidebar preview open in window's explorer, viewing files on a HD, and select an excel file to preview it before opening, that is when the "blank excel program" opens.  I close the sidebar preview function in windows and select the same excel file and the blank program doesn't open.

    Same for everyone else?

    Thanks, this solution has been offered before, but does not relate to my problem. I never have the preview window open.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-07-31T15:03:00+00:00

    Tell you what, I am NOT reinstalling my video drivers unless MS pays me to do so. I am pretty displeased with Office 2013, especially regarding its display degradation. Text in all Office programs is now very hard to read, even after going through the Clear Type routine. No improvement. 

    Anyway, to this issue, I have tried all of the above solutions. Nothing changes. I now have blank screens even when opening a new document. 

    I tried to find the "Event Viewer" function that Srinivasu describes, but I don't seem to be able to from Word, if that's what his post meant. What does he mean by "home screen"? I tried from a blank document and from the "Info" screen but nothing happens there.

    However, I found Event Viewer the old fashioned way, by using Windows Administrative Tools. 

    Note: there is no entry called "Microsoft Office applications." It is called "Microsoft Office Alerts."

    Anyway, there are no error logs, just Information logs. This is the most recent one on the list (modified for privacy), which refers to my trying to open a file from a shortcut for a file that was moved. After that Event, I found the file manually, and that's when I was presented with a blank screen again: 

    "

    Microsoft Excel

    Sorry, we couldn't find R:\User\Documents\Dropbox\XXX\POEMS\Writing Business\Submissions Contests Grants\Poetry Journals deadlines notes_G.xlsx. Is it possible it was moved, renamed or deleted?

    P1: 100202

    P2: 15.0.4631.1000

    P3: 

    P4: 

    "

    Please help. I need to get to work.

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  5. Anonymous
    2013-03-04T04:31:11+00:00

    I also have this issue.

    Method 1: I also do not have appwiz

    Method 2: On the home screen, I right clicked at the lower left hand side but Event viewer was not listed as an option.

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