Excel 2016: double-clicking on a file opens two Excel windows

Anonymous
2015-09-26T17:50:31+00:00

Since I have upgraded from Office 2013 to Office 2016 (from Office 365 Home), I get the following behavior in Excel:

If I double-click on a [shortcut to a] file, Excel starts with two Windows open:

  • one with the requested document
  • one blank window with no document loaded

Any clue?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-20T16:34:39+00:00

    I found that it I needed to resave the PERSONAL.XLSB file.

    Open Excel and then do VIEW/UNHIDE and unhide the PERSONAL.XLSB file.  Make a change to the file and then do VIEW/HIDE and hide the personal file.  Exit Excel and tell it to save the PERSONAL file when it asks.  The next time you open excel it should have one instance.

    Worked for me anyway.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-27T16:34:09+00:00

    The usual solutions (remove personal.xlb, repair the installation) posted here and elsewhere didn't work for me. In the end what did was this:

    1. Open Excel as administrator (right-click on icon and choose open as administrator)
    2. File > Options > Add-Ins
    3. Right at the bottom of the dialogue: Manage > COM Add-ins > Go...
    4. REMOVE all the Add-ins you don't need (probably all the add-ins you see here)
    5. Exit Excel (no need to save the workbook)

    Now Excel should be working right again. FINALLY!

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-10-12T20:11:14+00:00

    hi my excel 2013 updect

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-11-06T18:39:27+00:00

    I tried everything in this thread, and the only thing that worked was moving both book.xlsx and PERSONAL.XLSB out of XLSTART. But like many others, that's not a viable alternative for me.

    Finally, I hit upon a solution: change the file properties of these two files to hidden. Worked perfectly for me. I'm not sure why it works -- at first I assumed that the macro workbook was still open, but not visible. But according to Task Manager, once the file I mean to open is closed, the Excel process shuts down.

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  5. Anonymous
    2017-12-11T17:54:13+00:00

    I tried all the listed possible solutions and unfortunately I had no success. However, I did find another solution that worked for me.

    Go to the Trust Center in Options and click "Trust Center Settings."

    On the left pane, click on "File Block Settings" and check the boxes under "Open" for all previous versions of Excel.

    At the bottom, make sure the circle for "Open selected file types in Protected View and allow editing" is ticked otherwise you won't be able to make any changes to the file. 

    Try opening a file that would normally open blank and see if it goes into protected view.

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