Excel 2016 - Cannot type anything into a cell all of a sudden

Anonymous
2017-04-14T07:08:05+00:00

Hi,

I am experiencing a problem with Excel 2016 that is really frustrating.

I am working normally in excel 2016, when all of a sudden I cannot type anything into a cell. If I press Ecs nothing happens. I do not have macros, nor protected sheet or cells. I am working with multiple (2 or more) open excel files at the same time. I tried to figure out, if I press some combination of keys that would cause this, but found nothing. I, however, can move the mouse over the sheet and click different cells. I think the arrow keys work as well.

The strange thing that always "solves" the problem is pressing Enter. Pressing the Enter opens another Excel file that is already opened, and after simply going back to the first one, I then can work on normally. This can occur once, twice but sometimes even 10-times in a single day! Just terrible.

This is time demanding, many times I write into a cell and then see that the cell is still blank, I press the enter to make it work again, going back... - I cannot work like this.

When I was working with the same files in Excel 2013 and 2010 I hadn't have experienced such problems. 

I already read some other forums with people experiencing the same problem, but haven't found any solution yet.

Do you have any?

Thank you!

P.

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-02-27T10:23:37+00:00

    Click on those cells and click format painter icon.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-02-26T16:52:35+00:00

    What I find helps a little bit though not completely is to save the workbook (for which you might have to nip to another sheet and back again) then close and reopen it. I find the infuriating problem is temporarily solved (till it comes back again).

    This whole thing really shows Microsoft in a terrible light.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-02-26T16:34:21+00:00

    This is ridiculous that this problem is not solved.  It makes you lose valuable time when you look up and your work has not been typed.  Also when it is in this mode it is impossible to save your work, I lost lots of spreadsheets prior to finding out about going to a new tab and coming back "fix".  It is really frustrating, I have complained to the IT department numerous times with no resolution. 

    I tried the task manger fix but I had no other Excel threads running once Excel was closed. SO back to the drawing board and time wasted switching tabs.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-02-19T00:52:40+00:00

    I also have had this problem on two different Win10 PC's, with Office 2016/365.  I'm so thankful that the workaround is easy (simply hit <ENTER> and return to original spreadsheet. )

    Hopefully someone in MS will encounter this problem in their normal work, and get the ball rolling on a fix.  Perhaps a nice gesture would be for Microsoft to announce the workaround so we don't all have to deal with the aggravation until the solution can be sent out.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-01-22T10:18:27+00:00

    I've learned to live with it because the problem usually clears after a while. As many have said, switching to another sheet and back allows typing in the problem cell, but you could not carry on like that for long. Sometimes I can go for a long time without encountering the problem, then it re-appears. Incredible that Microsoft have not addressed it.

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