Excel 2016 - open all files in ONE instance

Anonymous
2018-06-26T15:30:02+00:00

Hello,

I have a problem with my Excel 2016 (16.0.10228.20051 32-bit):

I have one Excel instance running. (N.B. - the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" checkbox in Advanced Options is NOT checked.) What I need is - for all Excel files that I am about to open to open in my first and only Excel instanc e, always, and regardless of:

  • how many files I open simultaneously,
  • where the files are located (i.e. on local drive or on OneDrive so the system needs to download them before opening)

 and including when opening Excel files from other Office apps, i.e. Outlook attachments.

The behavior that I've been seeing in Excel 2016 is, at best, inconsistent:

  1. When opening multiple additional files at once from disk (select multiple files/right-click/Open) - it opens the first n files in the first Excel instance, but then from n+1 file it starts opening them in a new instance.
  2. A variation of the above is when in my first and only Excel instance I have a workbook open in XLSTART folder. Then upon opening multiple files at once, when it reaches it's n+1 file and the new instance launches and tries to open the file in XLSTART folder again, but it is already open in the first instance, so the warning message saying "this file is already open" (or something like that) shows up and files n+2, n+3, n+4, etc. till the last one, will all try to open in a separate instance, each triggering the same warning message.

I'd like to state at this point that this is not file specific, the file n+1 is usually a different file every time.

Also, I am aware of the workaround (i.e. dragging files onto open Excel window) and I am using it - the above is to demonstrate the symptoms I've been experiencing.

  1. When generating Excel files by another application (call it AppX) - you might say that this is likely the AppX's issue - I have no means to verify this unfortunately, however, the randomness of the new instances launching in this case is similar to all other scenarios described here, so I doubt the cause is my AppX.
  2. Finally, when opening Excel files from Outlook email attachments - i.e. double-clicking an Excel attachment in Outlook's reading pane - it may open it in the first Excel instance, but may also decide to open it in a new one. From my testing, if the Excel's file previewer is disabled at that point (i.e. listed under Options/Add-Ins/Manage - Disabled Items) it will most likely open the attachment in a new instance.

So that's my observations, hope it helps to shed some light on the issue. I know how to open files in a new instance if I want it. The problem is, it happens when I don't want it and in some cases, I don't seem to have any control over this.

Thanks,

J.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-12-17T13:03:40+00:00

    Hi Gloria,

    Like VijayMB, I am also wondering whether there has been any progress here?

    I think I could not have been more thorough in explaining the issue I am facing, testing various scenarios for you, following your guidance precisely, providing screenshots, gifs, etc. so that the job of finding the cause of the problem and fixing it for you guys at Microsoft should be considerably easier. Having done all that, I believe it is not unreasonable of me to, almost half a year later, finally expect some progress on the matter.

    Needless to say that during all this time I have been keeping my Office up to date religiously, there has been about 12 Office updates since June that I have installed, yet none of them fixed the issue. I am now on version 1812 11126.20074 and the issue still persists.

    Gloria - I know Office is a complex application, but six months is more than enough time to investigate this - what are the findings? And more importantly, when will a fix be rolled out?

    Kind regards,

    J.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-12-18T17:00:03+00:00

    Hi All,

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    I understand how annoying that must be. As much as I'd love to help, I still need to confirm the user cases in your organizations.

    Could you please share some examples to show the impact with us so that we can move forward?

    Thanks for your patience and understanding.

    Best Regards,

    Gloria

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-12-18T17:33:35+00:00

    Sorry, I didn't know you were awaiting action from my side. Should have told me, I would have acted much sooner.

    Gloria, I confirm - the same issue has been affecting other users in my organization. Their Office build is the same as mine. I just went over to two random colleagues and asked them to test the opening of Outlook attachments as well as opening multiple files from a folder simultaneously, both scenarios described in great detail above - the behavior is exactly like the one I am seeing on my machine.

    I am sorry, but out of respect for my colleagues' time and privacy, providing gifs and screenshots from their machines is at this moment out of the question, you are going to have to take my word for it.

    Is there anything else you need from me?

    J.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-12-18T17:51:11+00:00

    Hi J,

    Thank for your reply.

    Our main priority is to understand the use-case where multiple or one instance of Excel is needed, so that we can provide our findings and involve more resources to investigate this behavior.

    Can you please let us know in what scenario you would like Excel to open in one instance, and another where you would like Excel to open multiple instances?

    Best Regards,

    Gloria

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-12-18T19:01:13+00:00

    Hi Gloria,

    Personally, in all the scenarios listed in my initial posts, I would like the files to open in a single Excel instance. Always, no exception. In my 10 years of working with Excel, working on up to 10 spreadsheets simultaneously, writing VBA automation solutions, etc. I am yet to come across a scenario in which I'd want multiple instances. 

    However, I understand my needs might be different to those of other users, therefore I believe an option to have single or multiple instances is required. By option, I of course mean a checkbox, toggle button, etc. in Excel's settings where users will be able to select their desired mode and not the current unpredictable behavior.

    The topic of choice needed here has been covered in great detail and up-voted by hundreds of users in this Excel UserVoice post. The post is about SDI vs. MDI, but the issue of multiple vs. single instance is very much related and it comes up frequently in the 650+ comments - have a read through them, it's a good lecture, and maybe then you can motivate someone at MS to finally address the issue.

    Thanks,

    J.

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