6 Fixes for Excel File Keeps Closing Automatically | Excel File Recovery Tips

Q: The Excel spreadsheet keeps closing itself while I'm working in it and also when it is open while working in another window. When I re-open it, a message says an error is causing the problem. I click on the Repair Now button this activity does not keep the spreadsheet from auto-closing every few minutes. Why does my Excel file keep closing itself? I have lost several worksheets due to the unexpected auto shutdown.

It seems that there is a conflict arising when you open the Excel application on your Windows PC. Usually, the conflict may start within the program itself, or with a third-party item that is associated with it. What's more, if you check further on other Microsoft Office suites like Word, PowerPoint, if the problem occurs to the brotherhood applications, the problem is hugely pointed to the Microsoft Office installation and Windows operating system.

If your Microsoft Excel file keeps closing automatically due to the manner of 'copy and past', 'save (as) a file', or just start typing, it is probably because Excel has a crash problem. Here, you can get 5 fixes to get rid of the issue.

Fix 1. Check Compatibility Issue of MS Office and Windows 10

First and foremost, you should recall two things that may help you figure out when and what causes the crashing problem. [1] What is the version of the Excel application currently installed on your PC? [2] Did you update your Windows 10 system in recent days? Is the date happening to be the day the Excel file starts closing automatically? If you've done either of the things here, you should ask yourself: Is this version of Excel compatible with Windows 10? For an older version of Excel, like before 2013, even you don't subject to the stability issue right now, we still recommend you turn to the new version to be able to run in Windows 10.

To resolve the incompatibility issue of Excel and Windows 10, except using the newer version of Excel, you can also try to run the present Excel in Windows Compatibility Mode taught by Microsoft Support.

Make older apps or programs compatible with Windows 10

Fix 2. Repair MS Office

When your Excel starts issues like crash, freezing, not responding, and like now closing itself automatically, you should be very careful with creating a new file because the file will be completely in danger of losing content. We advise you have a check on Word. See if the same problem happens to Word or other Office Suite like PowerPoint. If yes, then it's sure about the Microsoft Office issue and it needs repair.

• Open Programs and Features in Control Panel using a direct way: 

Press Windows +R keys and type appwiz.cpl and click OK

• Locate Microsoft Office among the list, right-click on it, and choose Change

• Select Quick Repair and click the Repair button

Fix 3. Repair Corrupted Excel Files

The Excel application may keep closing when you are opening and viewing a corrupted Excel workbook. Try to fix the damaged Excel files with a reliable file repair tool - Qiling file repair software. This file repair software enables you to repair corrupted Word, Excel, and PPT from Microsoft Office 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, & previous versions. 

• Free Download
• Windows 11/10/8/7, 100% Secure

Qiling file repair software allows you to repair multiple Office files at a single point in time. What's more, it still can fix corrupted PDF files and restore text, hyperlinks, forms, headers, footers, etc. Now, free download this file repair toolkit to fix any corrupted files quickly. 

Step 1. Launch Deep Data Recovery. Select file types and click "Next" to start.

Step 2. Then click "Scan" button to scan disk with corrupted documents. This software enables you to fix damaged Word, Excel, PPT, and PDF files in same steps. 

Step 3. Qiling data recovery and repair tool will scan for all lost and corrupted files. You can find the target files by file type or type the file name in the search box. 

Step 4. Deep Data Recovery can repair your damaged documents automatically. After file preview, you can click "Recover" to save the repaired Word, Excel, and PDF document files to a safe location.

Fix 4. Disable COM Add-ins

The COM add-ins are bad while editing on a large Excel file. It consumes memory a lot and easily causes genere issues in the Excel file to freeze and crash. So it's highly suggested to disable add-ins in Excel.

• In Excel, go to File> Options> Add-ins
• Choose COM Add-ins from the drop-down and click Go
• Uncheck all the checkboxes and click OK

Fix 5. Disable Conditional Formatting Rules

Did you use the Conditional Formatting Rules on some specific spreadsheets? The Conditional Formatting Rules are based on choosing a different color to highlight or differentiate information storage in a spreadsheet. If you're facing the Excel file closing automatically a few times only in a particular Excel spreadsheet, you can consider not using this feature at the moment, to check if the Excel file can work normally again.

• Under Home, click Conditional Formatting
• Choose Clear Rules
• Select Clear Rules from Entire Sheet
• Close and restart the Excel file again

Fix 6. Launch Excel in Safe Mode

If the previous four solutions are not in line with your case, and you're still in trouble, try to launch Excel in Safe Mode this time. If it's not the problem within the program, it might be some unknown startup processes are interrupting its performance. 

• Press Windows + R keys to bring up Run
• Type excel.exe /safe and hit Enter

How to Recover Unsaved Excel Files After Automatically Closing

Data loss is the most direct consequence brought by the problem - Microsoft Excel file closing automatically. The good side is that Microsoft Office has the ability to save your draft while editing in a recoverable folder. The autosave feature is usually turned on by default, unless you have disabled it by yourself, it's likely that you can recover an unsaved Excel file from the auto-recovery folder.

To recover unsaved Excel files from AutoRecover:

• Open a new Excel file in Windows
• Click File > Open > Recent Workbooks
• Then check the recently used Excel document and find the unsaved file due to a sudden Excel close

• Click Recover Unsaved Workbooks and wait to let the program recover your closed Excel file

• On the new pop up window telling you that there is a recovered file that is temporarily stored on your computer, click Save As to store the Excel as a new file to a safe location on your PC

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