Cannot edit cells in Excel

Question

Split from this thread.

I'm having issues updating a spreadsheet with several open.  I cannot edit any cells.  That offeding add-in is not running.

Answer 1

Hi Financial User,

There could be several reasons if you cannot edit cells in Excel. To troubleshot it, here are suggestions:

1. Save the spreadsheet first, close and reopen it
2. Check if you disabled "allow editing directly in cells". Here's how:

       a. Select File > Options > Select Advancedfrom the Excel menu bar.

        b. On Editing options, ensure that the check box Allow editing directly in cells is checked.

3. Check if the spreadsheet is protected. You can double click the cells in spreadsheet to see if there is any message or click view>under Protect and check if the sheet or workbook is protected. (the screenshot below show status when the sheet or workbook is not protected)

If suggestions above don’t help you out, for further troubleshooting, could you please share information below with us?

1. Can you edit in a newly created workbook?
2. Is the issue intermittent and affect all workbooks?
3. You mentioned that the issue happens when you open several spreadsheets, If you open a single spreadsheet, can you edit in cells in it?
4. If it convenient to you, could you please share us a video that record the issue?

Regards,

Clark

Answer 2

None of these steps helps.   I've had ongoing issues when multiple spreadsheets are open.  Once I close one of them, it starts working o.k.  Today I have the problem where I can navigate to different cells but they don't highlight until I go to another spreadsheet and come back.

Answer 3

Hi Financial User,

Thanks for your updates, it seems that you can edit your spreadsheet if you close one of them but cannot edit cells when multiple spreadsheets are open. To avoid the issue temporarily, please don’t open too many spreadsheets at the same time. To try to help you fix the issue, I suggest you run Office Online repair to repair your Office application. Please follow steps in this article to do so:  Repair an Office application.

If online repair doesn’t solve the issue, I appreciate it if you can share us with information that we need in my last reply for troubleshooting. Besides, does the issue happen if you open multiply simple workbooks without external link data or pivot table? We will know the issue and your environment better if you can provide this information in detail.

Best Regards,

Clark

Answer 4

I only have three to five workbooks open with no external links.  These have been an ongoing issuesfor years.  I've run repair many times and completely uninstalled are reinstalled Office several times.  This is now happening on my third computer.  Therefore, I believe it may have something to do with Excel itself.

Answer 5

Hi Financial User,

Thanks for your updates. I find a thread that reports there is an issue when opening a few spreadsheets at the same time under Office for Excel version 16.0.11328.20392. I noticed that you have the similar Version of word with him. 16.0.11328.20392 which is not the latest version of Office. The issue can be fixed by latest Office Updates. I suggest you update Office client by click File>Account>update now and check if the issue happens again. For more information on Update history for Office 365 ProPlus, click Update history for Office 365 ProPlus (listed by date)

Information you shared with me helps us know better on your environment. I need it because I want to figure out if the issue is related to specific workbooks or Office suite. And I need the issue screenshot or repro video to know without misunderstanding about what the symptom is. With this information, I can try my best to troubleshoot the issue. Appreciate your understanding on it. Information below is needed:

1.     You mentioned that “once I close one of them, it starts working OK”, does the issue always happen when specific workbook open and disappear after it is closed?

2.     Can you edit in a newly created workbook when open those “three to five workbooks”?

Regards,

Clark