USING TODAY() WITH SHAREPOINT AND EXCEL, AND "OPENED WITH DESKTOP", TODAY() NOT UPDATING

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USING TODAY() WITH SHAREPOINT AND EXCEL, AND "OPENED WITH DESKTOP", TODAY() NOT UPDATING

BrainStain00 5

Using "Open in Desktop" for sole purpose of being able to use 'Full Screen mode" to have a Professional look on a large screen monitor.

All or most of my Excel program is working, but since I must run this in Desktop mode for Full Screen, the TODAY() function Im needing to run 90% of my programs features, won't UPDATE DAILY, I have to be in there to REFRESH it or something.

This program I made looks like a Barchart, tracking the STATUS of 4 different phases in each job.

The program stays open 24/7, and is not meant to go in there daily unless Im entering a new job. Have tried a few suggestions but none work to UPDATE TODAY().

I understand to update TODAY, the file either needs to be opened, or a calculation needs to take action. Since it STAYS open, and not meant for continuous opening, I dont know how else to trigger the TODAY feature.

(image attached)

I-bar Status Report Today

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Answer 1

Chen Tran 5,090 Independent Advisor

Hello BrainStain,

Thank you for posting question on Microsoft Windows Forum.

Based on the issue description. It probably makes sense why you are running into this. Excel is designed to be "reactive". It calculates when you are actively working in it or when you first open the file. Since your dashboard stays open 24/7, Excel essentially "goes to sleep" regarding its calendar functions because nothing is triggering a recalculation. As a result, you might need a way to force Excel to "wake up" and check the date once a day.

The following are 2 suggestions you can try.

1.Using Windows Task Scheduler for Workaround.

you can force the file to "restart" itself every night using Windows. Try to create a small "Kill Excel" batch file (using Notepad) that closes Excel at 11:59 PM. Use Windows Task Scheduler to: Task A: Close Excel at 11:59 PM and Task B: Open your specific Excel file at 12:01 AM. Because the file is "Opening," the TODAY() function will grab the new date immediately.

2.Using Power Query For Background Refresh.

If your status bars are driven by data tables, you can use Power Query to force a refresh on a timer. Go to the Data tab > Queries & Connections. Right-click your data source/query and select Properties. Check the box for Refresh every [X] minutes. Set it to 1440 minutes (which is 24 hours), or even every 60 minutes just to be safe. Every time the data refreshes, the TODAY() function will update as well.

Hope the above information is helpful! If it is. Free feel to hit "Accepted" for benefitting others in community having the same issue too.

BrainStain00 5 Reputation points

2025-12-17T20:26:26.48+00:00

Thanks for the ideas, so my response to those are:

What will the batch file restart, the Excel in SharePoint, or the Open in Desktop that the Excel in SharePoint started? and by restart, is that the Batch file you refer to?

Do you mean reOpen or reStart, is it reStarting by waking up the sleeping version, or completely reOpening it since thats one of the things Excel does is calculating things.

Related to that, is the Open in Desktop a create on-the-fly file, because when I created this, it was made in SharePoint Excel, and if changes are made to it, will those changes be made in Desktop, and will those changes be recognized by SharePoint to tell the next Open in Desktop next time to work again and each time, since by my opinion, that Desktop version is a Ghost file, since it was never used to create the Online file, and its made/transferred to my Desktop by clicking that button. If it gets deleted, does the Online version make another of itself?

The Desktop version is where I tried your second option from an online search, which was similar to what you're talking about, using the Properties of that Table, I changed it to 1 minute for testing. It did change a small formula with "NOW" to watch it work, and I left it going overnight to see if that would wake up TODAY, but it did not.

Since that effort was developed in the Open in Desktop version, and it primarily is the one running 24/7, which TODAY was supposed to change dates, the Desktop or the Online version, because I dont thing either changed dates.

Ive looked at the Online Table "Properties" which was less detailed than the Desktop version, and didnt have an update option other than maybe Update upon opening the file, which never closes, so I was really limited there.

Please dont forget my question about does/is the Desktop a ghost version, or how is it created? and are these 2 options you refer to working on the Desktop version, and does it turn around and make adjustments to the online version, such as Opening and Closing?

I looked in my Calendar and only saw a minor comment about assigning tasks, and have never used that before, I guess there are lots of examples online about creating a batch file, of which I have made many, just not about starting a program, but I really have to be "IN" the Sharepoint version, to be able to click on the button to Start the Desktop version, right, because I dont start the Desktop first and expect it to go find the Online version, which it reads from the Online version to be in the background while the Desktop is being displayed 24/7.

So one of these TWINS gets its Date correct, does it tell the other one to now wake up because it woke up?

Theres so many other question about the relation between the two that I'll wait to ask.
BrainStain00 5 Reputation points

2025-12-17T20:40:56.58+00:00

In a related question about there being TWINS, the Online version and the Desktop version talking to the Online version. These two files are not at my desk, they are out in the Shop and the screen is up on two walls for anyone to check that jobs Status, and is using a separate computer to run the second set of TWINS.

The origination of this Online file was created at my desk, and when a Desktop version is opened from my desk, it opens at my desk. The computer out in the shop opens the Online version switching to the Desktop version out at the Big Screen using the computer out there, and the resolution of the Big Screen is of course different, even while viewing the Online version compared to the Desktop version, and its very hard to tweak one to match the other, and Im just talking about the two TWINS out in the shop, is different than the TWINS at my desk.

So here's a Family Affair question, should I not make changes to the Online version or Desktop version at my desk and hope it could work the same as the Twins in the Shop? I created a Monthly Bar that scrolls across the screen matching the Bar Charts below it, and they never seem to Match good enough between each set of TWINS to the Red Vertical line to help tie the Monthly bar to the lower Bar charts, but pretty close.
BrainStain00 5 Reputation points

2025-12-17T21:16:00.7433333+00:00

A question about the Windows Task Scheduler, does the computer need to be ON and running for the Task Scheduler to work? I assume it does, and if so, I possibly cant use that option, because we've been given strict orders to at least put our computers in "Lock" mode when going home, since we've been hacked before costing us a large sum of money, huge.

Since my computer is not used by our AI-Bot at night, it means I have to be here to do the Excel reStart (or reOpen) to wake up the TODAY() feature in that Status Report file, which takes away from it being an Automated working Status Report tool.

Oh well, looks like Robots wont replace us if we have to be here to wake them up, lol.

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USING TODAY() WITH SHAREPOINT AND EXCEL, AND "OPENED WITH DESKTOP", TODAY() NOT UPDATING

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