Delay execution while cell is being edited

When a user is actively editing a cell, some add-in operations may fail immediately. Use the delayForCellEdit option to queue the batch until the user exits cell edit mode instead of throwing an error.

Excel.run has an overload that takes an Excel.RunOptions object. It supports the following property relevant to this scenario.

• delayForCellEdit: When true, Excel queues the batch until the user exits cell edit mode. When false, the batch fails immediately if the user is editing. The default value is false.

Behavior comparison

User editing?	delayForCellEdit = false (default)	delayForCellEdit = true
No	Batch runs immediately	Batch runs immediately
Yes	Batch fails (InvalidOperation error)	Batch waits; then runs after edit is committed or canceled

Example

await Excel.run({ delayForCellEdit: true }, async (context) => {
  const sheet = context.workbook.worksheets.getActiveWorksheet();
  const range = sheet.getRange("A1");
  range.values = [["Updated while user was editing elsewhere"]];
  await context.sync();
});

Guidance

• Use delayForCellEdit only when user-initiated commands may overlap active cell editing, such as with a ribbon button that triggers a bulk update.
• Consider showing a status indicator in your add-in if queued work may be lengthy.
• Avoid chaining multiple long-running delayed batches. This creates a perceived lag for your users.

Next steps

Explore related user-state strategies in Events, such as reacting to selection changes, and combine with delayForCellEdit to improve your add-in's robustness.