Excel errors

Microsoft Excel is a powerful business tool. As such, one can do a lot wrong, but Excel errors always have a logical explanation and solution. Here are few examples.

Some users have found that Excel simply stops calculation a while after the calculation command was given, especially on large spreadsheets. When this happens, keep in mind that some of your calculation may require an iterative procedure. If this is the case, ensure that the “Iterations” box is ticked and that you have entered a number for the number of iterations; there should also be a value entered for acceptable convergence. You may also have to consider whether any of the cells have “divided by zero” errors, because this may also halt your calculations.

Another problem that is not uncommon is that a user tries to perform an operation in Excel, like formatting a cell, which is followed by an application termination – the normal Windows error to the effect that Excel has caused an error (usually in excel.exe) and will now close. This is a system file application error and may in most cases be fixed by upgrading to the latest service pack of the Microsoft Office version you are using.

If you start up your Excel and an error message pops up immediately, saying that there is a Visual Basic Runtime error with a number and a mention of a “type mismatch”, you should be able to debug. However, if the debug option is greyed out, your problem is most likely an add-in in a protected workbook. However, if you cannot open your spreadsheet, how do you fix the problem? Go to Tools – Addins and deselect the offending add-in.

These are only some of the examples of typical Excel errors that you may encounter. Rest assured that your problem may not be unique, and therefore someone has probably already formulated a solution for it.