Every day we work with a good number of programs on our computers, generally based on Windows 10. In these we ask for stability and functionality, especially in the most used ones such as Word, Photoshop, Chrome, Excel , etc.
And it is that to a large extent our work depends on it, on the correct functioning of all the software that we use. Here a multitude of titles come into play, some more popular than others, all depending on the needs or types of use of each user. Whether they are paid or free, this stability in working with the installed programs is essential.
It is for all this that in these same lines we are going to focus on one of the most popular and used worldwide, such as Microsoft‘s Excel . This is an application that, as many of you will already know first-hand, focuses on creating spreadsheets. For those of you who don’t know it too much, we will tell you that it is part of Microsoft’s popular office suite, Office . It has a series of programs that it integrates by default, among which is the one we have just mentioned. It presents us with a huge number of functions and is valid for all types of environments and users. Here we mean that this program is equally very useful both in corporate environments and for the end user.
Therefore we could say that this is a software solution that focuses on working with numerical data through spreadsheets that we generate. In order to make things much easier for us, Microsoft here uses a user interface packed with independent cells. To say that this is one of the best ways that we are going to find when working with the data and data calculations that we are introducing in our projects.
To say that this is also a program puts at our disposal a huge number of functions and very helpful formulas. The performance that we can get from the application will depend to a large extent on the previous knowledge we have of Excel or on how much we are going to delve into everything it presents.
Basic Excel Errors and How to Fix Them
Once we are faced with the well-known cell-based interface that we find here, then what we have to do is start by filling them with our own numerical data. These will complement perfectly with all the formulas that we find to obtain the results we want. Here the combinations are endless and we can carry out all kinds of jobs.
The complexity of them, as we mentioned before, will largely depend on how much we delve into the program. However, be that as it may, we are probably going to find a series of bugs in basic tasks that in principle can be scary, but that are easy to solve, as we will see.
Error opening a file in Excel
This is a program that is compatible with a huge number of files, but of course, all of them based on working with spreadsheets or similar. At first, what we will not be able to do is open photos or videos, for example. The most common in these cases is to open the program’s native file formats, which are XLS and XLSX .
At the same time from the beginning we can open, for example, macro files, templates or plain text. At the same time, it is interesting to know that later, once the document itself is created, we will be able to insert photos or videos, among many other content, into it.
Common failures when printing a project
As is usual in Windows programs, something that also affects the corresponding Office programs, here we can print the work from the Ctrl + P key combination. This leads to the usual screen dedicated to it. But of course, here, to avoid errors, the first thing we must do is choose the printer that we have connected to the PC from the Printer section.
At the same time, you have to know that a spreadsheet has nothing to do, for example, with a Word text document. That is why we recommend here to take a look at the link at the bottom of this window, called Page Setup.
Here we will find a large number of parameters to take into account that help us to personalize the printing based on our needs. Here factors such as the type of design of the sheet, its orientation, the way in which we want to reflect it on the paper, etc. come into play.
Excel won’t open, product key is missing
As with Windows 10 itself and many of Microsoft’s own applications, these are paid. That is why in order to use them properly and taking advantage of all their functions, we will first need a password of our own. This is the one that is provided to us after paying the corresponding license . Therefore, if we do not have one, although we have been able to download the program, it does not open on the PC.
At that moment a new window may appear that informs us of all this, so this is something that has an easy solution. And it is that either we acquire a license for the latest version of Office, or we subscribe to the Office 365 service. That will depend on the needs of each one.
The program is constantly crashing
It may also be the case that we are working with Excel as usual, but suddenly the application freezes and does not respond. This is something that usually affects the cells, menus and other components of the application as such. In fact, we may not even be able to close it. Well, if necessary, the first thing we will do is close it, one way or another. If we can’t do it by the traditional method, we will have to force it. This is something that we achieve from the Task Manager , which we access through the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination.
In the new window that appears, we look for the process of the program itself to right-click on it, and finish the task. But in the event that we see that this is something that is repeated after restarting the program, the problem goes further. Therefore, the application crash to which we refer can be given for many reasons. This could be due to a plugin that we have installed and gives problems, a bad configuration of the program, incompatibilities, etc. Therefore, at this point, what we recommend is that you run Excel in safe mode. This way we will have the possibility to eliminate those add-ons added or change the latest settings.
Achieving this that we discussed is easier than it seems at first. And it is that when executing the program in this safe mode, we load it with its default configuration and without added elements. Therefore, to carry out this, it is enough that we double click on the program icon while holding down the Ctrl key at the same time.
I cannot open Excel, the program is not responding
More serious is already when the Microsoft program is not opened in any way, neither by conventional nor with safe mode. This is probably due to an internal problem or a file that for whatever reason has been corrupted. This means that the application as such simply does not work, no matter how many adjustments we make. In this case we do not have to despair either, we also have a solution .
This is something that we fix through the Windows 10 Configuration application, which we access with the Win + I key combination. After that, we go to Applications and we go to Applications and features. In the right panel of the window there is a list with what we have installed, so we have to locate Office. Once on the screen, click on the Modify button in this specific section. At that moment the application is executed as such and it shows us a new window that is part of the repair wizard.
Here we will see that several options appear and one of them is Repair where we click so that the suite tries to solve its internal problems. All this process is carried out automatically and should solve the problem we have in Excel.
The most common Excel mistakes when using data and formulas
On the other hand, once the most basic problems with the spreadsheet program have been solved, we cannot ignore those that we can find in its use. With this we refer to the most common failures that we can find related to the treatment of data and formulas in it. This is precisely what we will talk about next. In fact, I’m sure that some of the Excel regulars will be more than familiar. At the same time, for those not very knowledgeable about the program, it is sure to help to know its nature.
Error # VALUE!
When we find this fault in an Excel cell, the program is telling us that it has detected spaces or characters within a formula. This is an error because we should instead enter numeric data, which is what Excel expects. Therefore, what we do here is to review the formula entered to eliminate the excess characters and make sure that we have used numbers. We can find the same thing if there are blank cells that prevent the indicated operation.
Error # NULL!
This is a bug we encounter when Excel is looking for or expects a numeric value to return the result of a formula, but finds an empty space. In most cases, this occurs because we have poorly defined ranges entered within an operation, since they do not call the cells with their corresponding data. Therefore now we only have to correctly define these ranges to solve it.
Error #####
This failure to which we refer now is one of the most common that we will find in the Redmond program. And it is that at the moment in which we find this series of characters, #####, it means that the column is not wide enough. That is, the space of this element is too small for us to see on the screen the value entered here, or the result obtained. Therefore, as you can imagine, the solution is simple, just drag the head of the column to increase its width. This is something we can achieve automatically by double clicking on that same separation.
Error # NAME?
When this message appears in our spreadsheet, it means that Excel cannot understand the name of the formula that we have entered. At the same time, it can also be the case that the program cannot calculate some of its values. In short, something is wrongly defined in the formula we are trying to execute in this case. Therefore, the best we can do here is to verify the composition of the formula, both in its initial nomenclature, and in its structure.
Error # DIV / 0!
On the other hand, in the event that we suddenly run into the # DIV / 0! Error, we are trying to divide an Excel formula by zero or by an empty cell. This is something similar to what a conventional calculator shows us when we try to do this same operation. To solve it therefore, we only have to change the value of the cell to a value that is not 0.
Error # NUM!
It can also be the case that the calculations we carry out in Excel are too extensive in terms of the number of numbers in the result. This means that on the assumption that the formulas return values much larger than what the program can display. It returns this error to us. To solve this, in most cases we will have to make sure that we are not calling in a loop mode a function that generates too long numbers .
Error # REF!
This is something that usually occurs in the Microsoft program when deleting a row or column that was part of the formula we are working with. Therefore, the function previously defined and that called that specific content , can no longer do the calculation, so it returns this error that we comment on. As a solution to all this we only have to verify the ranges to which the formula refers and see that they still contain data or exist.