Solved Excel spreadsheets slow to open from File Explorer

If I open a spreadsheet by selecting it from within Excel, say by choosing it from the Recent or Pinned list, it pops right up. Bang!

If I double-click a spreadsheet in File Explorer (which I do a lot), there's a 5 to 10 second lag before it opens. This delay isn't related to whether it's a complex or simple spreadsheet - pretty much constant for them all.

This behavior just started maybe a week or so ago.

Ideas, anyone?

Bump.
Anybody got a good idea?

What version of office do you use? I'm on Office 2007 and not seeing this issue.

Also, what build are you on?

Office 2021. Not 365. Installed two months ago when the computer was new. 22621.1265.

This behavior started maybe two weeks ago.

Im also using 2021. Disabling addins and COM addins that you dont use may be a good place to start. I went one step further and also opted out of all the diagnostic feedback options in Privacy. What I noticed was the launch time for Excel had sped up quite a bit.

If your workbook is pulling data from another file, web site etc that can cause a delay. Does this workbook use any macros? Does this problem happen with all workbooks or just one?

All spreadsheets. No macros or external links. Some of them are really simple and small. They are just as slow to load as the multi-worksheet ones with a lot of calculations. The puzzling thing is that the exact same spreadsheets open quickly if you open them from within Excel. They are only slow if you double click them in File Explorer.

From Explorer, does it matter from which folder(s) you open them from? If you place the workbook in a different folder is there any difference? Are the files stored in folders that sync to an online account such as OneDrive, DropBox etc?

Well...
Puzzling...

I've been opening spreadsheets from inside Excel since the first post. Who knows, at least 8 or 10 power cycles since then. Just now, I opened half a dozen, all from different folders, by double clicking in File Explorer. And they all opened in just a second or two. Maybe something just got wadded up and is now unwadded due to a power cycle.

And no, the folders are all local only, not synched to Google Drive (and I have disabled OneDrive).

Go figure.

Thats great news! Be nice to know what caused it in case someone else has the problem. But at least it cleared up for you.

What build of Windows were you on as I am not sure if this is related or not since it might really be file(s) and file explorer has a issue.

Almighty1 said:

What build of Windows were you on as I am not sure if this is related or not since it might really be file(s) and file explorer has a issue.

Microsoft finally fixes annoying Windows 11 file copying bug

Moment 2 update will work its magic to cure sluggish copying of large files

www.techradar.com

Click to expand...

See post #4

Buddy said:

See post #4

Click to expand...

You are on 22621.1265 which is Windows 11 22H2 (Production Release) – that had an availability date of February 14, 2023 and basically the article I linked which involves File Explorer being slow with copying files was fixed in KB5022913 which is 22621.1344 so trying it is one way to see if it fixes it or not.

@Almighty1 Thanks a bunch. For now, I think I'll leave well enough alone, since it's behaving at the moment. I'll keep the update in mind if it returns.

@Buddy - I guess the other way is since KB5022913 is a preview, when the next official released update for Windows is out, you can see if the problem still remains provided the build is 22621.1344 or later.