Keep Excel from opening new instance

[Guest]

I have Excel 202 and with a dozen or two open programs sometimes forget I
have excel open and press the Excel icon on my taskbar. If it was Word it
would open a new file for me to start writing, but Excel opens a new window,
tells me it is in use and can open as read only. I have to tell it to
cancel, at which time it continues to open. Then I have to close it and
click on the file I have open.
HOW can I either get Excel to behave like Word or get it to not even bother
opening like that.

 

[Dave Peterson]

Sometimes one of these works:

Tools|Options|General|Ignore other applications (uncheck it)

--- or ---

Close Excel and
Windows Start Button|Run
excel /unregserver
then
Windows Start Button|Run
excel /regserver

The /unregserver & /regserver stuff resets the windows registry to excel's
factory defaults.

 

[Guest]

First one didn't work.
Doubt that the second one will, because these seem to be the factory
defaults. I've always had this problem, had it when I temporarily loaded it
on a borrowed computer while my hard drive was being replaced, and have it
again now that it is reinstalled on my new hard drive. I kept thinking the
updates would fix it, but they don't.

 

[Dave Peterson]

Won't take too long to find out if the second works.

 

[Guest]

does that reset anything else about excel? I am tired of putting the
toolbars back in usable condition after each install, user name or anything
else.

 

[Dave Peterson]

I've done a few times and it's never affected my toolbars or my username or
anything else I can remember.

As a tip, search for *.xlb file--where excel stores custom changes to toolbars.
If you ever have to restore the toolbar, you can just plop the backup copy of
*.xlb into its real location. (Although, I don't think that excel wipe out that
toolbar on a simple re-install, either.)

does that reset anything else about excel? I am tired of putting the
toolbars back in usable condition after each install, user name or anything
else.

 

[Guest]

There is no "regserver" file on my computer.

I've done a few times and it's never affected my toolbars or my username or
anything else I can remember.

As a tip, search for *.xlb file--where excel stores custom changes to toolbars.
If you ever have to restore the toolbar, you can just plop the backup copy of
*.xlb into its real location. (Although, I don't think that excel wipe out that
toolbar on a simple re-install, either.)

 

[Dave Peterson]

/regserver is a parameter that you pass to excel.exe.

I suggested:

Close Excel and
Windows Start Button|Run
excel /unregserver
then
Windows Start Button|Run
excel /regserver

There is no "regserver" file on my computer.