If you have been experiencing issues with Microsoft Excel, running it in safe mode can help you isolate and troubleshoot the problems. Safe mode starts Excel without loading certain add-ins that might be causing issues. In this article, we will walk you through the steps to run Excel in safe mode.
Running Excel in Safe Mode on Windows
Follow these steps to start Excel in safe mode on a Windows operating system:
- Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
- In the Run dialog box, type in “excel /safe” (without quotes) and press Enter.
- If Excel successfully starts in safe mode, a dialog box will appear informing you that you are running the program in safe mode.
Running Excel in Safe Mode on Mac
Unfortunately, there is no official way to start Excel in safe mode on a Mac. However, you can try out the following workaround:
- Press the Command + Space keys on your keyboard to open Spotlight.
- Search for and open the Terminal application.
- In the Terminal, type in the following command and press Enter:
"/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Excel" -safe
Please note that the above path might vary depending on the version of Microsoft Office you are using.
Problems in Safe Mode?
If you continue experiencing issues in safe mode, it might be an indication of a more serious problem, such as corruption in your Excel program or files. In this case, it may be necessary to repair or reinstall Excel and/or Office.
Conclusion
Running Excel in safe mode is a great way to troubleshoot issues that you may have been experiencing. By disabling add-ins and other features, you can isolate the problem and find out if a certain feature or add-in is causing Excel to behave erratically. Remember to always keep your software updated to the latest version to avoid any potential issues.
