Why Does Excel Open on Startup – How to Stop It? [SOLVED]

Ever wondered why Excel pops up on the startup screen every time you sign in to your computer? It can be due to various reasons, including Windows default settings, Excel file associations, or even user preferences.

Even though this setting is useful for some users as it allows them to begin working from where they left off, it might be unnecessary or a cause of irritation for most people.

In this guide, we will investigate all the reasons in depth as to why Excel opens up on startup and how you can stop this configuration. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Why Does Excel Open on Startup?

Let’s look into the reasons that might be causing your Excel application to open up on startup.

Windows Automatic Setup

If you use Windows 10, you are more likely to face this problem. Windows 10 recently launched a new feature that automatically opens up the apps that were being used on the computer in the last session.

This means if you were using MS Office apps like Excel or Word previously, Windows will open it for you automatically when you start your computer.

Windows normally has this feature turned off by default, so if Excel opens up due to Windows settings, it must be because someone you share the your computer with has turned it on using your account.

Not Shutting Excel Off Properly

Often we overlook the correct procedure of closing our applications and devices due to time constraints. If you were working on Excel in the last session and did not close the application properly, it is possible that Excel opened on the startup due to that.

Macros Or Excel Add-ins

If you have any add-ins or macros added, your Excel application might be showing up because of that. Wonder how?

If you have installed an add-in that is set to execute on startup, Excel will launch on the startup screen to run these add-ins. These are custom functionalities and can easily be modified in the application.

Startup Application

If you use Windows, it is possible that an application or service is running in the background that is causing Excel to launch on the startup screen. This can be fixed by checking the applications that are set to launch under the Startup tab in Task Manager.

Default Program

Another reason why Excel may open up on the startup screen is if you access particular file types immediately after startup while Excel is set as the default app for these file types. These can be XLSX, CSV, XLM, or others. Opening the associated files will open Excel as well.

User Preferences

Excel offers a feature that lets you launch specific files automatically at startup. This makes working convenient for people who want to begin working as soon as they log in to their computer.

This might be the case if you share your computer with another person, and they might have enabled this feature without your knowledge. Before you do anything to disable this feature, make sure to let them know.

Auto-Recover

MS Excel might pop up on startup if you have enabled the Auto-Recover feature of Excel. It will launch the app to save any files that you were working on during the last session and were not saved to the computer.

How to Stop Excel From Launching on a Startup?

If you don’t want Excel to pop up on the startup screen, you can stop that from happening. We have explained all the techniques below that will help you stop Excel from opening on startup.

Reset the Windows Settings

If Excel opens up on your startup screen due to Windows default app reopening settings, you can easily turn it off.

To do that,

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard or click on the Windows icon at the bottom left corner.
2. Click on the Settings icon under START.

3. The Settings landing page will appear.
4. Select Accounts > Sign–in options.

5. Scroll down and turn off the “Automatically save my restart-able apps when I sign out and restart them after I sign in” option under Restart apps.
6. Under Privacy, toggle the “Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up my device and reopen my apps after an update or restart” option.

Now that you’ve updated the settings, Windows will not open Excel or your last-used application on startup until you toggle the setting again. Pretty cool, right?

COMMENT

The Restart Apps option lets you control if you want the previously opened application to appear on startup or not. The Privacy option, on the other hand, uses your sign-in information to reopen the apps that were open in the previous session before a system update or restart.

Both these apps are user-specific and apply to an individual account. This means if two people use a computer, and person A toggles the Restart Apps option, Windows will reopen the previous applications only for person A when he logs in.

It will in no way affect the experience of person B. Both options are turned off by default in Windows so you can have full control over your privacy.

Close Excel Using Task Manager

If Excel pops up on your launch screen because you didn’t shut it down properly in the last session, here’s how you can fix it in seconds.

To do that.

1. Move your cursor down to the Task Manager (the bar at the bottom of the screen containing icons like File Explorer and Chrome, etc.)
2. Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager from the options.

3. A small Task Manager dialog box will appear on the screen.

4. Select Excel from the list of apps open on the screen.

5. Click on the End task button given at the bottom

And it’s done! Task Manager will shut down the Excel app instantly.

Easy, right?

Disable Excel Add-ins

MS Excel might be popping up on your startup screen if you have set a certain add-in to launch on the startup screen. This method is slightly more time taking than the ones we saw above, but it is just as effective.

Curious to know how? Read on.

To disable Excel add-ins,

1. Go to Excel and launch the application.
2. Click on File from the ribbon and select Options.

The Excel Options dialog box will appear on the screen.

3. Click on Add–ins from the options.
4. Next to Manage, select the type of Add-ins you want to disable, Excel or COM add-ins, and press Go.

5. A small Add-ins dialog box will appear.
6. Checkmark the add-ins you want to disable and press Ok.

7. Close Excel and launch it again to apply the changes.

Ta-da, it’s done. The selected add-in is now disabled and will not cause Excel to open up on the startup screen anymore.

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

Disable Startup Application

It is possible that MS Excel might be popping up on your screen because of a certain application or service running in your background. But how do you know which application is the cause of this unprompted opening?

Let’s find out below.

1. Move your cursor to the taskbar and right-click it.
2. Select Task Manager from the options.

3. The Task Manager dialog box will appear.
4. Click on More Options at the bottom.

A number of tabs will appear on the dialog box.

5. Select the Startup tab from above.

6. Check all the apps to see which one is causing Excel to launch on Startup.
7. To disable any app, just select it and press the Disable button given at the bottom.

The selected app will be disabled to run on the startup of the computer, hence closing the abrupt launch of Excel.

There, done and dusted!

Remove Excel as Default Program

If you open a file with an extension of CSV, XLSX, or others, they will launch Excel if it is set as the default program for accessing such file types. An easy way to fix this is to change the default program for opening certain file types.

Let’s see how to do that below.

1. Find the file that you want to change the default program for.
2. Right-click the file, and from the drop-down menu, select Open with.
3. Click on Choose Another App.

4. A small dialog box will appear.
5. Click on More Apps.

A couple more applications will pop up in the dialog box.

6. Select the application you want to set as your default program.
7. Click on the “Always use this app to open .xlsx files.”
8. Press Ok.

The selected application will now become the default program for that file type and will open whenever you access a similar file type. This means Excel will not pop open when you launch this file type.

TIP!

If you ever want to change the default program settings back to Excel, use the same process as above. Right-click the file > Open with > Excel, and it's done.

Pretty cool, no?

Change User Preferences

If you think another user besides you has set certain files in Excel to open at startup, worry not – you can change this setting. But before that, make sure to inform the person who shares your computer.

To changes user preferences of opening Excel at startup,

1. Go to Excel
2.  Click on File from the ribbon > Options.

3. Select Advanced from the options.
4. Scroll down to the bottom.
5. Under General, check if there is any path entry in the “At startup, open all files in” bar.

6. If there is any entry, select it and press the Backspace key on your keyboard.

This will delete the path of the file that Excel was set to open on startup. Restart Excel and boom! Excel will now not open up when you start your computer.

Turn Off Excel Auto Recover Feature

If MS Excel appears on your startup screen to recover an unsaved file from the last session, then this method is for you. All you need to do is turn off the Auto Recover feature of Excel.

To do that,

1. Launch Excel.
2. Go to File from the ribbon > Options.

3. Select Save from the options.
4. Under Save Workbooks, uncheck the option Save AutoRecover information every ___ minutes.

5. Press Ok.

This will turn off the AutoRecover feature, hence stopping Excel from opening up after the last session.

Conclusion

In this guide, we saw all the reasons why Excel may open up on the startup screen and how you can stop it. Some reasons include user preferences, add-ins, and system settings, while solutions include turning off add-ins, unchecking the sign-in options, removing the directory path, and more.

The most common reason is not shutting Excel off properly before logging out.

Did you find out what error was causing Excel to open on your startup screen? If not, then what are you waiting for?

Try all the methods above and see which one fits your situation best.