Excel 2013 slow when Cell Editing

Question

In Excel 2013 (on windows 7), when I select a cell & type something, most of the time it makes the computer very slow for few seconds, and takes time to display entered text in the cell.

• Tried disabling all Com Add-ins, but no avail.
• Tried opening the Excel in safe mode using Excel /safe command then it works fine.

What could be the reason causing this issue?

Answer 1

I had similar experience on low spec PC (P4@3Ghz).

Try disable animations:

1. WIN+R
2. Type regeditand hit Enter
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common
4. Look for Graphics folder (if is missing, create it)
5. Open this folder (graphics) and create new DWORD(32bit) named DisableAnimations and set value to 1

OR copy

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Common\Graphics]
"DisableAnimations"=dword:00000001

to Notepad a save as *.reg and then apply by doubleclick on this *.reg file

AND (optionally)

In Excel go to Preferences-advanced and disable HW acceleration

Answer 2

There maybe some macro running at background. Even there is no com addin show, excel may also load the addin at background. Also check whether you have some auto added or hided sheet?

Answer 3

Some common issues that can really slow down an excel-spread sheet are:

• Size (columns by rows) ( if you accidentally navigate to say cell: F1048576 and add a value or format to the cell, excel will think your spreadsheet has millions of cells )
• Formatting, conditional formatting (When using conditional formatting, if you delete lines, or copy and paste values between unrelated columns it also copies the conditional formatting making the conditional-rule a little more complicated.
• macros that are running. **( hint: **esc OR Ctrl + Break to terminate macro )
• Hidden rows If you have ALL rows hidden after 8000 ( for example ) and you select a whole column, this can often lag the spread-sheet.

Does this problem persist on newly created spread-sheets? Have you tried to remove excel from your computer and re-add it? Perhaps it is time to reformat your computer -- or to buy a newer computer that meets the minimum requirements.

Online/ Web-App Alternative:

• Try https://office.live.com/start/Excel.aspx
• google-drive "google sheets," (I think it is the better option for spreadsheets in-terms of speed & functionality.)
• Or Zoho.com there is a spread-sheet webapp

Answer 4

I had the same problem. Totally ruined my mood each time.

1. Press Windows-Key+U for Ease of Access Center.
2. Go to "Use computer without a display"
3. check the box "Turn off all unnecessary animations (when possible)"

I believe that's what I used. But here are some more ideas on this forum: Link to forum.

Fix 2:

Try disabling Hardware Acceleration in Display Settings.

Answer 5

Excel recalculates everything each time time you enter data in a field. If your sheet has too many or too complex calculations, it will take a lot of time everytime.

Check how long a recalculation of your sheet takes:
Hit F9 and see if there is a noticable time until it's done (in the status line, percentages are counting to 100 or such).

If there is such a delay, you can either

• switch off instant calculation (on the Formula tab, right side under Calculations). This will solve your issue, but you will need to remember to hit F9 every time you want the calculations done; otherwise, you will see stale data / outdated results
• find out what exactly takes so long, and rewrite the formulas to be faster, or remove some
• tell Excel to use all available cores (under Options/Advanced)
• get a faster computer...

Answer 6

Easily resolve the problem with this short answer:

File > Options > Advanced > Under (Display) Section > Turn On (Disable hardware graphics acceleration)

Source