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Operating system is Win7 64-bit, Office is 2010 64-bit.

When I double-click a Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, doesnt' matter which) in Windows Explorer, Excel will open that file, but together with a blank workbook. I tried opening it by pressing ENTER, so it is not a mouse problem.

It is super annoying.

I searched and most solutions mention the XLSTART folder in AppData\Roaming, but for me this settings has never been used, the folder is empty with no hidden files. I tried removing the whole folder too, with no effect.

I tried launching the spreadsheet from commandline: Excel.exe "file.xls" and this launched Excel with only the file mentioned.

So I guess the problem lies in the file association. I tried changing the default program for .xlsx to something else, then switch back, but that has no effect.

I also tried using Office repair, but that's useless too.

How can I fix this problem?

KC Wong
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  • I have the exact same problem, but with Office 2017 and Windows 10. Tried the same things as you. So annoying. Did you ever find a fix? – Ben Mills Sep 29 '17 at 15:24
  • @BenMills @KCWong If you open a file from within Excel, does this ghost window appear? Does the window have a menu and ribbon ? Are you using any add-ins ? Can you find another `XLSTART` folder inside `C:\Program Files` ? Eg. for Office 2013, we have `C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 15\root\office15\XLSTART`. You can confirm if this is caused by add-ins by starting Excel in safe mode to disable them: `excel.exe /s`. – Amit Naidu Mar 21 '18 at 17:47

1 Answers1

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This might help you:

  1. Open Excel, go to FILE > Options > Add-Ins;
  2. In Manage, choose COM Add-Ins and click in Go...;
  3. Disable third-party Add-Ins.

In my case, it was necessary to just disable MySQL for Excel.

I hope it works for you too.

L. Sobrinho
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