Summary:
This article troubleshoots an error that occurs when using Report Designer in Excel.
Article Sections:
Symptoms:
When a user attempts to utilize Report Designer, they receive the following error message:
Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action.
Restarting Excel or restarting the computer does not resolve the issue.
Note: Resolutions in this article should only be carried out with the approval of your organization's IT. This is an issue with Excel, not with Report Designer. It is recommended to reach out to your organization's IT first so they can review the resolutions within this article and determine how best to proceed.
Causes:
If Excel issues a communication request to another application (Word for example), it does so using the OLE object and then waits for the response from the application. If the response does not arrive in the default time threshold, Excel will trigger the following warning to the end user: Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action.
Although the error message is always the same, there are multiple scenarios that can trigger it:
- With BI360 installed, embedding Excel into another Office product. When Excel is embedded, it will attempt to load the BI360 Add In, however embedded Excel files do not support Add Ins.
- Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) protocol is disabled from Excel’s settings.
- Corrupted Office installation. Some affected users have reported that the issue was resolved after re-installing or repairing the entire Office installation.
- Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker Add In is conflicting with Excel. There have been multiple reports of users who have been able to resolve the issue by disabling or uninstalling the PDFMaker plugin.
- Internet Explorer (IE) process is interfering with the DDE. This is typically reported to occur when the user tries to save a file in Microsoft Excel. In this case, the solution is to close the process manually.
Resolution:
- Upgrade to the latest version of BI360. As of version 4.6.608+, many of these issues have been addressed. This upgrade requires an update to all end users and should be coordinated with your IT.
- Disable any other Excel Add Ins that are enabled and not compatible with the Report Designer Add In.
- Review Excel options to ignore any applications that try to communicate with Excel using the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) protocol. Uncheck 'Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DD)' if it is enabled:
Properties:
BI360