Why Is Excel 2007 Navigation Slow When a Linked Word Document Is Open?

Slow computations can hinder you from finishing your report.

Linking Microsoft Word and Excel documents gives you the power to explain your spreadsheet using Word features. However, this linkage can cause Excel to run like molasses in wintertime. You can try a few things to bring Excel back to normal.

Linking vs. Embedding

When you link files in Excel, Word is lurking in the background. Every time you perform an Excel function, the program checks to see how it impacts Word. Instead of linking the file, embed it. While the initial file will be larger, the program will run faster. If you update the Word file, it will not be updated in Excel.

Memory

Computers have a finite amount of memory. When you open an Excel file linked to a Word document, the computer's operating system swaps memory back and forth between the two programs so you can run them together. You can upgrade your computer's memory to make Excel run faster.

AutoSave

AutoSave is turned on by default for Excel and Word. AutoSave saves files every few minutes in case the computer experiences a sudden power loss so you can recover documents. Turn off AutoSave in both programs to speed up Excel.

References

• MSDN: Linking and Embedding
• Microsoft Office: Automatically Save and Recover Office Files

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Excel 2007 Help and How-to