Slooow Update Links in MS Excel 2002 (VBA/MS Excel/2002)

Topic

New Reply

For a while I have been working on a project in MS Excel 97 running under Win95. There are a number of XL templates that are used to generate reports that the user completes substantial data entry and then prints the report.

The client has migrated to MS Windows XP Pro and Office XP. Except for a couple of small changes the code worked fine.

The real problem is the unbelievable long time that any new file created by selecting a template takes to update its links. Whereas, before the links would update after the dialog box appeared and the user clicked ‘Yes’ and the update took 5 seconds, now, under Office XP a user clicks the ‘Update’ button and the same process seems to go into hibernation mode and takes around 3 minutes to update the links.

I have tried opening all relevant linked files and ‘refreshing’ the links, as well as recreating the links in the template. The file path is exactly the same as before the only difference is the rather slow updates in MS Excel 2002.

Has anyone experienced this, or better still, know a way around this problem?

The option to update or not update has to exist as the user will know when he/she must update or not.

Comments appreciated, Leigh

Reply | Quote

Replies

Do you think this is an Excel problem

Reply | Quote

Thanks Jefferson for your reply – but now I am more perplexed as to what is causing the problem. Not because of your reply but I spoke to a contact that is also running Office XP under XP Pro and opening networked MS Word files takes an inordinate amount of time on his very small Microsoft network (5 PCs, no server). If he copies the file to his workstation, there is no delay in opening the document. (These files have no links, they just take longer than expected to open across the network.)

The original MS Excel problem is running across an NetWare network and I suspect that that may have some bearing on the problem. Anyone able to say what NetWare settings may sloooow down an update in MS products? Or am I just clutching at straws and of course I am hoping that the problem is not some change to the way MS Excel checks its links.

All suggestions gratefully acknowledged. I am at a loss to find a solution.

Reply | Quote

That sounds like a problem with the server anti-virus to me.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for your reply Legare

Can you tell me more? Have you had experience with this sort of problem before?

TIA, Leigh

Reply | Quote

Yes, I have had similar problems before (a while back before I retired). When it happened to me, the people who supported our servers called the company that supplied the AV software that was used on the server. They knew about the problem and gave our folks an option change that fixed it. Sorry, that’s all I know. If you are updating a lot of links, it could be the AV software wanting to scan every one of the files before letting XL open them to do the update.

Reply | Quote

Thanks

I’ll pursue this line with the network administrators and post a message here if it solves the problem.

Reply | Quote

The problem has been satisfactorily resolved.

Initially the answer was to migrate the data files (including the linked templates) to a Microsoft Server (instead of NetWare Server).

The long term solution has been addressed by Microsoft. They are (or have by now) developing a patch that will resolve the use of linked Office XP files on Win XP workstation using a Netware Server for data storage.

Many thanks to contributors to date.

Reply | Quote