hourglass won't go away after formula was entered

[Dawn]

This question is for my husband. He's at home working on a homework
assingment in excel. He said he entered a formula then the hour glass came
up and it hasn't gone away. He can't close without saving. He's going to
have to shut the system down without saving 3 hours of work. Any
suggestions? Thanks for you time.

 

[Bernard Liengme]

Try the ESC key or hold CTRL and press Break key
best wishes

 

[Niek Otten]

?????

Formulas? Commands? Any Macros? Multiple Workbooks? Tell us about the 3
hours of work!

How are we supposed to assist in any way if we have no clue whatsoever about
what your husband was doing?

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Dawn

Maybe Ctrl+Shift+Break.
Perhaps he has got a macro that has got into an endless loop.

Regards

Roger Govier

 

[Dawn]

Please be patient..... we are both new to this.
He said the formula he entered was for a column. He was trying to get the
outcome of high, low, average totals.

 

[Dawn]

Hi Roger! Nope, that didn't work. Thanks!!!

Hi Dawn

Maybe Ctrl+Shift+Break.
Perhaps he has got a macro that has got into an endless loop.

Regards

Roger Govier

 

[Niek Otten]

Hi Dawn,

I didn't mean to hurry you!

But it would help if you would give some more details.

 

[Roger Govier]

Hi Dawn

Well hopefully Autosave is switched on and is at the default setting of 10
minutes. If so, should he have to close the file he will only lose the last
10 minutes work prior to the problem.


Regards

Roger Govier

 

[Dawn]

Someone else mentioned that to me.....how can we tell if autosave is switched

 

[Gord Dibben]

Dawn

Depends which version of Excel you are running.

Versions earlier than 2002 had an AutoSave Add-in under Tools>Add-ins which
when turned on saved incremental backups at intervals, usually 10 minutes.

2002 and 2003 have an "AutoRecovery" feature which does not save incremental
backups, but does store a recovery file at intervals you set under
Tools>Options>Save.

If Excel crashes you would be offered a chance to use that recovery file next
time you open Excel.

I believe a CAD classifies as a crash but not 100% certain.

Shutting down the computer cold would qualify.

Lotsa luck.


Gord Dibben Excel MVP