ASAP Utilities General

The importance of Microsoft Office Update | Fix random crashes and performance issues

by Bastien 0 Comment

[last updated: May 9, 2023]

Introduction

The past years we have received several support requests that we found out were related to/caused by (often already fixed) bugs in Excel 2021/2019/2016/365.
This article shows information on how to update your Excel installation and also contains links to the Microsoft articles with all the detailed information about what has been fixed and improved by the Excel team.

How an error or crash in Excel may appear to be caused by ASAP Utilities, but is not

Unfortunately, several bugs were introduced in Excel and Excel's VBA/macro language that could cause slow performance and crashes in Excel (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Since many users don't use macros themselves, they may only experience such specific Excel bugs (slow speed/crashes) when they use an add-in, such as for example ASAP Utilities, that uses Excel's built-in VBA/macro programming language for its tools and it then seems as if the add-in is faulty. In general, if something goes wrong in ASAP Utilities, you should get a polite error message. It should never make Excel crash.
Most of the times, just updating Excel will solve it already. If a fix isn't available yet from Microsoft, then we try to create a workaround in ASAP Utilities to handle such Excel bugs, because we do not always know how long it will take the Excel team to fix it.

Fortunately Microsoft has already released many updates with fixes related to the performance and stability of Excel 2021/2019/2016/365.

Using Cisco Endpoint security and an old version of ASAP Utilities?

In case you are using Cisco Endpoint security and experience Excel crashing with an old version of ASAP Utilities, then please read the following and upgrade to version 7.8 or later:
# Changes in version 7.8 - November 3, 2020
https://www.asap-utilities.com/faq-questions-answers-detail.php?m=328

How to install Excel/Office updates

Update ExcelTo update Excel/Office to the latest version available:

  1. Start Excel.
  2. Go to File > Account
  3. Under Product Information, choose Update Options > Update Now.

Source:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Install-Office-updates-2ab296f3-7f03-43a2-8e50-46de917611c5

List of the latest Office Updates

Information on (only) the last Office Updates from Microsoft for Office 2021, 2019, Office 2016, Office 2013, Office 2010 and Office 2007 can be found here:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-2019
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Office-Updates-a118ec61-f007-492f-bfa5-5a6f764d5471

Office 365 client update channel releases

On the following page you can see the most recent changes the the Office 365 products. It shows even the recent ones that don't have their own update article yet on the Microsoft Support website. You can choose to only see the updates that impact Excel.
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/mt465751
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Version-and-build-numbers-of-update-channel-releases-ae942449-1fca-4484-898b-a933ea23def7

Issues in Excel that Microsoft is aware of - with status updates

Known issues and possible fixes or workarounds from Microsoft Office Support is listed here:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Fixes-or-workarounds-for-recent-issues-in-Excel-for-Windows-49d932ce-0240-49cf-94df-1587d9d97093

Excel 365 Issues resolved by Microsoft

Current channel release notes

  • Version 2304: April 25, 2023
    • We fixed an issue where a file could not be previewed in File Explorer if the file's extension included a capital letter such as XLSX, or Xlsx.
    • We fixed an issue where right clicking a folder in Outlook could cause Office applications to close unexpectedly.
  • Version 2303: March 28, 2023
    • We fixed an issue where spaces were not inserted properly when inserting text with dictation.
  • Version 2302: February 28, 2023
    • Pivot Tables connected to Power BI datasets now have proper date support. Previously, dates were treated as strings, but they now are treated as datetime objects that allow for proper filtering and sorting of the data. If you do not yet have the feature, you will be able edit your existing PivotTable.
    • We fixed an issue where the File > Get Add-ins button hotkey had a conflict with the Save As button due to an incorrectly set keytip when opening the Control Get Add-ins button. The modified button (Get Add-ins) will use B as the hotkey.
    • We fixed an issue that when clicking on an email notification with @mention in a comment, caused Excel to close unexpectedly if the workbook was already open and was in a hidden window.
  • Version 2301: February 14, 2023
    • Pivot Tables connected to Power BI datasets now have proper date support. Previously, dates were treated as strings, but they now are treated as datetime objects that allow for proper filtering and sorting of the data. If you do not yet have the feature, you will be able edit your existing PivotTable.
    • We fixed an issue when clicking on an email notification of at mention in a comment, the Excel app would close unexpectedly if the workbook was already open and was in a hidden window.
    • We fixed an issue that compiled VBA macros more often.
    • Fixed an issue that caused sync and co-auth failures in Office apps.
  • Version 2301: January 26, 2023
    • We fixed an issue when you insert a People Graph add-in in RTL Excel, the application closes unexpectedly.
  • Version 2212: January 4, 2023
    • We fixed an issue when you right click on a chart and select edit, the application closes unexpectedly.
  • Version 2211: December 6, 2022
    • We fixed an issue when toggling the visibility of the ribbon with sheet tabs hidden the application would close unexpectedly.
    • We fixed an issue where Clipboard locked alert is disrupting workflow for some users.
    • We fixed an issue when you right click on a chart and select edit option the application closes unexpectedly.
    • We fixed an issue in Word in which applying sketched outlines to pictures and saving, resulted in the file not being usable when copied and pasted into PowerPoint and Excel.
    • We fixed an issue preventing the font dropdown's scroll bar from correctly appearing in Office 2016 and Office 2019.
    • We fixed an issue where a manually applied sensitivity label could be overridden by an automatic label if the automatic label has higher priority.
    • We fixed an issue where "connecting to" dialog box was shown during Save/Save-As when a UNC path was set as default save directory.
  • Version 2210: October 27, 2022
    • We fixed an issue with URL handling by Visual Basic macros.
  • Version 2209: October 11, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where some content could stop working and not appear correctly after zooming with touchpad.
    • We fixed an issue where Office will stop responding while using narrator when inside of a comment.
  • Version 2209: September 26, 2022
    • We fixed an issue to default blocking macros from the Internet from executing.
  • Version 2208: September 13. 2022
    • In Office 2016 and Office 365 with Visual Refresh, the visibility of hovered and pressed sliders in Colorful and White themes has been improved in task panes and dialogs.
    • In Office 365 with Fluent visuals enabled, the visibility of hovered and pressed sliders in Dark Gray and Black themes has been improved in task panes and dialogs.
    • In Office 365 with Visual Refresh Dark Gray theme, an issue preventing the border of the scroll buttons from appearing in the Ribbon Font Picker dropdown has been resolved.
    • We fixed an issue in Color Picker text selection scenarios with Shapes and SmartArt.
    • We fixed an instability issue related to animations for the user interface.
  • Version 2208: August 31, 2022
    • We fixed an issue when editing a newly created file a business bar label did not upload correctly.
    • We fixed an issue in Excel for images contained in filtered or hidden cells.
  • Version 2207: August 03, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where cell references in charts were displaying incorrectly.
    • We fixed an issue which caused Excel to close completely when choosing File > Close or pressing Ctrl+W to close the last workbook.
    • We fixed an issue where Excel could use an unexpectedly high amount of CPU when freeze panes were enabled, but not every freeze pane was on the screen.
  • Version 2206: July 12, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where the app closed unexpectedly when interacting with fonts.
  • Version 2206: July 06, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where shared workbooks in .xls format may improperly merge changes.
    • We fixed an issue where an AMSI scan would cause the app to close unexpectedly.
    • We fixed a visual glitch in the Formula bar.
    • We fixed an issue that caused Excel to close unexpectedly when showing live preview of a chart.
  • Version 2206: June 29, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where shared workbooks in .xls format may improperly merge changes.
    • We fixed an issue where an AMSI scan would cause the app to close unexpectedly.
    • We fixed an issue that caused Excel to close unexpectedly when showing live preview of a chart.
  • Version 2205: May 24, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where the letter "j" was not being properly inserted.
    • We fixed an issue where running a VBA script / addin on a workbook with chart sheet may cause Excel to close unexpectedly.
    • We fixed an issue with rendering in Excel and Project when using certain older builds of Windows 11.
    • We fixed an unexpected stop responding in Office rendering code.
  • Version 2204: May 10, 2022
    • We fixed an issue that caused Excel to consume excessive memory.
    • We fixed an issue with rendering in Excel and Project when using certain older versions of Windows 11.
  • Version 2203: March 30, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where using custom command bars could cause Excel to close unexpectedly.
    • We fixed an issue where a recovered file would be opened as read-only.
    • We fixed an issue displaying some SVG files.
  • Version 2202: February 28, 2022
    • We fixed an issue which adjusts how gradients fill on a series in a waterfall chart aligns with gradient fills on series in a column chart.
  • Version 2112: January 12, 2022
    • Various bugs and performance fixes.
  • Version 2112: January 11, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where shapes and form controls could not call VBA macros.
  • Version 2112: January 04, 2022
    • We fixed an issue where an application using the OLEDB API with the ACE.OLEDB.12.0 or ACE.OLEDB.16.0 provider was closing unexpectedly.
  • Version 2111: December 14, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where opening XLSM file in SpreedsheetCompare tool can cause the tool to stop responding.
    • We fixed an issue with the WEBSERVICE worksheet function, where Excel would stop working in rare cases when calculations are canceled by the user.
  • Version 2111: December 03, 2021
    • We fixed issues that refreshing the data for PivotTables can stop working when filtered values no longer exist in the data, and a subsequent query statement generated without the invalid filtered values to retry the refresh request was temporarily disabled and is now reenabled.
    • We fixed an issue where newly created PivotTables could lose custom settings if the data source range was changed.
    • We fixed an issue where certain formula results aren't updated after their inputs have changed.
  • Version 2110: November 09, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where some worksheet functions were not appearing for users with certain languages.
    • When opening linked tables to Dynamics, numbers may appear as small squares when the data is displayed. To work around this issue, open the link in Table Design view, and clear the Format property for any affected columns.
  • Version 2110: October 25, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where a query update caused Excel to stop responding.
    • We fixed an issue where on opening an Excel file, the cell selection was off.
    • We fixed an issue where the app stop responding when we opened the privacy settings window and the default dialog manager is empty.
  • Version 2109: October 14, 2021
    • Various bugs and performance fixes.
  • Version 2109: September 28, 2021
    • Excel was clearing out the value for HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserInfo\Company in non-MSI installs of Office. We have fixed this issue which primarily affected customers using non-MSI versions of Office.
    • Addressed an issue where under rare circumstances Excel could stop responding while calculating a workbook.
    • This version fixed a unexpected close which happened during save for some documents in tenants which opted into protected coauthoring if the local file cache had tenant Id datum formatted incorrectly.
    • In certain customer configurations, it was discovered that document exports to PDF or XPS formats from Office would fail due to recent updates. This update fixed these regressions and reenabled export to these formats.
  • Version 2108: September 07, 2021
    • Fixed an issue where not all columns may appear when linking to or importing from a Dynamics table.
  • Version 2108: August 25, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where the "File" tab text was getting cut off in some languages.
    • We fixed an issue where connecting to a data source from within the PowerPivot window was not working.
    • We fixed a problem where the Analysis ToolPak add-in did not work with certain Automation Security settings.
    • We fixed an issue bug that is causing office apps to stop responding, when multiple office apps are running at the same time. This also fixes other stability issues across the system that arises because of the reponse issue.
    • We fixed an issue that caused date fields in PivotTables to be grouped incorrectly.
  • Version 2107: August 10, 2021
    • We fixed an issue that may cause some linked Dynamics table to stop responding.
    • In certain customer configurations, it has been discovered that document exports to PDF or XPS formats from Office may stop responding due to recent updates. This update fixes these regressions and reenables export to these formats.
  • Version 2107: July 26, 2021
    • Fixed the issue where DRM-protected workbook cannot be opened from VBA if Application.DisplayAlerts is set to True.
  • Version 2106: June 29, 2021
    • Fixed an issue where extra entries appeared in the Excel Add-in list for some users.
  • Version 2105: June 18, 2021
    • Fixed an issue where user is unable to edit certain documents stored in OnPrem sharepoint servers.
    • Fixed a unexpected close when reopening certain files.
  • Version 2105: June 08, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where extra entries appeared in the Excel Add-in list for some users.
  • Version 2105: May 24, 2021
    • Fixed an issue where the Analysis ToolPak add-in did not work for some users.
    • Fixed an issue to enable the Name Manager to open on books with a large number of hidden names.
  • Version 2104: May 11, 2021
    • Fix for an issue where a major version build rollback could result in crashes on file open.
    • Fixed an issue where the Analysis ToolPak add-in did not work for some users.
    • We fixed an issue that caused date formatting to be displayed incorrectly in some languages when using add-ins.
  • Version 2104: April 29, 2021
    • We fixed an issue where some files would occasionally not able to open in Protected View
  • Version 2103: April 23, 2021
    • Fixed an issue with automation add-ins for Excel that are not loading after installing April 2021 security update. Please use provided workaround for users not in Current Channel Learn more.
  • Version 2103: April 13, 2021
    • Fixed a potential resource contention issue in word when drawing an image.
  • Version 2103: March 30, 2021
    • Fixed bug where disabled commands in the Office Ribbon would only have the icon grayed out but not the text in Dark Gray Office Theme.
  • Version 2102: March 01, 2021
    • We fixed an issue that prevented users from exporting an Excel workbook to PDF.
    • We fixed an issue which caused images to bee smaller than expected when using the Paste Linked Picture option.
  • Version 2101: January 26, 2021
    • Fixes an issue where Excel would fail to launch or close unexpectedly if certain Windows Security exploit protection settings (SimExec, CallerCheck) are in use
    • We fixed an issue that broke some legacy Excel 4.0 and Excel5.0 macros as well as some VBA calls to dialogsheets.show.
  • Version 2012: January 12, 2021
    • Fixes an issue where Excel would fail to launch or close unexpectedly if certain Windows Security exploit protection settings (SimExec, CallerCheck) are in use.
  • Version 2012: January 05, 2021
    • Fixed an issue where Excel might close unexpectedly when using the "Show Values As" menu for a PivotTable.
    • Fixed an issue where Excel may leave macros disabled without prompting when opening an Excel Add-in file containing Excel 4.0 Macros.
    • Fixed an issue where some users would incorrectly see a message bar informing them of a new version of a file when coauthoring.
    • This change addresses an issue with properly displaying fonts within equations.

Excel 2021/2019/2016 Update History

Because there doesn't seem to be a simple page where you can see all the updates/fixes related to Excel, we've created a list with the links to the official articles from Microsoft here. (somehow they keep naming the latest perpetual version of Excel, Excel 2016 and not Excel 2019 or Excel 2021 in their documents)
Several of the fixes from Microsoft were related to the performance and/or crashes of Excel.

Microsoft Office Update History

General MS Office update information for Office 365, 2021, 2019, 2016, Office 2013, Office 2010 and Office 2007:

 

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