Making Excel faster involves optimizing settings, data management, and learning a few handy tricks. By following these steps, you can significantly improve Excel’s performance, making your experience smoother and more efficient. Whether it’s for work or personal use, these tips will help you get the most out of Excel.
How to Make Excel Faster
Here’s a breakdown of the steps you can take to speed up Excel and make it run more efficiently. We’ll go through optimizing settings, managing data, and using various tricks to enhance performance.
Step 1: Disable Unnecessary Add-ins
Removing non-essential add-ins can help free up valuable resources.
Go to File > Options > Add-ins, then select COM Add-ins, and click Go. Uncheck any add-ins you don’t need.
Step 2: Limit Recalculation
Adjusting calculation settings can prevent Excel from constantly recalculating formulas.
Go to File > Options > Formulas and set Calculation Options to Manual. Remember to press F9 when you want to recalculate your formulas.
Step 3: Reduce the Use of Volatile Functions
Minimize the use of volatile functions like NOW(), TODAY(), and RAND() as they recalculate every time a change is made.
Use static values or less volatile alternatives where possible to reduce recalculations and speed up performance.
Step 4: Optimize Workbook Size
Reduce the size of your workbook by deleting unnecessary data, rows, and columns.
Trim down your data to only what’s necessary, and consider breaking larger workbooks into smaller, more manageable ones.
Step 5: Use Efficient Data Formats
Changing data formats to more efficient ones can save processing time.
Format your data as numbers rather than text where applicable, and avoid using complex formats unless necessary.
Step 6: Clean Up Your Workbook
Remove any blank cells, rows, and columns that aren’t being used.
Blank cells can bloat your workbook and slow down performance, so clean them out regularly.
Step 7: Update Excel
Make sure you’re using the latest version of Excel to benefit from performance improvements and bug fixes.
Check for updates in File > Account > Update Options and install any available updates.
After following these steps, you should notice a significant improvement in Excel’s performance. Your tasks will run faster, and you’ll be able to work more efficiently.
Tips for Making Excel Faster
- Disable animation effects and hardware graphics acceleration under File > Options > Advanced.
- Limit the use of large ranges in formulas, such as A:A or 1:1, to specific ranges.
- Use Excel’s built-in features like PivotTables and Power Query for data analysis instead of manual calculations.
- Regularly clear the clipboard in Excel by pressing Ctrl + C twice.
- Save your workbooks as binary files (.xlsb) instead of the default (.xlsx) to reduce file size and speed up opening and saving.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I speed up Excel recalculations?
Setting the Calculation Options to Manual and pressing F9 to recalculate only when necessary can significantly speed up recalculations.
What are volatile functions, and why should I avoid them?
Volatile functions like NOW(), TODAY(), and RAND() recalculate every time a change is made, which can slow down Excel. Avoid them when possible.
Does the number of add-ins affect Excel’s performance?
Yes, having too many add-ins can slow down Excel. Disable any add-ins that are not essential.
Why is my Excel workbook so slow to open?
Large file sizes and complex calculations can make workbooks slow to open. Optimize your workbook by reducing its size and complexity.
How often should I update Excel?
You should regularly check for and install updates to ensure optimal performance and benefit from the latest features and bug fixes.
Summary
- Step 1: Disable Unnecessary Add-ins
- Step 2: Limit Recalculation
- Step 3: Reduce the Use of Volatile Functions
- Step 4: Optimize Workbook Size
- Step 5: Use Efficient Data Formats
- Step 6: Clean Up Your Workbook
- Step 7: Update Excel
Conclusion
Speeding up Excel is not as daunting as it may seem. By following these simple steps — disabling unnecessary add-ins, limiting recalculations, reducing volatile functions, optimizing workbook size, using efficient data formats, cleaning up your workbook, and keeping your software updated — you can significantly improve Excel’s performance.
A faster Excel not only saves you time but also enhances your productivity. Make these practices part of your routine, and you’ll see a noticeable difference. For more on improving your Excel skills, consider exploring additional resources and tutorials. Now, go ahead and put these tips to use to make Excel faster and more efficient!
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.