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How to Fix Excel Crashing When Double-Clicking to Resize a Column
Question details
The user experiences freezing or crashing in Microsoft Excel when attempting to auto-fit a column's width.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel 365
- Device & OS
- Windows
- Scenario
- Automatically adjusting the column width by double-clicking the boundary line between column headers.
- Observed behavior
- Excel becomes unresponsive, stops working intermittently, or completely crashes during the resizing action.
Before troubleshooting, ensure you save any open work in other applications to prevent data loss in case your system requires a restart.
Start Excel in Safe Mode and Disable Add-ins
Running Excel in Safe Mode helps identify if third-party add-ins are causing the software to crash.
Many unexpected crashes in Excel are caused by conflicting or outdated COM add-ins. Booting in Safe Mode bypasses these plugins.
Press and hold the Ctrl key while double-clicking the Excel application shortcut. Confirm the prompt to start in Safe Mode.
Open a blank workbook, enter some data, and double-click a column boundary. If Excel doesn't crash, an add-in is likely the culprit.
Click on File in the top ribbon, select Options, and then navigate to the Add-ins tab on the left sidebar.
At the bottom of the window, ensure 'Excel Add-ins' or 'COM Add-ins' is selected in the Manage dropdown and click 'Go'. Clear the checkboxes for any active add-ins and restart Excel normally.
Install the Latest Office and Windows Updates
Keeping your software up to date ensures you have the latest bug fixes for performance issues.
Perform an Online Repair for Microsoft Office
If core application files are corrupted, repairing the Microsoft 365 installation can resolve the crashing issue.
Switch to WPS Office for a Stable and Lightweight Spreadsheet Experience
If Excel continues to crash or perform poorly, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a highly stable, lightweight, and free alternative with full support for all your spreadsheet tasks.
- 1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your computer.
- 2. Open Your Excel File: Launch WPS Spreadsheet, click on File, and select Open to browse for your existing .xlsx workbooks.
- 3. Resize Columns Smoothly: Double-click the column boundaries just like you would in Excel to automatically adjust widths without crashing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Excel freeze when I try to autofit columns?
Excel may freeze during autofit actions due to conflicts with incompatible third-party add-ins, outdated software versions, or corrupted program files struggling to calculate the required column width.
How do I automatically adjust column width without double-clicking?
You can manually trigger the autofit feature by selecting the target column, navigating to the Home tab, clicking 'Format' in the Cells group, and selecting 'AutoFit Column Width'.
Will performing an Online Repair delete my Excel files?
No, performing an Online Repair through the Control Panel only replaces and fixes the Microsoft Office application files. It does not affect, delete, or modify any of your personal workbooks or local data.
