Office Settings & Configuration

How to Fix Excel Workbooks Opening Under Teams Taskbar Icon

Partner Editor Oct 10, 2026 870 views

Question details

Users need to stop Excel workbooks from grouping under the Microsoft Teams taskbar icon instead of displaying as separate Excel windows.

How to Fix Excel Workbooks Opening Under Teams Taskbar Icon

Product: Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Excel
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Opening Excel workbooks from the new Microsoft Teams application while multitasking or joining meetings.
Observed behavior: When the first Excel workbook is opened from Teams, it and all subsequent Excel files are grouped under the Teams taskbar icon rather than a dedicated Excel icon, making window management difficult.

Before you start

Ensure you have completely saved your current work in both Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Excel, as you will need to restart these applications to apply the new settings.

Solution 1Recommended

Change File Open Preferences in Microsoft Teams

Adjusting the default file opening behavior in Teams forces Excel files to open properly in their native desktop application window.

By default, the new Microsoft Teams app might manage file launches internally. Changing the file open preference explicitly to the Desktop app breaks this taskbar grouping behavior.

Open Teams Settings

Click on the three dots (More options) next to your profile picture at the top right of the Microsoft Teams window and select 'Settings'.

Navigate to Files and links

In the left-hand sidebar of the Settings menu, click on the 'Files and links' tab.

Update File Open Preferences

Locate the 'File open preference' section and change the dropdown selection to 'Desktop app'.

Restart Applications

Completely close and reopen both Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Excel to ensure the new taskbar grouping behavior takes effect.

Change File Open Preferences in Microsoft Teams

Success: Once restarted, your Excel icons and Teams icons should now display separately on your taskbar.

Solution 2

Open the First Workbook Directly in Excel

Bypassing Teams for the initial file launch prevents subsequent Excel files from grouping under the Teams application icon.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my Excel workbooks group under the Teams taskbar icon?

This occurs in the new Teams application when the first Excel document is opened using the 'Open in app' feature. The operating system groups the subsequent Excel windows under the parent application (Teams) that initiated the first file process.

Do I need to reinstall Microsoft Teams to fix this taskbar issue?

No, reinstalling is not necessary. You simply need to change the 'File open preference' in your Teams settings to 'Desktop app' and fully restart both Teams and Excel.

Does this taskbar grouping issue affect other Office applications like Word and PowerPoint?

Yes, this behavior applies to Word and PowerPoint as well. If the first document of any specific type is opened from within Teams, subsequent documents of that same type may remain grouped under the Teams taskbar icon.

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