Microsoft Excel is Waiting for Another Application to Complete OLE Action

Office apps interact with other apps through the OLE technology

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Key notes

  • Office apps send part of a document from one application to another using OLE.
  • Afterward, the data is imported back with more content, and when something goes wrong, Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action appears.
  • To fix things, modify Excel settings, disable the VPN, or repair Microsoft Office, amongst other solutions.
fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action error

There’s a variety of errors appearing on all applications, even first-party applications like Microsoft Excel, a part of the Office suite. And the most infamous is Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action.

When the error message shows up, some users report that Excel becomes unusable, and they are forced to terminate the program. It presents a major issue, but there are some quick fixes and workarounds that helped others.

What is an OLE action in Excel?

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) action is a technology allowing Office apps to interact with other programs.

It allows an editing app to send part of a document to other apps and then import the data, i.e., take it back with more content. The process, though usually quick, can take some time depending on the other application and the other vital parameters.

Why does the OLE error appear?

Here are a few reasons you might be getting the Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action error:

  • The concerned file is stored on cloud: If the Excel file that’s throwing the message is stored on a cloud service like OneDrive or Google Drive, the data transmission takes longer and, as a result, you get the error.
  • Misconfigured Excel settings: Certain Excel settings, when disabled, have been found to trigger the Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action message.
  • Conflicting add-ins and applications: A few users found that it was an Add-in in Excel or a third-party application responsible for the issue. And simply removing the add-in or uninstalling the application fixed things.

How do I fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action?

Before making changes to Excel or trying the other complex solutions, here are a few quick workarounds that might work:

  • With Excel still running, restart the computer. And as soon as you are asked whether to proceed with Excel open, cancel the process. The message should not appear now, at least for a while.
  • If the Excel file that you are working on is stored on Google Drive or OneDrive, move it to the desktop and then make the desired changes.
  • If you have a third-party antivirus installed, disable it while working on the Excel sheet. A few antiviruses, particularly McAfee and Malwarebytes, were found to cause the error message to appear.
  • Make sure you are not connected to a VPN since these were reported to trigger the Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action message.
  • In case you are getting the error with a file shared through email, verify whether it was emailed using Excel’s built-in option or manually via a client. Taking the latter route reduces the chances of an error.

If nothing listed earlier worked, head to the solutions listed next.

1. Enable the DDE feature

Enabling the Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) feature is likely to solve the error. You can easily turn on this feature through Excel’s built-in settings.

1. Launch Microsoft Excel and open a new sheet.

2. Click on the File menu near the top-left.

file menu

3. Click on More and then choose Options.

options

4. Head to the Advanced tab, tick the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) option, and then click on OK to save the changes.

enable feature to fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action

5. Once done, restart Excel.

2. Disable all add-ins

  1. Open Excel, and click on the File menu.file
  2. Click on More, and then select Options from the flyout menu.options to fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action
  3. Go to the Add-ins tab, and with Excel Add-ins selected in the Manage dropdown menu, click on Go.Excel add-ins
  4. Now, uncheck all the add-ins listed here, and click on OK to save the changes.disable add-ins to fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action
  5. Again, go to the Add-ins tab, choose COM Add-ins from the dropdown menu, and click Go.COM add-ins
  6. Similarly, remove these add-ins as well.disable COM add-ins to fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action

Once done, restart Excel for the changes to come into effect, and you shouldn’t encounter the Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action message anymore.

Users primarily reported the Cisco Webex and Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker add-ins, amongst others, to be conflicting. So, make sure to check and remove the two.

3. Repair Microsoft Office

Note icon NOTE
Before proceeding, make sure you have a stable Internet connection since several files will be downloaded during the repair process.
  1. Press Windows + R to open Run, type appwiz.cpl in the text field, and hit Enter.appwiz.cpl
  2. Locate the Microsoft Office entry, select it, and click on Change.change
  3. Click Yes in case a UAC prompt appears.
  4. Now, choose the Online repair option and then click on Repair.online repair to fix Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action
  5. Again, click Repair in the confirmation box to start the process.repair

Microsoft Office provides a built-in repair option to eliminate a range of issues with it, including Microsoft Excel is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action. So, run it and verify whether the error is resolved.

Tip icon Tip
If you are using the 32-bit version of Microsoft Office, the error appears quite frequently, but users who switched to the 64-bit version reported that it almost ceased appearing. So, download the 64-bit version of Microsoft Office from the official website.

In case you are still facing the same problem, switch to a reliable Microsoft Office alternative. There are several of these, each offering a plethora of features and being just as effortless as the former.

If you have any queries or want to share another solution we missed, drop them in the comments section below.

More about the topics: Excel, windows 10