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galowglass's avatar
galowglass
Copper Contributor
Apr 02, 2023

excel crashes changing font color

hi all,

here is a good one.

in excel (via microsoft365) I can open a speadsheet and enter data into a cell.

I can't change anything with the font, color etc from the ribbon or the right click menu. It works with keyboard short cuts.

Excel just hangs until I am forced to crash.

I have tried with an existing spreadsheet on a different PC and it works fine.

I have tried with a new blank spreadsheet with entry only in one cell, same.

 

repaired MS 365, fast and slow, uninstalled and reinstalled to no avail.

 

I am at a loss, any clues or directions?

 

cheers

 

 

 

  • Alex_IP's avatar
    Alex_IP
    Copper Contributor

     

    *** Set Default Printer to [Microsoft Print to PDF].

     

    Open Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers, right click [Microsoft Print to PDF] select [Set as default printer].

  • Osiris1910's avatar
    Osiris1910
    Copper Contributor
    Have also just had this reported for 1 user on a shared PC. The problem is only present for that user and not others who have an existing or new profile for that same PC. Did the usual first steps - repair, uninstall/install etc.

    Will check default printer suggestion from match17 - we did update our print server recently so it could be a possible cause.
    • d-covert123456's avatar
      d-covert123456
      Copper Contributor
      Just ran into this problem. Windows updated last night & now today when I change font in Excel (only excel...word, etc are fine) it locks up. Beyond frustration!

      After reading the above about changing default printer, I decided to give it a try. But, all of my printers had disappeared! Decided to run services.msc & reset the print spooler. This entirely fixed the problem. Printers are back & excel is working!
  • match17's avatar
    match17
    Copper Contributor

    galowglass Hey there, not sure if your issue has been solved, but I was having a similar issue and found this thread. I wanted to leave my solution in case it could help someone else.

     

    I couldn't change the font color on Excel. Word worked fine, fill color worked fine, just the font color.

     

    Issue was solved when I changed the default printer. At the time of the issue, the default printer was offline. No idea if this is related, but could be a relevant bit of information. I changed it to "Print to PDF".

    • kakogod's avatar
      kakogod
      Copper Contributor

      match17 

      Yeah, unbelieveble!!! This actually works !
      For 2 or 3 yrs now i had this problem, tried litterally everything, reinstaling MS office, all drivers, antivirus, etc, and nothing...So i just gave up on this problem...worked in excel on another computers...and now i read this article, lets give a try and...IT WORKS ๐Ÿ˜„
      I would not think of this another 1000 yrs ๐Ÿ™‚ How did you ? 

      • match17's avatar
        match17
        Copper Contributor

        kakogod 

         

        Glad I could be of help.

         

        I had a chat with my workplace IT guy and he said he had the same issue before. He solved it by resetting a printer, but he had no idea why it worked.

         

        Because I was still having the issue with no printer connected I figured the issue was local, but related to the printers somehow? Anyway, I have no idea what caused the issue and why changing default printer solves it. Computers, eh?

    • Aric_Gerspacher's avatar
      Aric_Gerspacher
      Copper Contributor
      This solved my issue! Would reliably crash after bolding some font until I set printer default to PDF
  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Gold Contributor

    galowglass 

    One possible solution to this issue is to start Excel in safe mode.

    This can help determine if the problem is caused by an add-in or other setting.

    To start Excel in safe mode, press the control key immediately after clicking the Excel icon. 

    It should pop up a confirmation dialog to ask whether you want to start in safe mode.

    If Excel starts in safe mode, you can check if you have any custom add-ins installed in Excel by clicking File -> Options -> Add-Ins.

    At the bottom of the dialog box, change the Manage dropdown to COM add-ins, and select Go. 

    Clear the checkbox for any enabled COM add-ins and select OK .

    If this doesnโ€™t help, you might want to try updating or repairing your Microsoft 365 installation.

     

     

    Hope I was able to help you with this info.

     

    NikolinoDE

    I know I don't know anything (Socrates)

    • galowglass's avatar
      galowglass
      Copper Contributor
      hi, NikolinoDE
      thanks for the answer,
      been down that rabbit hole to no avail.
      Even removed office and reinstalled but still same.
      it appears to be anything to do with the "font" toolbar!

      cheers
      • NikolinoDE's avatar
        NikolinoDE
        Gold Contributor
        Does it only happen in Excel? Have you tried other applications? One can only guess how the problem arises. On the one hand it can be a "buck" in Office.
        Have you updated it to the latest?

        Another focus can be the graphics card or the antivirus software, strange as it sounds. Uninstall and install your graphics drivers. Update to the latest.
        Disable your antivirus software and try again.

        Have you recently installed any new software? or any new hardware?

        Information about the Excel version, operating system, storage medium, etc. would be an advantage.

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