Excel focus issues

[JeffInTampa]

I've been using Excel since 3.0, and currently use the MSO 365. incarnation Beginning some time within the past year, I have had a recurring problem with Excel failing to maintain focus after editing a cell. When this happens, the mouse and arrow keys will not move the focus and text cannot be selected. Clicking to a different sheet (or to a different workbook) and then back will sometimes correct the problem, but sometimes all instances of Excel must be closed. The workbooks involved are only moderately complex. And no, Scroll Lock is not on. 

Has anyone else had this problem?

[#2]

@JeffInTampa 

Several expressions in here caught my diagnostic eye: "Clicking to a different sheet (or to a different workbook) and then back will sometimes correct the problem, but sometimes all instances of Excel must be closed. The workbooks involved are only moderately complex."

• Workbooks: how many?
• Since you indicate that sometimes the resolution is that all instances of Excel must be closed, I wonder not only "how many?" but also, "how many at any one time?"
• "Only moderately complex": As I've learned since becoming active here in the techcommunity, there are some functions considered "volatile" meaning they cause "recalculation of the formula in the cell where it resides every time Excel recalculates. This occurs regardless of whether precedent cells/calculations have changed, or whether the formula also contains nonvolatile functions" (quoted from a Google search just now).  So depending on what functions are employed in your "moderately complex" spreadsheets, it might be related to this issue.  Anyway, if you could be more descriptive with regard to the "moderate complexity" matter.

It's good to see another senior user of Excel. I've used Excel at least as long as you...began with Lotus 1-2-3 when it was a new thing; went on to Quattro and others before finally settling on Excel...but I've been using these since the earliest days of PCs....  

[#3]

Hi @mathetes,

Right now I have two workbooks that I update regularly, and I see the behavior in both of them.

1. COVID-19 statistics.xls - This tracks the number of cases and deaths using data entered manually from the Tampa Bay Times. In Sheet1, I track these for four scopes: National, Florida, Hillsborough County and Pinellas County. For each scope and metric, the daily change, % change and a 10-day moving average are calculated. These are all simple arithmetric expressions, though the MA cells must check whether there are any missing values within the past 10 days. In this book, Sheet1 has a sequence number in column A and the days date in column B; National cases are in columns C-F and deaths in G-J; Florida cases are in columns K-N and deaths in O-R; Hillsborough County cases are in columns S-V and deaths in W-Z; ; Pinellas County cases are in columns AA-AD and deaths in AE-AH. This sheet has expressions in the first 155 rows and data entered in the first 132 rows, and formula calculation is Automatic. Sheet2 is empty (used only to click out of sheet 1 when the focus issue occurs). A typical daily session would include the following steps:
   1. refresh the TB Times page and navigate to the page having the day's statictics.
   2. In the workbook,
      1. put the focus in the current day's column C (National cases) and enter the value manually (not via copy/paste)
      2. Hit Tab 4 times to advance to column G (National deaths) and enter that value.
      3. Hit Tab 4 times and repeat 2.1 and 2.2 for the Florida, Hillsborough County and Pinellas County values.
      4. Click Save.
2. CheatSheet.xls - used to generate new randomized passwords and assign them to specific sites. Sheet1 contains the text values of email subject lines that I've edited every time I get a password change confirmation; the edits are to denote what format of ID is used, the current password hint for that site and the date it was most recently changed, plus formatting to indicate where these values begin and end. After editing and saving, the outlook item is copied to the clipboard as tab-separated values for "From", "To", "Subject", "Received" and "Size". This string is pasted into columns B-F, and expressions in columns G-P tease out the values. Sheet2 contains the data and logic to generate unique randomized password values using ranges that contain lower- and upper-case letters, digits and special characters. Automatic calculation is on and updates 50 rows with new passwords, When I've consumed all 50 from the last batch, I insert 50 rows at the bottom and manually copy the latest 50 values in.

Note that COVID-19 statistics.xls is typicaly always open and is updated daily, while CheatSheet.xls is only open when I'm changing a specific site's password or adding a new site, or when I make periodic changes to all "sensitive" sites (i.e. financial, not just where I have a forum login).  I  have other workbooks of course, but these are the only ones I've updated for the past few months.

P.S. Before Excel, I used Lotus Symphony (but not 1-2-3) and Ashton Tate's Framework and Framework II. Symphony managed my Compuserve RPG game sessions, and I used FW for database development.

[#4]

@JeffInTampa 

I trust your CheatSheet is itself password protected, but should warn you that I've seen more than one reference here on this site that Excel's password protection isn't exactly state-of-the-art; hackers can pretty readily crack it. You might want to consider 1Password which gives you cross-platform access to your passwords, generates them as well, and is itself very secure.  https://1password.com/

As to your main problem, I didn't see anything in what you wrote that suggested a cause to me. You don't say what version of Excel you're using, or what kind of computer, the age of it....etc. The kind of thing you're describing could be in any of those. Maybe somebody else will come along who's had the same problem.

[#5]

@mathetes,

That's not the actual filename of course, and it lives on an external USB drive. I'll look into 1Password though.

The system is a Dell Precision M4800 running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, and Excel is from an Office 365 32-bit subscription, version 2005, build 12827.20268. That is using the current update channel but I'm thinking about switching to the monthly channel. 

[#6]

@JeffInTampa 

Yes..I'd definitely get the newer Microsoft 365 subscription. Even on my Macs I get the Dynamic Array functions now. I have learned there are some things that still are Windows only....