Excel Nested Arrays: Find the Nesting Depth of Uniform and Ragged Arrays ARRDEPTH() & ISRAGGED()
Hey everyone! I’ve been diving deep into Excel’s new nested arrays features lately, and I absolutely love the flexibility they bring to data structuring. However, managing them can get a bit tricky, so I figured I’d build some specialized tools to handle them seamlessly. Public Interfaces & Arguments =ISRAGGED(array) Argument Description Default Behavior array Target nested structure to validate. Required =ARRDEPTH(array, [is_ragged]) Argument Description Default Behavior array Target nested structure to measure. Required [is_ragged] TRUE: Scans all branches for the deepest path. FALSE: Speed test on the first path only. FALSE (Omitted) TL;DR (What makes it tick): Function Name Type What It Does ARRDEPTH Public UI Returns nesting depth. Supports deep checking or fast linear testing. ISRAGGED Public UI Structural validator. Returns TRUE if array branches have uneven nesting. ANALYZE_NESTING Hidden Core Engine Multi-process recursive parser that tracks tree structure geometries. LINEARDEPTH Hidden Utility High-speed depth checker that evaluates the first element path exclusively. You can get both functions from my GitHub Gist: https://gist.github.com/Medohh2120/9cdf939036942c9672c57ccd6de696d3Fixes in Microsoft Access - Version 2610 (Build 16.0.20527.20088)
Known issue in the initial Version 2610 release Some databases may display an incorrect "There isn't enough memory or disk space" message when opening a report or exporting a report to PDF. A correction is planned for the next Version 2610 update. Zoom Issue Fix Datasheet subforms did not zoom with Ctrl+mouse wheel Using Ctrl+mouse wheel over a subform displayed in Datasheet View now changes its zoom level as expected. Context menus appeared in the wrong location on zoomed forms Right-click menus now open at the selected location regardless of the form's zoom level, including near the lower-right edge of the form. A form divider line could stop halfway across at 50% zoom The divider between form sections now spans the full form width at 50% zoom and other supported zoom levels. Rapid Ctrl+mouse-wheel input could jump from 10% to 1000% zoom Zooming out quickly now stops at the 10% minimum instead of wrapping to the maximum zoom level. Big Forms Issue Fix Horizontal scrolling could snap very wide forms back to the left Design View and Form View can now scroll to controls positioned far to the right without the form unexpectedly returning to its left edge. Text formatting remained limited to 22 inches in wider controls Text can now be formatted and displayed across the full width of fixed-size text controls wider than the former 22-inch form limit. Forms and controls Issue Fix ControlTip text could remain visible after typing began ControlTips now close when keyboard input begins, preventing the tip from covering the form during data entry. Property Sheet text could become unreadable after changing the Office theme The Property Sheet now refreshes both its foreground and background colors immediately after a theme change, without requiring Access to be restarted. Queries and data Issue Fix Bracketed object and control names could occasionally be read incorrectly Access now reliably preserves a name when removing its surrounding brackets. Stability Issue Fix Opening forms with grouped control layouts could cause Access to close unexpectedly Access no longer closes unexpectedly while determining the bounds of grouped layouts when affected forms open in Form View. Changing a subform's SourceObject could cause Access to close unexpectedly Changing a subform's source from VBA during an event now completes without causing Access to close unexpectedly.
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
New Zoom Feature allways removes like it's never been
Hi everybody, Ever since the zoom feature was introduced, I’ve repeatedly encountered a phenomenon where the feature—despite having been present—suddenly disappears. There is no slider, no zoom option in the ribbon, and no corresponding database options. I am using Microsoft® Access® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2609, Build 16.0.20430.20032, 64-bit) on the Monthly Enterprise Channel. Following an update to this version, the feature reappeared. I opened several databases, and the slider was visible—it worked without any major issues (even though I rarely use it), with no crashes or error messages. Then, upon opening another database, the slider and all other elements related to the zoom feature vanished. When I went back to the previous databases, the feature had disappeared there as well. Restarting the PC and performing a "Quick Repair" had no effect. I have observed the same behavior across the previous five versions; the feature keeps disappearing. It seems that a new "Click-to-Run" update might re-enable it (though I’m not entirely certain). Something—or someone (Microsoft ?)—is disabling it. Fortunately, I haven’t incorporated this new feature into any of my objects or VBA code yet; otherwise, the database would crash! Does anyone have any ideas? Thx 4 reading
Excel “Trace Dependents” stops working in XLSX files generated by ChatGPT
Excel “Trace Dependents” stops working in XLSX files generated by ChatGPT – Cause and tested solution Problem When opening Microsoft Excel workbooks (.xlsx) generated by ChatGPT, the Trace Dependents feature may stop working, reporting that a cell has no dependents even when other cells explicitly reference it. The Trace Precedents feature may continue to function normally. In our testing, the problem was particularly difficult to diagnose because: It occurred repeatedly with Excel workbooks generated by ChatGPT. Opening an affected workbook caused Trace Dependents to stop working even in other workbooks that had previously worked correctly. The malfunction persisted after closing the affected workbook. Recalculating formulas, rebuilding the calculation chain and reconstructing the workbook did not consistently resolve the issue. Root cause identified The affected XLSX files generated by ChatGPT contained the following setting in xl/workbook.xml: forceFullCalc="1" This setting enables forced full calculation, bypassing Excel's normal dependency-based calculation mechanism. Tested solution Close Excel completely, including any remaining EXCEL.EXE processes. Open the affected XLSX file as a ZIP archive. Locate xl/workbook.xml. Find the <calcPr> element. Change forceFullCalc="1" to forceFullCalc="0", or remove the attribute. Save the corrected XLSX file. Restart Excel in a clean session. Open only the corrected workbook and test Formulas → Trace Dependents. Experimental confirmation We verified that: An original ChatGPT-generated workbook containing forceFullCalc="1" triggered the malfunction. The problem affected the entire Excel session and persisted after closing the original workbook. A corrected version containing forceFullCalc="0" worked when opened in a clean Excel session. The same issue was reproduced through multiple tests, including Excel Safe Mode. Recommendation for ChatGPT and XLSX-generation developers ChatGPT's spreadsheet-generation workflows should explicitly prevent the unnecessary activation of forceFullCalc=True. Before delivering generated XLSX files, the system should inspect xl/workbook.xml and ensure that persistent forced full calculation is disabled unless specifically required. This check is particularly important because the problem may affect not only the generated workbook but also other Excel workbooks opened in the same session. Scope and limitation This issue was repeatedly observed in workbooks generated through ChatGPT in our testing. The results do not establish that all ChatGPT-generated Excel files are affected, nor that this setting is responsible for every Trace Dependents malfunction. Nevertheless, the relationship between forceFullCalc="1" and the observed behavior was confirmed experimentally in the tested environment. Conclusion A ChatGPT-generated XLSX workbook with forceFullCalc="1" can trigger a persistent malfunction of Excel's Trace Dependents feature. Disabling this setting and restarting Excel restored the functionality in our tests.Field disappears when zooming out below 100 Percent with mouse scrolling
Hallo Access-friends, Field disappears when zooming out below 100% with mouse scrolling (See screenshot) Continuous Form. The disappearance of individual fields seems to get worse the faster you scroll through the records with the mouse. If you use the right scrollbar, you don't have this problem or your zoom is 100 and higher. The problem shows up for me when you place a field with a transparent background over a conditionally formatted field. The error is reproducible; I can send a sample database. Another issue (maybe not new): I want a text box not to get focus (Here the big green Textbox ). Normally I do this by setting locked=true, enabled=false. But if the text box has conditional formatting, it can still get focus and then the field will be in foreground whats normal but not wanted. I use this construct for formating Records in contious Forms). The F1 Online description for Textbox-enable doesn’t seem right to me… or am I wrong about that? Hope this helps to make things better. Thanks for reading
Access 365 Runtime 2605+: MsgBox in Click event stops responding (Zoom related)
Starting with Access 365 Runtime version 2605 (build 20026.20168), MsgBox called within a Click event stops responding under specific conditions. We have confirmed that the issue is related to the Access Zoom feature. Microsoft 365 support advised us to report this issue in the community, so we are posting it here. ■ Affected Versions No issues confirmed prior to May 2026 Version 2605 (build 20026.20168) and later → Affected ■ Reproduction Environment Access 365 Runtime Resolution: 1920×1080 (Full HD), Text size: 100% Issue does NOT reproduce at text size 125% or 150% ■ Sample File We have a minimal sample database (Db1.accdb) that reliably reproduces this issue. It contains two forms (Form A and Form B). We can provide it on request. ■ Steps to Reproduce Open the sample database → Form A opens Click Button A on Form A → Form B opens Click Button B on Form B → MsgBox appears (works as expected) Click “No” in the MsgBox Click the Close button on Form B → Form B closes Click Button A on Form A again → Form B opens Click Button B on Form B → MsgBox should appear, but Access stops responding instead Pressing the Alt key resumes execution and MsgBox appears Note: MsgBox displays correctly the first time Form B is opened (step 3). The issue occurs after Form B has been closed and reopened (step 7). ■ Findings Enabling “Disable zoom” in File → Options → Current Database prevents the issue. This option is available in version 2608 and later. The issue also does not occur if Form A is moved to the far left of the screen, or down to approximately the vertical center of the screen, before performing the steps. ■ Temporary Workaround for Versions 2605–2607 The “Disable zoom” option is not available in these versions. Adding the following code immediately before the MsgBox call avoids the issue: Application.Echo False DoEvents Application.Echo True However, this workaround causes side effects in some forms of our application, such as unexpected termination and unexpected parameter prompts for record sources, so it is not a suitable long-term solution. ■ Request This issue began occurring around May 2026 in an existing application whose code has not been changed. We kindly ask the Access team to investigate and fix this issue so that it does not occur when Zoom is enabled. If anyone else is experiencing the same issue, please let us know. We can share the sample file on request.No acces to local Office365 apps with an account which differs from the current windows account
Hi, guys! I'm working with Windows 11 Pro using the Microsoft account ABC. Today I bought a Office 365 Family License - by using another Microsoft account XYZ. I downloaded the local apps successfully... ...but when I start the local app and tried to sign in using the XYZ account, I'm asked for the Windows Hello Pin for the XYZ account - but there is no PIN for that, because the account doesn't exist as a Windows account at this computer at all. Copilot says: "You can sign in to Windows 11 with one Microsoft account and use a different Microsoft 365/Office account for Office applications. Microsoft supports this setup." What did I wrong - what can I do? Kind regards! Sebastian
Excel external workbook links break across users (using cloud storage)
We use Excel desktop on Windows computers with Microsoft 365. Our office uses Sync.com to synchronize shared client files across multiple employees' computers. Our current setup: We have a Master Excel workbook linked to approximately 11 individual client workbooks. We create new workbooks and establish the links twice a year, in June and December. We create links by opening both workbooks, selecting a cell in the Master, typing =, switching to the individual workbook, clicking the source cell, and pressing Enter. We need linked values to update automatically when both workbooks are open. Our folder structure is: - Master: Sync\1 - CLIENT FILES\Equitable Block\Block Name\Renewals\YYYY - Individual workbooks: Sync\1 - CLIENT FILES\Client Folder\Renewals\YYYY The files are synchronized through Sync.com, and everyone opens them from shortcuts to the shared Sync folder. The problem: Excel stores an absolute local path in the formula. For example: C:\Users\paige_lnsp4p\Documents\Sync\1 - CLIENT FILES\...\[Individual Workbook.xlsx]Myers Position'!$F$16 Another employee's Sync folder is located at: C:\Users\chris\Sync\1 - CLIENT FILES\... As a result, links created by one employee work on that employee's computer but fail on others. Changing the source to the local path on another computer repairs the link there, but that is not a practical permanent solution for our team. Sync.com support confirmed that its desktop app cannot enforce a consistent local path across different Windows usernames. They suggested investigating relative Excel links. My questions: 1. Can Excel desktop create and maintain relative external workbook links that work across multiple Windows computers when the shared folder structure is identical but the local root paths differ? 2. Given that the Master and individual workbooks are stored in different branches under Sync\1 - CLIENT FILES, is there a supported way to achieve this without moving all workbooks into one folder? 3. If relative links are not supported for this arrangement, is there another reliable way to maintain these links without requiring each employee to change the source paths? 4. Would VBA or another Excel-based solution be appropriate, or would it introduce further reliability or security issues? We want to preserve our existing workbook design and continue using desktop Excel. We are looking for a permanent solution that works for all employees, not a process that requires manually repairing links on each computer.
