Automatically import data to hidden excel worksheet - excel

Small preamble:
I started working with a new company. The guy before me made this excel file but made it impossible to modify, and now that we're changing the protocol, the company is a bit in a pinch.
What the original file does:
When opening the file, a data import wizard pops up immediately, asking for a source. Once the source is selected, it uploads the data in a hidden worksheet, and the main worksheet makes its calculation. The User experience is: one opens the file, selects the correct .csv, and he's done.
I managed to redo almost everything; I reproduced the calculations, made an hidden sheet, and formatted the wizard so that the data imported are correct, but no matter how hard I tried or look on the internet, I could not make the wizard window pop up when opening the file.
Does anybody know how to make the data import window pop-ups immediately when opening the excel file?
Thanks in advance.

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Can't save macro-enabled workbook on remote server after a macro has run

My macro-enabled workbook has been working fine until recently. It runs fine on my local drive, but no longer saves itself when run from a remote folder. I suspect some recent updates on the server are to blame.
If I open the workbook and press the save button, a pop-up appears with a progress bar for a second or two. This has not happened before, but the pop-up does close and allow me to continue.
When I run the macro in the workbook, the last line is ThisWorkbook.Save. The same pop-up appears and hangs. If I close the pop-up and press the save button, it also hangs now. If I choose File> SaveAs, all I get is a blank page with no folders to choose from.
I have a workaround to copy the workbook to a local folder, run the macro, then copy it back to the remote drive, but this may be difficult for my users to handle.
I made a new workbook with a macro that only calls ThisWorkbook.Save from a single button, and this works fine. The problematic workbook gets data from csv files and copies it into itself. Maybe this is causing a problem? Maybe the macros are too large for the anti-malware software to handle?
Does anyone know what recent changes have been made to Server that would cause my old macro to hang on saving?
I got the macro working, but not sure why.
The problem arose with an inefficient way to merge data from two sheets together. I had been using Find, and changed it to march through the data row by row instead. The saving window still pops up, but only for a second.
I don't know exactly why the old method prevented the workbook from being saved. The main difference is that the Find method uses objects, while the method I changed it to use integers and compare cell contents with an if statement. Maybe the memory was being filled with orphaned objects? I don't see what difference that should make when saving the file. The data in the sheets being saved is the same.
If anyone knows what difference this would make in saving a workbook, please add and answer or comment for posterity. It might help someone with a similar problem.

Error importing pictures into an Excel file using ClosedXML

I have a problem with importing pictures in Excel. I usually use ClosedXML, but it cannot import pictures and first have to be saved in ClosedXML, and open in OpenXML, to insert a picture. As a result, when you open a file, I get an error.
"We found a problem with some content in 'error.xlsx'. Do you want us
to try recover much as we can? If you trust the source of this
workbook, click Yes."
If I save a picture in the Excel file already manually create everything works fine. The problem occurs when you save after ClosedXML.

Non-portable Excel VBA macro behavior

I'm using Excel 2010 and adding a small VBA macro to a spreadsheet. (The purpose of the macro is to take the data on the active sheet and export it to a CSV file, but that's tangential to the question.) The macro determines the output path for the file using ThisWorkbook.Path. I also added a custom button to the Quick Access Toolbar to activate the macro.
After getting a working algorithm in place in my experimental spreadsheet (Test.xlsm, stored in one path), I made a copy of the spreadsheet in another path and renamed it to _Database.xlsm. Then I opened _Database.xlsm and ran the macro. To my surprise, the file was written to the original path, not the new one. And looking down at the Windows toolbar, I saw that Excel had opened the original file over in its original path as well.
After a lot of jiggering around with code tweaks, checking properties and such I finally found that I could prevent this by opening the copied spreadsheet, removing the Quick Access Toolbar button, re-adding it, and then saving the file. My questions are:
Why isn't the macro "independently portable" along with the spreadsheet? I.e. why does the copy maintain this kind of tie to the original sheet?
Is there a way I can create or modify the macro to make it portable in that sense?
If you want a toolbar/button to travel with a file (ie. not always link back to the original version) then you need to add it to the file itself, not to the QAT. The QAT only "knows" about the actual file you linked the button to.
It might be better to add the macro to your Personal Macro Workbook and then just have it operate on the ActiveWorkbook.
However, if you want to distribute it to other users, you can keep the macro in the "database" workbook and add a custom ribbon part. See: http://www.rondebruin.nl/win/s2/win001.htm

Importing from Excel / Excel Linked Server shows no data

This is a common problem I've had for years and I'm sure many others have experienced. Every time I search, I don't seem to get exactly what I'm needing, so I figure I'd just ask to see if anyone has an answer or at least point me to the place with the right answer.
The scenario is commonly I'll have an excel workbook that has not been opened yet, typically an export from a BusinessObjects datamart, but not limited to just that source. Anyway, any time I've tried to import the workbook into Access, create a linked server in SQL server, or even use the workbook as an Excel Source in SSIS, the worksheet comes through with no data even though it has data. However, if I were to open the file manually in Excel, save it and close, all of the above show the data as expected. This is a very frustrating problem that I have yet to find a more automated solution to other than having some clunky script open the workbook in an excel instance, save it, then close it again.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

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I am using Excel 2010 and am having difficulty with one old workbook created in Excel 2003. Lots of symptoms to report!
No other workbooks are giving me this problem. This problem file usually causes "MS Excel - (workbook name.xls) [Compatibility Mode] (Not responding) and a blank screen apart from the task bar and this Excel message on a single line across the top of the screen. Waiting doesn't solve the problem. If I close Excel and choose the "Close program" option, it sometimes shows me the file as I remember it for a couple of seconds, then the program closes. Re-opening the file just gives the same behaviour again. During the first few seconds of loading, I can see the message "Contacting server for information" at the bottom of the Excel screen.
In Task Manager I can find EXCEL.EXE *32 running. I'm using Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.
This is a file I use regularly in projects as a specialised calculator, and so I re-copy it each time and save it to save the calculation records in the project file. I've found that versions of the workbook created even several years ago and have given no trouble until now all suffer this problem, so it looks like a problem with Excel 2010. This is the first time I've tried to open these files since migrating from a Win XP computer running Excel 2003.
Please can anyone help me to open the file and to resolve the problem?
Thanks
There might be a calculation or a marcro activated on start up that messes things up.
Try the following:
Open the Excel application, with a blank workbook. Set calculation to manual. Now look up your Macro settings and set these to "disable with notifications".
With these things set, open your misbehaving workbook again and see what happens now. Dont let the macros (if any) start yet! Open the VBA Editor window and check for a script in Workbook called Workbook_Open. If that is present check its content or put a break in and debug it.
Let us know what you find, if any.
UPDATE:
It sounds like there is a database link to an external source that is trying to refresh on startup but isnt working correctly (anymore). I now remember likewise behaviour when I had an Excel workbook with tons of SQL queries in it that (in case of showing a complete table or view by applying SELECT * FROM ...) could overlap other data and that would create autoshutdowns for me. Change the option in the Trust Center for External Content to Disable when you open this workbook and let us know!
I have a client with the same issue. The problem was resolved by removing all the logo's (Images) from the sheet. It appears that the logo contains a link to some web site. I copied the logo into paint and copied it back.
Problem Solved!
It appears that an object placed in the sheet can have its own links embedded in it???
I hope this helps!

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