How to Fix “Microsoft Excel is Waiting for Another Application to Complete an OLE Action”

In this article, get ready to learn How to Fix "Microsoft Excel is Waiting for Another Application to Complete an OLE Action", because today we will let you know about it.

The problem "Microsoft Excel is Waiting for Another Application to Complete an OLE Action" will be manifested by Excel if another program is still processing an OLE action initiated by Excel. Usually this happens when Excel interacts with another application, like Word or PowerPoint, where in such case the data transfer lags behind or gets interrupted.

At this moment, it is waiting for the execution of an OLE action from another application.

An OLE communication problem is one of the main causes, and it is usually due to faulty add-ins, corrupted links, or certain third-party applications. There are several other reasons related to this error, which are mostly due to links in documents that are hidden or incorrect Excel settings.

Methods for correcting this mistake are detailed in this article.

1. Disable Adobe Acrobat PDFMaker Add-In

As this is an add-in integrated with other office applications, an obsolete or mismatched PDFMaker can interfere with the efforts of Excel to link or embed objects. You may disable this add-in to clear up conflicts and let Excel perform the OLE-related functions without unnecessary delays.

Open Excel, click on the ribbon bar, click on File. Alternatively, open Excel, click the File menu.

Access the options by selecting File and then clicking Options.

From the left-hand sidebar of the Excel Options menu, select Add-ins. Now, open the COM Add-ins menu by clicking the Go. button in the right-hand window. In the drop-down menu to the right of Manage select COM Add-ins. In the drop-down list at the bottom of the "Add-ins" menu, select "COM Add-ins," then click "Go."

To remove the Acrobat PDFMaker Office COM Addin completely, either clear the check box next to it, or highlight it in the COM Add-ins box and then click Remove.  

Restart the computer. Then try to repeat the steps on your computer which led to this error, restart again if that doesn't work.

2. Enable Applications that use DDE in Excel itself

The application will function in tandem with other programs if, within the application, the "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" setting is disabled. It is further affirmed that Excel uses the DDE protocol which is essential to some functions like creating files and data insertion in order to reduce the chances of error in OLE action.

Click the File menu button to open Microsoft Excel. Now you can create a new document or workbook. Once Excel is open, click the File menu.  

In the left side of the File menu you will find Options. Click on that.

In the Excel Options window, located on the left-hand side click on the Advanced tab. On the right scroll down to the General section. Uncheck the box if there are any other applications that may be using DDE by de-selecting the checkmark in the box. Start DDE protocol in Excel

Click Ok If you want to save your changes, and then you can restart Excel. Try to do the procedure that caused the "Microsoft is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action" error and see whether the problem still exists after the restart.

3. Kill the Internet Explorer (IE) process

Occasionally, some background activity gets in the way of Excel OLE communication, and on some systems, the processes of Internet Explorer can interfere as well. Excel may be blocked by Internet Explorer if it is busy processing something that does not answer. This kind of problem is cleared by killing processes of IE - where Excel can then proceed.

To open Task Manager click Ctrl + Shift + Esc on a computer.

Switch to the Processes tab in Task Manager and check running instances of Internet Explorer.

Locate the ones you'd want to kill and right-click on them. The IE window was left open

If you still get the problem "Microsoft is waiting for another application to complete an OLE action" when saving the file from within Excel, revisit that program.

4. Turn Off the Excel Application Messaging

Some of these signals from the Excel application should be turned off to avoid much waiting in your program while waiting for other applications. In this, we will use the VBA to bypass some message prompts that would halt the smooth running of tasks and cause problems in OLE action. 

The Alt + F11 key pressed in Excel opens the Visual Basic Editor, which you can use to edit your workbook.

To add a module to ThisWorkbook, right-click it on the left in the Project bar, then click Insert > Module.

Place the following code within the new module: Declare the function as private This is the code for the "ole32" register message filter: (ByVal IFilterIn As Long, ByRef PreviousFilter) While this public sub kill message filter is running, The IMsgFilter is set to 0 and then to the "CoRegisterMessageFilter" function. The line of code named "public sub restore message filter" A long CoRegisterMessageFilter with two parameters: IMsgFilter and IMsgFilter End Sub

Update: Some users have tried this different code to avoid mistakes:

sub Build XYZ Set the wdApp object On Error Resume, declare wd as an object "Word.Application" is to be set to wdApp When error count becomes zero Set wdApp=CreateObject("Word.Application") End After an Error Reach zero Set wd to wdApp.Documents Now launch the Word document with the following: Open(ThisWorkbook.Path & Application.PathSeparator & "XYZ template.docm").Set visible to the true range of "A1:B10".Slideshow wd.Range.CopyPicture xlScreen.Substitute Paste

To save some features in a macro-free workbook, Ctrl + S and then select No at the warning prompt.

First Select Save as type use Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook then choose a location give the changed workbook a name then click on Save. Click the "Save" button.Creating an Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook

Alt + Q will return you to your workbook from the editor. To run a macro you've created, select it from Alt + F8.

5. Turn Off Compatibility Mode

Certain problems with OLE can be worked around by not running Excel in compatibility mode, which cuts down the compatibility with more modern system components. If compatibility mode is turned off, Excel can make better use of the existing capabilities and also integrate well within other programs, thereby reducing chances of delay or miscommunication of data. Once this setting is changed, then Excel will have no more problems with linked data or any embedded objects. Click on Windows Start and search for Excel.

Long press on the Excel icon until the menu "Open file location" appears. 

Locate the Excel shortcut in the pathway and right-click, opening Properties, locate the Excel executable - open the context menu and select Properties.  

In the Properties window, head to Compatibility, unchecking the checkbox Run this software in compatibility mode for:.

That would be all you need to know about how to fix "Microsoft Excel is Waiting for Another Application to Complete an OLE Action", so we hope we have been of great help.