How to Fix REFRESH RECOMMENDED Excel error message

The Refresh Recommended error notice may pop up when you are working with Excel files that are connected to outside data sources or cloud services. Whenever we try to save a copy or discard changes, a pop-up window appears saying "Uploading" and never goes away. We will discuss the problem here and what one should do if he or she receives any error message from REFRESH RECOMMEND

Storing Files Online

Your latest changes are uploading to Excel. If you can't wait, simply close the file by clicking on the Cancel link. The next time you open it, we will upload it for you.

Anyone know what Refresh Recommend in Excel means?

Any time Refresh Recommend shows up, that is a warning sign that the information in your workbook could be stale. In order to get the latest and greatest, Excel believes you should refresh the data. This tends to happen any time that the workbook is connected to a database, web service, or cloud location, such as SharePoint or OneDrive.

Kill the "Refresh" Notification Problem in Excel

Follow these steps to troubleshoot an Excel Refresh Recommended problem.

Delete all office-related cache files.

Edit Excel's cache preferences

Rename the affected files.

Repair Microsoft Office problems

Keep all the networked Excel files open with their latest version.

Create a new copy of the document.Π

Proceed with the troubleshooting steps:

1. Clear the Office Files Cache folder.

New Beginning In the case where Excel fails to synchronize or fetch data, a proposed error message may appear. Most common causes for this are corrupted or old temporary files cached, which relate to cloud services or external data. Under this condition, you can restore Excel by cleaning up the cache to eliminate old or faulty data and start over with new connection data. If you want to do the same, then follow these steps.

Open File Explorer with Win + E and go to the location. The cached file location is %userprofile%AppdataLocalMicrosoftOffice16.0OfficeFileCache.

Once all the folders are opened, select all the files by pressing Ctrl + A.

To delete all Office file caches, just press the delete button.

Instead, the Excel user can click on the File tab, then Save. Next, tap the downward arrow to the Cache Settings area. Under the pull-down menu, click Delete Cached Files, and when asked to do it again, click the button. Then Excel will open up fresh, and one can see if Refresh Recommended notification is gone.

2- Change cache settings in Excel.

If we want to delete the local copy of our file when we shut down Excel, we need to change a setting for Cache. This would make Excel, every time we open it, get the latest updated data.

To Repeat

Start Excel then click on File Options,

Under the Save tab is the area for cache settings.

It also disables the option that keeps documents within the cache of Office even after they are closed.

Finally, click OK to save changes. Then, reboot the PC.

Check if the issue is resolved. 

3- Rename affected files.

Sometimes, Excel will persist in linking the file to earlier versions, cached data, or problematic sync preference. In this case, you can rename them to show the system that they are different files. You can accomplish this in Excel and also in the File Explorer. Make sure that after renaming, the problem goes away; otherwise, proceed to the next solution.

4. Microsoft Office Repair

Of course, there could be corruption in the files and components over time, and the installation process of Office could go wrong. The repair of Microsoft Office detects corrupted files and missing components and fixes them. Thus, the repair option could be a good alternative.

Now, click on the Preferences menu.

Click on the Apps menu, then select the Installed Apps.

Search for "Microsoft 365" or "Office", click on three dots next to the result, and choose Modify.

Please choose the Quick Repair.

Once the process is complete, the problem should be resolved. If this doesn't work, try clicking the Online Repair button instead of Quick Repair and repeat steps 1, 2, and 3. Hopefully this will resolve your problem.

5 .Ensure all Excel copies on the network are linked

You can also receive the Refresh Recommended error if the file isn't synchronized over the network. That's important, but it becomes even more vital when several people on a common disk are editing the same Excel file.

Click the "Save a copy" button to download a copy of the document onto your computer. Contact the Active Platform administrator with details on the location of that file.

Find it by scrolling down Make sure you are ready to save Excel binders, then click the "Save" button.

Once you are done, log back into your Active Platform account and open the binder that corresponds to the course. Then select "Open Excel Binder" from the menu, click to checkout and avoid version of the file.

Next click on Check In and instantly upload your previously saved copy right after you finish checking the file.

After having it verified, remove the local copy of the file and continue working.

See also: An Excel problem caused by an excessive number of cell format variants used.

6] New document creation.

As the last remedy, our problem might be resolved by creating a new copy of our file. Other issues that can accrimate in an Excel file that has multiple users are such things as broken links, poor formatting, and residual metadata hard to find. Open the Excel file, identify whatever data is needed, right click on it and select copy. Open a new, blank worksheet by using Ctrl+N. To remove the formatting, click Paste Special. Thus, we will be able to clear all remnants of the problem area and start fresh.

Following these steps will lead you smoothly to understand how to resolve this "Update Recommended" error and let Excel refresh your workbook automatically.