Error sending command to application is not very disturbing on a mass scale, but many users still encounter a problem when the execution of operations by one of the most important applications of the office suite - Excel - is interrupted. Usually you encounter an error when trying to run a .xls or .xlsx file. The exact cause of this phenomenon is unknown, but there are certain ways to eliminate it. The problem is that diagnostics have not been developed; you will have to determine at random what exactly will help in a particular situation.
At the same time, the error sometimes has a slightly different message, for example, in Vista a notification is shown about the need to repeat the startup procedure. In Windows XP, a characteristic manifestation of the same disease indicates the absence of the path component, that is, any libraries are missing.
Working with startup files
Excel error when sending a command may indicate a problem with the files responsible for processing startup. They are located in the Microsoft Office directory, which is located in Program Files. The names of the folders differ depending on which package office applications Was installed. For 2003 - OFFICE11, for 2007 - OFFICE12, for 2010 and 2013 - OFFICE 14 and 15.
After gaining access to the required storage, you should do the following:
- Find exe Excel file(the same applies for Word);
- RMB and go to “Properties”;
- In the Compatibility category, uncheck access rights and compatibility with certain Windows.
Debugging DDE requests
The error when sending a command to the Excel application quite often lies precisely in this section, where the reception of requests has any significant differences. It is important to configure the parameter correctly, otherwise the specified failure will not be avoided.
To access the necessary settings you need:
- For Excel 2000 and 2003, go to the “Tools” tab, then select “Options”. In the “General” category, you need to uncheck “Ignore DDE requests...”;
- For newer versions, 2007 and higher, you need to click on the Microsoft logo and select "Advanced". Here also deselect DDE.
After completing these steps, you will have to restart the computer so that the interaction of all office programs is restored.
Hardware acceleration
In general, the acceleration feature works well and allows you to process commands much faster, but sometimes it works with certain glitches. In such cases, you will have to disable this functionality. This method is recommended as an effective solution by the developers themselves, but they indicate that you will most likely have to reinstall the software package.
The user should:
- Open the program and go to the “File” section;
- Select “Options”;
- Click on the “Advanced” tab;
- Scroll to the “Screen” category;
- Check the box next to “Disable hardware acceleration.”
Note that the method is only relevant for latest versions Excel, so versions 2010 and earlier will not be able to use this method.
System rollback
Most likely, the user has not encountered this problem before, so he can roll back to some stable point in the OS. Regardless of the cause of the problems, they will be fixed, but other changes will be rolled back along with them.
This functionality is only available if you have previously created system restore points, perhaps when installing applications or performing important operations.
The procedure is simple, all you need to do is:
- Click on Start and enter “Recovery” in the search bar and select the appropriate item;
- Agree to the warning by clicking “Next”;
- Now select the correct restore point;
- Then follow the wizard and his tips.
Problems with XLS files
Many users indicate help from this treatment method, it is necessary to select the right program to process files. Despite the banality and obviousness of the method, this does not always come to mind, and it often happens that after installation new version, the old, ineffective one remains in the handlers.
The association of files and programs for their use can be configured:
- Click on Start and Control Panel;
- Launch the default program execution item;
- Next, proceed to file comparison;
- Now you need to carefully study the list and find .xls and .xlsx;
- Select each format in turn and click on “Change program”;
- Select Excel from the list.
System update
In new versions of the system, the Microsoft Office package is updated automatically along with the OS. It is likely that the reason is broken code, then the developer as soon as possible will fix the bug and release a new update. You need to go to the “Update Center” and check for available system updates.
Ultimately, you will need to resort to reinstalling the Excel software component, which in most cases will restore its functionality. As a last resort, you can run a system integrity scan using /sfc scannow, the command is entered into the console. After the action, repeat the Microsoft Office installation process.
If you still have questions about the topic “Error when sending a command to an application” in Excel, how can I fix it?”, you can ask them in the comments
When you open a file with the extension .xls (.xlsx), you may see a notification “An error occurred when sending a command to the application” Excel 2007. Find out what to do in this case in this publication.
Elimination
The reasons for this error can be very different. Therefore, we will not go into detail about why the error appeared and will go through one by one ways to eliminate it.
Important! An error when sending a command can occur not only in Excel 2007, but also in 2010, 2013, 2016 versions.
Disabling the Ignore DDE Requests feature
First of all, try disabling this function in the Excel options:
Opening xls with excel by default
Let's assign files with extensions .xls (.xlsx) a program that will open them by default:
Advice! If Excel does not appear in the list of recommended applications, click “Find another application on this computer” and specify the path to the program manually. For 64x bit Windows versions, default path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14
Select Excel.exe and click Open.
Installing the full update package
The error is possible due to bugs that have already been fixed in new Microsoft Office patches. If you have not updated your software after installing it on your PC, run Windows Update and click “check for updates.” If there are updates, you can install them, restart your computer and check for the error.
This step is not necessary, but it is advisable. If you have completely disabled system updates for your own reasons, you can try other options to resolve the error.
Disabling hardware acceleration
This method will help to temporarily solve the error when sending a command to Excel:
Check the functionality of the file.
Complete reinstallation of Microsoft Office
If none of the above methods solved the problem, try reinstalling MS Office. For complete removal:
Despite the fact that, in general, the program Microsoft Excel quite different high level stability, this application also sometimes has problems. One of these problems is the message “An error occurred while sending a command to the application.” It occurs when you try to save or open a file, as well as perform some other actions with it. Let's figure out what causes this problem, and how it can be eliminated.
What are the main reasons that cause this error? The following can be distinguished:
- Damage to the superstructure;
- An attempt to access active application data;
- Errors in the system registry;
- Damage to Excel.
Solution
How to resolve this error depends on its cause. But, since in most cases it is more difficult to establish the cause than to eliminate it, it is more rational decision is a trial method to try to find the right course of action from the options presented below.
Method 1: Disable DDE Ignoring
Most often, you can resolve an error when sending a command by disabling DDE ignoring.
After this, in a significant number of cases, the problem is eliminated.
Method 2: Disable Compatibility Mode
Another likely cause of the problem described above may be that compatibility mode is enabled. In order to disable it, you need to follow the steps below sequentially.
If the appropriate boxes are not checked, then we continue to look for the source of the problem elsewhere.
Method 3: Cleaning the Registry
One of the reasons that can cause an error when sending a command to an application in Excel is problems in the registry. Therefore, we will need to clean it. Before proceeding with further actions, in order to insure yourself against possible undesirable consequences of this procedure, we strongly recommend creating a system restore point.
Method 4: Disable hardware acceleration
A temporary solution to the problem may be to disable hardware acceleration in Excel.
- Let's move on to the section already familiar to us from the first method of solving the problem. "Options" in the tab "File". Click on the item again "Additionally".
- In the window of additional Excel parameters that opens, look for the settings block "Screen". Check the box next to the parameter "Disable hardware image acceleration". Click on the button "OK".
Method 5: Disable add-ons
As mentioned above, one of the reasons for this problem may be a malfunction of some add-on. Therefore, as a temporary measure, you can use disabling Excel add-ins.
If, after turning off all add-ons, the problem remains, this means that the add-ons can be enabled, and the error should be resolved in another way.
Method 6: Reset File Associations
To resolve the issue, you can also try resetting the file associations.
Last but not least, the lack of important Windows updates may be to blame for the appearance of this error in Excel. You need to check whether all available updates are downloaded and, if necessary, download the missing ones.
If none of the methods listed above helped solve the problem, then perhaps it makes sense to think about reinstalling the package Microsoft programs Office, or even about reinstalling the operating system Windows systems generally.
As you can see, there are quite a few possible options for eliminating errors when sending a command in Excel. But, as a rule, in each specific case there is only one correct solution. Therefore, in order to eliminate this problem, you will have to use the trial method various ways eliminate the error until the only correct option is found.
Hello friends! I just ran into a problem with Microsoft's work Excel, where when opening any .xls (.xlsx) file, the message “” appeared. In general, the decision was arrogant and therefore, right in the heat of the moment, I hasten to share it with you.
So, the problem was discovered when opening an attached file, in .xls format, in Outlook with connected mail, but instead of displaying it normally document began to appear sign with the text " Error sending command to application" Immediately I thought that most likely it was the mail, but as soon as I tried to open the same file, but already saved on the hard drive, the same error appeared again.
Of course, the fastest solution would most likely be to simply reinstall Office, but at the moment I could not do this. Therefore, I began searching for various information on how to eliminate errors in Excel when sending a command to an application. I found the method I needed, as well as many others, which I will talk about a little later.
There can be a lot of reasons for this error to appear, so I recommend that you do not go deeper into searching for them, but simply start solving it right away.
So let's move on to the main part of our instructions for troubleshooting the Excel application, when opening it, a notification about “An error occurred when sending a command to the application” appeared.
Removing ignoring DDE to eliminate an error when sending a command to an application in Excel
I’ll probably start with the advice that helped me cope with this trouble.
It itself is simple and helps most users who encounter an error when sending a command to an application in Excel.
So, click on " File" in the upper corner.
In the settings that open, go to the item “ Additional", where we look for the section " Are common».
Now, right here, we uncheck the item “ Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)" and after that, of course, save the settings by clicking on " OK".
Purpose of Excel as a program for opening xls files
The second way is correct installation file comparisons, in other words, we should specify the program we need with which the .xls, .xlsx files will be opened.
Complete system and office update
Also, to fix the problem with Excel and the error when sending a command to the application, you should completely install the recommended updates for the system and Microsoft Office. I recommend this option to be done even for those who have . Well, if you still don’t want to do this, then you can immediately move on to the next point.
Those who are planning to update should go to Center Windows updates and there start searching for new updates.
Hardware acceleration problem
Disabling hardware acceleration, advice from Microsoft, which, according to the company, can be used as a temporary solution to the problem in Excel with an error when sending a command to the application.
I can’t say anything specific about this method and whether it helps get rid of the error when sending a command to an application in Excel or not, but I think that since Microsoft recommends checking it, then it will probably really, at least temporarily, help get rid of this error.
Complete reinstallation of office as a solution to problems with Microsoft Excel
Well, of course, the most recent and, as always, most reliable way is, complete removal And new installation Microsoft Office. At the same time, not just by deleting it in the control panel, but by cleaning all its remains in your user’s folders.
We clean the contents of these folders:
C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office
In general, the first option helped me, problems with Excel and the error when sending commands to the application disappeared and everything is working fine so far. But, if the first method does not help you, do not despair, perhaps the cause of your problem is something else, just try all the other options, and then everything will work out for you 100%.
Excel: Error sending command to application. Bug fix
Many people have encountered a system refusal to open a book.xls. At the same time, opening from the menu works. Dragging a file icon from a folder to the active area also helps. But double-clicking on the workbook displays the message “An error occurred while sending the command to Excel.” Let's consider different actions to correct the situation.
Microsoft Excel: error when sending a command to an application - reasons
Let's list what the problem might be:
- Failure or conflict in add-ons. Modules may conflict or have errors in the code.
- Clicking on a file when Excel program is in the process of executing a task (usually in the background, unnoticeably). When loading, it tries to solve the problems, and then a request appears to open the table. An error is generated.
- Problems in the Microsoft Office package.
An error when sending a command to the Excel application can occur in versions 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016. Let's look at various solutions.
Disable dynamic data exchange
This is the most popular treatment method. Go to the "File" menu.
And click on options. 
In the "Advanced" section, look for an item that will allow you to ignore DDE. 
Check the box and click OK. Try opening any Excel workbook. Did not help? Let's move on.
Recovering User Experience Virtualization (UE-V)
A hotfix package has been released specifically to correct this command routing error. If you have disabled updates, you will have to install it manually. You can download it.
Follow the link above and accept the user agreement. 
Click the checkbox and enter your address Email.
The download link will be sent to the specified address. 
Select it and paste it into the address bar of your browser. The download will start automatically. 
Click on the shortcut and the installation will begin. Go through it step by step and restart your computer. Try double-clicking on the document again to open it. Are you seeing the “Error sending command to Excel” message again? So we're trying to fix the add-ons.
Disabling unnecessary libraries
Go to File – Options and click on add-ons. 
There is a dropdown menu item at the bottom. This is where "COM Add-ins" is needed. Click and go to them. 
Uncheck all the boxes and launch Excel. 
If this helped eliminate the error when sending commands to the application, then tick one box at a time. This way you will find the add-on that is the source of the message.
If this does not help resolve the error when sending a command to the application, then you need to disable compatibility.
Changing launch modes
Open the folder where Excel is located. To do this, click on start and find the program shortcut. Right-click on it (RMB) and select “Advanced” - “Go to file location”. 
In the folder that opens, right-click on the program icon and select “Properties”. 
In the “Compatibility” section, uncheck the “Run as administrator” and “Run in compatibility mode” checkboxes. 
Another reason for the problem of sending a command to an application may be that the file mappings to the executable program are broken.
Setting up comparisons
Use the search to find the control panel. 
Go to programs. 
And select default programs. 
Go to comparison. 
Find the section with .xls files. 
Install an executable for this type. To do this, click “Change program” and select the appropriate application. 
If the system does not detect the file, click the "Other applications" link and search for it in the system.
Install the program similarly for other extensions.
If an error continues to appear when sending a command to Excel, you need to optimize the loading of pictures.
Disabling hardware acceleration
Go to “File” - “Options” - “Advanced” and in the “Display” section, check the box to disable hardware acceleration. 
If none of the above steps helped resolve the error when sending a command to Excel, then install Windows updates. This is done in the system parameters (the “Start” button and the gear), in the “Center” section Windows management». 
Click the Check for active updates button. 
Don't forget to restart your computer after installing updates.
If Office is the cause of the problem, you can restore it. To do this, right-click on the main menu button and select “Applications and Features”. 
Find the Office package you have installed and click on it. 
When you select a change, you will be given a choice of recovery methods. 
First, choose the quick option, and if it doesn’t help, then restore over the network. In any case, you should click the “Restore” button.
If even after this the error sending commands to the application continues to bother you, you should reinstall Microsoft Office. This is an extreme measure, and we hope that it won’t come to this for you.
Have a great day!
