Tips to Resolve MS Excel error “There was a problem sending the command to the program”?

MS Excel is a great tool for creating, organizing and storing data using spreadsheets but sometime it behaves in a strange manner and generate error messages. Due to these errors you sometime fail to open your Excel file. In one case when you try to open your Excel file it does not open and generate following error message:

“There was a problem sending the command to the program.”

Cause: The above error may occur if in Excel settings Ignore other applications property is selected.

Solution: In order to solve above problem follow below steps depending on your MS Excel version:

For Excel 2010

1. Go to File-> Options.
2. Click Advanced and then in the General area clear the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) check box.
3. Click OK.

For Excel 2007 

1. Go to Microsoft Office Button-> Excel Options.
2. Click Advanced and then in the General area clear the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE).
3. Click OK.

For Excel 2003 or earlier versions

1. Click Tool-> Options.
2. In the General tab clear the Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) check box.

If after performing above steps you still unable to open your Excel file then try following alternative solution:

Alternative Solution:

1. Go to the location C:\Program File\Microsoft Office\Office 12\excel.exe.
2. Right click on Excel.exe then click Properties, under Properties click on Compatibility tab.
3. Now check for any check mark in Compatibility mode option and click “change settings for all users” tab at the bottom of screen.
4. Uncheck the Run as Administrator option.
5. Make sure to uncheck all the checkbox in Compatibility mode.
6. Finally click on Apply and then click OK.

If you have exhausted all above method and your Excel file is not ready to open that means your Excel file got damaged and you need an excellent third party tool to repair your damaged Excel file.