Excel: Closing Workbook Results in Multiple Prompts to Save

• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 4.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When you close a workbook in Microsoft Excel version 4.0, you may receive multiple prompts to save some or all of the individual sheets of the workbook (even when no apparent changes have been made).

CAUSE

This situation will occur if any of the sheets in a workbook contain volatile functions [for example, NOW() or RAND()] or links to other sheets that contain volatile functions, and if the Calculation option is set to Automatic.

If Calculation is set to Automatic, volatile functions will be recalculated when the workbook is opened and, as a result, Microsoft Excel marks affected sheets as changed, and you are prompted to save these changes for each sheet in the workbook that contains either a volatile function or a link to another sheets that contains a volatile function.

WORKAROUND

To avoid receiving these individual prompts, save the workbook before you close it by choosing Save Workbook from the File menu.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel, the volatile functions include the following:

       AREAS()           INDEX()             OFFSET()
       CELL()            INDIRECT()          ROWS()
       COLUMNS()         NOW()               RAND()

REFERENCES

"User's Guide 1," version 4.0, pages 67-70