Ignore Other Applications" setting

Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
Applications" setting?

Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
remedied by:

1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".

I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:

Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False

However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.

I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere, I
can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false from
there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the processes
listed here.

Any ideas? Thanks!

It is stored in the Options key of the section:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options
(09.0 adjusted with the user version of excel i guess)
Now, the issue is that this key is an aggregate of several options.

After trying setting and unsetting the Ignore Other Application Requests,
reading the registry each time, and converting the hexadecimal value in
binary, it seems like it corresponds to the 7th bit (from the right): ...
0100 0000
(For me, mixed with the other options, it switches from 0x00000013 to
0x00000053)
.... but that's just a guess from my part...

--
Regards,
Sébastien
<http://www.ondemandanalysis.com>

Joel,
Is there some app on the system that is setting this to TRUE ?

NickHK

"Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> Applications" setting?
>
> Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> remedied by:
>
> 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
>
> I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
>
> Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
>
> However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
>
> I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
I
> can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
from
> there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
processes
> listed here.
>
> Any ideas? Thanks!
>
>
>

Hi Joel,

You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
not that much easier than doing it through Excel.

My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.

If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
either get it fixed or get rid of it.

--
Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
Application Professionals
http://www.appspro.com/

* Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
* Professional Excel Development
http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm

"Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> Applications" setting?
>
> Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> remedied by:
>
> 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
>
> I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
>
> Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
>
> However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
>
> I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
> I
> can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
> from
> there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
> processes
> listed here.
>
> Any ideas? Thanks!
>
>
>

That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now, I'm
just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around from
PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...

You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
the 7th bit of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options.
I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
change or something?

Thanks again,
Joel


"Rob Bovey" wrote:

> Hi Joel,
>
> You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
> registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
> part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
> value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
> not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
>
> My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
> Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
> common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
> when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
>
> If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
> you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
> application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
> to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
> either get it fixed or get rid of it.
>
> --
> Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
> Application Professionals
> http://www.appspro.com/
>
> * Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
> * Professional Excel Development
> http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
>
> "Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> > Applications" setting?
> >
> > Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> > remedied by:
> >
> > 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> > 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
> >
> > I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
> >
> > Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
> >
> > However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
> >
> > I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
> > I
> > can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
> > from
> > there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
> > processes
> > listed here.
> >
> > Any ideas? Thanks!
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>

Do you close Excel after changing the setting and re-reading the registry?
Excel writes its setiings when closing.
That is, once you change the setting, you need to close Excel so that it is
written to the registry. Then, if using RegEdit , refresh the key view.

But once again, it is just based on my observation when opening excel, then
only changing this single setting, and finally closing excel.
--
Regards,
Sébastien
<http://www.ondemandanalysis.com>


"Joel" wrote:

> That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now, I'm
> just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
> disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around from
> PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...
>
> You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
> the 7th bit of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options.
> I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
> since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
> don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
> change or something?
>
> Thanks again,
> Joel
>
>
> "Rob Bovey" wrote:
>
> > Hi Joel,
> >
> > You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
> > registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
> > part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
> > value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
> > not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
> >
> > My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
> > Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
> > common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
> > when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
> >
> > If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
> > you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
> > application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
> > to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
> > either get it fixed or get rid of it.
> >
> > --
> > Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
> > Application Professionals
> > http://www.appspro.com/
> >
> > * Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
> > * Professional Excel Development
> > http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
> >
> > "Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> > > Applications" setting?
> > >
> > > Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> > > remedied by:
> > >
> > > 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> > > 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
> > >
> > > I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
> > >
> > > Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
> > >
> > > However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
> > >
> > > I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
> > > I
> > > can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
> > > from
> > > there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
> > > processes
> > > listed here.
> > >
> > > Any ideas? Thanks!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >

Ahh... That's why I wasn't catching the registry change with WinDiff ... I
didn't close Excel first!

I can find how to set all the option settings through the registry from
here. Thanks for your help! : )

"sebastienm" wrote:

> Do you close Excel after changing the setting and re-reading the registry?
> Excel writes its setiings when closing.
> That is, once you change the setting, you need to close Excel so that it is
> written to the registry. Then, if using RegEdit , refresh the key view.
>
> But once again, it is just based on my observation when opening excel, then
> only changing this single setting, and finally closing excel.
> --
> Regards,
> Sébastien
> <http://www.ondemandanalysis.com>
>
>
> "Joel" wrote:
>
> > That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now, I'm
> > just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
> > disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around from
> > PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...
> >
> > You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
> > the 7th bit of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options.
> > I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
> > since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
> > don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
> > change or something?
> >
> > Thanks again,
> > Joel
> >
> >
> > "Rob Bovey" wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Joel,
> > >
> > > You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
> > > registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
> > > part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
> > > value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
> > > not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
> > >
> > > My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
> > > Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
> > > common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
> > > when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
> > >
> > > If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
> > > you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
> > > application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
> > > to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
> > > either get it fixed or get rid of it.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
> > > Application Professionals
> > > http://www.appspro.com/
> > >
> > > * Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
> > > * Professional Excel Development
> > > http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
> > >
> > > "Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> > > > Applications" setting?
> > > >
> > > > Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> > > > remedied by:
> > > >
> > > > 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> > > > 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
> > > >
> > > > I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
> > > >
> > > > Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
> > > >
> > > > However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
> > > >
> > > > I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
> > > > I
> > > > can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
> > > > from
> > > > there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
> > > > processes
> > > > listed here.
> > > >
> > > > Any ideas? Thanks!
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >

Hi Joel,

Under the key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options\

you will see a value called Options. To turn off Ignore Other Applications
you need to turn *on* bit 6 of this value.

Because the registry doesn't have a binary editor, you have to figure
out what value to enter in order to turn this bit on. The easiest way to do
this is to perform a bitwise OR operation in the Visual Basic Editor
Immediate Window between the decimal number currently in the Option value
(the number in parenthesis) and the number 64, which is the decimal
representation of a binary number with only the sixth bit set.

Lets say the current number in the Options value is 23. In the Immediate
Window enter:

? 23 Or 64
87

As you can see, the result is 87. This is the number you need to put back
into the Options value in order to turn off Ignore Other Applications. Note
that the specific number will likely be different from computer to computer
because the Option value holds six settings, so the specific number in it
will depend on how the user has Excel configured on their computer.

--
Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
Application Professionals
http://www.appspro.com/

* Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
* Professional Excel Development
http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm

"Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now,
> I'm
> just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
> disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around
> from
> PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...
>
> You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
> the 7th bit of
> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options.
> I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
> since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
> don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
> change or something?
>
> Thanks again,
> Joel
>
>
> "Rob Bovey" wrote:
>
>> Hi Joel,
>>
>> You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
>> registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
>> part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single
>> numeric
>> value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly
>> is
>> not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
>>
>> My real question is why so many people at your organization have
>> Ignore
>> Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's
>> very
>> common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
>> when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
>>
>> If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it
>> off
>> you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
>> application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a
>> while
>> to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
>> either get it fixed or get rid of it.
>>
>> --
>> Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
>> Application Professionals
>> http://www.appspro.com/
>>
>> * Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
>> * Professional Excel Development
>> http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
>>
>> "Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> > Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
>> > Applications" setting?
>> >
>> > Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that
>> > are
>> > remedied by:
>> >
>> > 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
>> > 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
>> >
>> > I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
>> >
>> > Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
>> >
>> > However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
>> >
>> > I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry
>> > somewhere,
>> > I
>> > can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
>> > from
>> > there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
>> > processes
>> > listed here.
>> >
>> > Any ideas? Thanks!
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>

For anyone still following this thread, here's what I came up with...

I entered the following into Notepad, and saved it as an .INF file ( I
called it "ExcelFilesWontOpenFix.inf" ):

--------------------------------------------------
[Version]
Signature=$CHICAGO$

[DefaultInstall]
BitReg=Bit.Settings

[Bit.Settings]
HKCU,Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options,Options,0x00000001,0x40,0
-------------------------------------------------------

Then to run the file, I use the following VBScript:

-------------------------------------------------------
Dim WshShell, oExec, strCommandLine

strCommandLine = "rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall
132 \\MyServer\MyFolder\ExcelFilesWontOpenFix.inf"

Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set oExec = WshShell.Exec(strCommandLine )

MsgBox "Excel repaired!"
-------------------------------------------------------

....of course, replacing '\\MyServer\MyFolder\' with either the PC folder or
network location as required. I had our users run this from a network
location, saving them a few clicks. This is the command line that Windows XP
associates with installing the .INF file extension in the registry.

And, if you haven't bought the "Microsoft Windows XP Registry Guide" by
Jerry Honeycutt (ISBN 0-7356-1788-0), I strongly recommend it, giving credit
for this fix where credit is due! Thanks to all of you for all of your help
as well!

Joel

"Joel" wrote:

> Ahh... That's why I wasn't catching the registry change with WinDiff ... I
> didn't close Excel first!
>
> I can find how to set all the option settings through the registry from
> here. Thanks for your help! : )
>
> "sebastienm" wrote:
>
> > Do you close Excel after changing the setting and re-reading the registry?
> > Excel writes its setiings when closing.
> > That is, once you change the setting, you need to close Excel so that it is
> > written to the registry. Then, if using RegEdit , refresh the key view.
> >
> > But once again, it is just based on my observation when opening excel, then
> > only changing this single setting, and finally closing excel.
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Sébastien
> > <http://www.ondemandanalysis.com>
> >
> >
> > "Joel" wrote:
> >
> > > That was my next question, "What the heck is causing this?" But for now, I'm
> > > just trying to see if there is a way I can set this remotely, without
> > > disrupting the users, for several hundred users. Again, running around from
> > > PC to PC doesn't sound like much fun...
> > >
> > > You mention it's part of a bitmask...which one? sebasitan3 wrote to check
> > > the 7th bit of HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Excel\Options.
> > > I could try HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
> > > since we're on Office XP here. But, when I change the setting in Excel, I
> > > don't notice any change in the registry. Do you have to reboot to see the
> > > change or something?
> > >
> > > Thanks again,
> > > Joel
> > >
> > >
> > > "Rob Bovey" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi Joel,
> > > >
> > > > You can modify the Ignore Other Applications setting directly in the
> > > > registry. Unfortunately, it's not a simple True/False setting but rather
> > > > part of a bitmask that stores several settings packed into a single numeric
> > > > value. Because of this, modifying this setting in the registry correctly is
> > > > not that much easier than doing it through Excel.
> > > >
> > > > My real question is why so many people at your organization have Ignore
> > > > Other Applications set to True? This is not its default value, but it's very
> > > > common for badly written Excel VBA applications to turn this setting off
> > > > when they start up and not turn it back on when they exit.
> > > >
> > > > If this is what's going on, then even if you go around and turn it off
> > > > you're likely to see it back on as soon as everyone has run the problem
> > > > application again. I'd suggest working with a couple of machines for a while
> > > > to see if you can narrow down the program that's causing the problem and
> > > > either get it fixed or get rid of it.
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Rob Bovey, Excel MVP
> > > > Application Professionals
> > > > http://www.appspro.com/
> > > >
> > > > * Take your Excel development skills to the next level.
> > > > * Professional Excel Development
> > > > http://www.appspro.com/Books/Books.htm
> > > >
> > > > "Joel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > > Short version: Is there a registry setting for the "Ignore Other
> > > > > Applications" setting?
> > > > >
> > > > > Long version: Many people here have problems opening Excel files that are
> > > > > remedied by:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1. Opening Excel, and clicking on 'Tools | Options... | General' tab.
> > > > > 2. Uncheck "Ignore Other Applications".
> > > > >
> > > > > I also know this property can be set in Excel VBA:
> > > > >
> > > > > Application.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
> > > > >
> > > > > However, there are a LOT of computers that seem to have this problem.
> > > > >
> > > > > I figured that if this is being stored in a registry entry somewhere,
> > > > > I
> > > > > can remotely connect to the user's registry, and set the value to false
> > > > > from
> > > > > there, instead of having to run around to 100+ PC's, and repeat the
> > > > > processes
> > > > > listed here.
> > > > >
> > > > > Any ideas? Thanks!
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >

I know this thread is SUPER old, but I just came across it in my search for trying to automatically fix this issue with Excel so it's easier for other people around the office to fix themselves. I actually solved it on my own and thought I'd share if anyone's still trying to figure out a real quick and easy solution to this:
save this in a VBS file:
________________________
Dim args, objExcel

Set args = wScript.Arguments
Set objExcel = CreateObject("Excel.Application")

objExcel.IgnoreRemoteRequests = False
_______________________
and then set up a batch file to run it:
_______________________
cscript C:\MyPath\ExcelFix.vbs
exit
_______________________
Worked perfectly.