Excel Attachments Open Blank from Outlook Fix

One of the most common problems I have seen while using Outlook or supporting other people that use Outlook is attachment problems. One of the most recurring problems I have seen is when Excel attachments open blank for no good reason. Here is an example of what it might look like:

So instead of seeing your workbook or your spreadsheets there is nothing. Don’t worry too much about this because there is a really easy and simple fix that can correct this problem for you.

Excel Attachments Open Blank from Outlook Fix

Since I’m using 2010 all the pictures will be of Excel 2010 but I will include the steps for 2007.

First thing you want to do is to open Excel. You can open it from either the Programs folder underneath Microsoft Office or just search for Excel from the Start Search. After you have Excel open go to the Office button or File menu. You will want to go to the Options menu. Depending on what version it will either say Options or Excel options.

Then you will want to go to Advanced menu in the left pane. This is the same for Excel 2007 and 2010.

Scroll all the way to the bottom until you reach the General section and uncheck Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). This is the same in both Excel 2007 and 2010.

You are probably wondering what Dynamic Data Exchange is? Well Dynamic Data Exchange is a protocol for transferring data between applications in Windows. It will send messages between applications that share data and will use hared memory to exchange the data between the applications. So when you have this check box check Excel will ignore the data exchange from Outlook causing the blank workbook to open instead of the attachment.

After you have finished close out Excel and try to open the attachment again. This should fix the problem but if it doesn’t or that was not checked to begin with you might have some other problems. You can post them in our excel how to forum or check out this website for more help.