Hi there,

We have a Excel addin (XLA based) that works fine in Excel 2013 Desktop version. The problem comes if we try to open an Excel file created using our addin in Excel Online. Our addin adds an external link to a XLA file, adds multiple shapes to the Excel file and assigns shape's OnAction to one of the functions inside the linked XLA file. I investigated and found that Excel Online DOES NOT support External Links and Shapes so it warns the user with a message as below:

This is all as expected but if I set a Shape's OnAction to a function with a parameter such as Test.xla!ShowMsg("abc") and open in Excel Online then it fails with the following message and does not open the file. Is this a bug in Excel Online? Seems like it crashes and there is no message to open the document without Shapes or Links.

Hi Abhimanyu Sirohi,

As far as I know macros do not run in Excel online, you cannot read, edit and modify macros in Excel online. I suppose this might be the reason of your issue.

You can refer to this article to get more information about difference between Excel online and Excel client:
https://support.office.com/en-NZ/article/Differences-between-using-a-workbook-in-the-browser-and-in-Excel-f0dc28ed-b85d-4e1d-be6d-5878005db3b6#__functions

I suggest you try to disable macros in Excel and check if works fine in Excel online.

Any updates please let me know, I'm glad to help and follow up your reply.

Regards,

Emi Zhang
TechNet Community Su

Hi Emi,

My point here is that Excel Online should at least open the worksheet after removing the problem items (Shapes, Links). I should be able to view the data inside my worksheet using Excel Online. Currently it displays an error for my worksheet.

Regards,
Abhi

Hi Abhi,

If possible, I suggest you send a sample file to our email address:
ibsofc@microsoft.com
Please Note: Please add the URL of the case in the email subject or body.

Or you could share the file via OneDrive.

I'm glad to help and follow up your reply.

Regards,

Emi Zhang
TechNet Community Su

Thanks Emi. I have sent an email with zipped sample files to that email address.

Hi Abhi,

First I uploaded the sample file to Excel Online and I got the same error message as you.

Then I removed the Macro from the shape as shown in the following figure.

Then I opened the file in Excel Online, I got the prompt but not an error message:

There is no shape and shape option in Excel Online:

If your workbook contains objects, such as comments, shapes or ink, you can view the data in the workbook, but these objects cant be displayed in the browser. Furthermore, if the workbook contains a table that is linked to an external data source (query table), the workbook displays the data as it was most recently saved in the Excel desktop application, not a view of the live data.

When you view a workbook like this in Excel Online, a message notifies you that the workbook cannot be displayed completely in the browser.

If you try to edit the workbook, a message notifies you that the workbook cant be edited in the browser. The message provides brief instructions for creating a copy of the workbook. Unsupported features are removed from the copy, allowing the copy to be edited in the browser.

I suppose you can give a feedback about the feature in Excel Online, you know that the new Excel will be released soon.

Regards,

Emi Zhang
TechNet Community Su

Thanks for the analysis Emi,

I feel the error message is a bug in Excel Online. You do not have to remove the macro completely from shape to avoid the error message, you can simple change the macro to a non-parameterised one (ShowMsg()). It is only with a parameterised macro that Excel Online displays an error message and does not allow viewing of data.

Thanks
Abhi