How To Fix The ‘There Was A Problem Sending The Command To The Program Word’ Issue

Microsoft Excel with its extensive calculative and graphics features has been the sine qua non of the users for years now. Its ergonomic interface and its recomputing capabilities have made it indispensable for users ranging from students to corporate operators. But like every nice thing made by a human, beings it has some flaws. Users have reported of receiving an error message that states “There was a problem sending a command to the program “when they have tried to open a Microsoft Excel File (.xlsx) in Windows 8.1. If you are facing similar issues, then read on to resolve them once and for all.

What You Do When This Happens

This error message, as most of the users have reported appears only when you start the computer.  You try to open the file, you receive the message, you stay in confusion for a bit, and then you try again and Voila, this time it opens perfectly fine. Every time you restart your PC, the same thing happens all over again. If this happens to you only while you reboot your PC and not on other times, then you might want to take a chill-pill, but if this is a recurrent issue, then you have to find out what might be going wrong.

What Is Happening

Lots of reasons can explain what is happening and can reassure you that your file is completely undamaged and alright.

• Error in Microsoft Office
• Error in Microsoft Excel File
• Error in Microsoft Word File
• Issues in Windows PC
• Problem is the Internet Explorer Browser
• Error in AutoCAD

Microsoft sites “DDE,” Dynamic Data Exchange feature of our computer to be the reason behind this issue. The DDE is a protocol of interprocess communication used while opening some files.

How To Solve The Issue

Method 1:

1. Right-click on your .xlsx file and select ‘Open With’ option.
2. If you are using the Windows 7 or older versions, then click on the Browse button. If you are using Windows 8 or any other latest version, then click on More Options and subsequently click on the option ‘Look for another app on this PC.’
3. Select the folder ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office.’ in the dialog box of Browse and select the perfect.EXE file. For instance, if a Microsoft Excel file is being opened, then select the EXCEL.EXE file.

This method will make Microsoft Office, the default application for opening this type of file.

Method 2:

1. Click on Microsoft Office to open it and choose Options from the file.
2. Open the tab called advanced and chooses the General Section. You will get the ‘Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)’ option.
3. Uncheck it if the checkbox is checked. Otherwise, if the box is unchecked, then recheck it to uncheck.
4. After the changes are applied, restart the Program for a hassle-free Microsoft Excel experience.

Method 3:

When you enable the ‘Run as administrator’ option is enabled for Microsoft Office this error message may appear. This method applies to Microsoft Excel 2013 Windows 10. In that case, follow these steps:

1. Look for the Microsoft Office Shortcut in the Start Menu.
2. Right click on the shortcut and choose the option Properties.
3. Click on the Compatibility option and uncheck every option including the ‘Run this program as administrator.’
4. Save the changes and continue.

Method 4:

If the program is Excel 2007, you can check the Registry and get the ‘Data’ key removed from it. The key has the basic settings like the position of the window, size or the toolbars. If you remove the key, it will appear again as the Office is launched.

Following Are The Steps:

1. Type ‘Regedit’ in the dialog box of RUN and press enter. The Registry Editor will open.
2. Search this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFRTWARE\Microsoft\Office

3. The subkeys of names 0, 15.0, 14.0 will appear. The version of Office Suite you have installed will determine which subkeys you will see.
4. Expand the key of which is causing the trouble. For example, if Microsoft Word is the root of the troubles, then expand the key called ‘Word, ‘ and you will find ‘Data’ key.
5. Select the key and then delete it.

Launch the Office program now to check if your issue has been solved.

Method 5:

The following steps can also repair Microsoft Office:

• Choose the option, Programs, and Features, which you will find in Control Panel.

• Choose the Microsoft Office option and then select the Change.
• Click on the Repair and then continue button.

This method will resolve the issue if there’s an error in Autocad and fix the Office files.

Follow any of these steps, and your program will stop sending error messages ‘There was a problem sending the command to the program.’ Have a nice Microsoft Excel experience!