Workbook loads slowly the first time that it is opened in Excel

When you open a file in Microsoft Excel for the first time, the file may take more time than normal to load.

Also, when you close the file, you may receive the following prompt: where filename is the name of the file that you are closing.

The first time you open a file that was last saved in a previous version of Excel, the file is completely recalculated.

Starting with Excel 2000, Excel forces a complete recalculation of all workbooks that are opened if they were previously saved in an earlier version of Excel, regardless of the link-update status. To fully recalculate the workbook, Excel forces updates of all external references as well, even if you choose not to update when you are prompted to. This process occurs because Excel is updating the workbook calculation chain to the current version.

After you save the workbook in the later version of Excel, the workbook will take less time to open on subsequent tries.

For more information about Excel fully recalculating workbooks when they are opened for the first time, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type About the way Excel recalculates workbooks that were created in earlier versions in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.