Hi,
I was working and saving a Modano file with no issues yesterday. Today when I first tried to save it I receive the following error "Errors were detected while saving X.xlsb. Microsoft Excel may be able to save the file by removing or repairing some features. To make the repairs in a new file, click continue. To cancel saving the file, click Cancel."
Clicking continue doesn't do anything. I have restarted Excel and my computer but the issue remains. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
James
Update: I can find the file in Help -> Recover Files, but the same saving issue occurs.
Hi James,
It’s not possible to say decisively what’s causing your issue based only on the information you’ve provided in your post, so I’d recommend running the Modano diagnostics tool (Modano tab, Help menu, Run Diagnostics tool) and clicking the Send Logs button so that Modano’s engineers and see what’s going on based on your diagnostics logs. I’d also recommend emailing support@modano.com and provide as much information about your issue as possible.
Generally, file save issues often indicate that either your file has become so big that it’s exceeding Modano’s memory allocation during save and silently failing, or that your file has become corrupted during the Excel session and is no longer properly hooked to Modano. Hence Modano offering to release it for you so that you can continue using it via normal Excel.
In the former case, it’s difficult to determine what file size causes issues on different computers, as it’s dependent on many factors including your computer hardware and Windows and Office versions. As a general rule we avoid allowing any single Excel workbook to exceed 5MB - 10MB in *.xlsb format. Having said that, we often see and use modular workbooks much larger than this with no issues, so all I’ll note is that once you end up building models this size everything becomes less stable, both on an Excel and Modano front.
Unfortunately, even on the most recent versions of Excel which can access much memory than prior versions, Modano is still limited to a certain amount of memory. And when you hit this limit, which can happen during save, Modano will silently crash and throw warnings like the one you’re seeing. This is the Modano equivalent of an Excel crash, albeit much less obvious than Excel’s crash screen.
It is for this reason that we’ve built the Recover Files tool (Modano tab, Help menu, Recover Files), which keeps the last 20 validly saved files, thereby giving you a safety net limiting how much work you can lose. And when you start having issues like you’re seeing in large files it’s usually an indication that it’s time to restructure your model or split it into multiple workbooks...
Having said that, we always recommend using the Save As command when saving workbooks and incrementing the file name with a numerical version, as thia guarantees you’ll never lose more than the amount of work you do between each save. It’s also best practice file versioning.
If your file has become corrupt during your Excel session, and it’s not related to file size, we’re keen to understand how and why this has happened. Like Excel itself, Modano can crash sometimes, but we’re constantly working to mitigate the risk of this happening, and it’s now very uncommon. In fact, in most cases it’s due to users creating massive workbooks - which Modano makes possible with scalable categories, time series and duplicating/mirroring modules - which go above and beyond what Excel is designed to handle.
M.
Thanks, Michael.
The file was 8.6mb. However, I think this error may be Excel related rather than Modano related. I have both Excel 2010 and 2018 installed. I fixed the save issue by opening the file in 2010 and was able to save. The file then worked again in Excel 2018.
I can send you the file version that doesn't save if that would help?
Is there a difference between using save as or save then create a copy of the master file? I tend to use the second option to keep the filename the same and save backup versions.
On a somewhat related note, I have had a lot of problems with Excel over the last month. These may be related to Office updates:
The majority of my workbooks (Modano or normal) are under a few Mbs.
I've learned to save frequently and end background Excel processes before opening new instances (as otherwise there seem to be issues). I'll soon be re-installing Windows and Office, so hopefully that helps.
Cheers,
James
MODANO - DIAGNOSTICS REPORT (21/11/2018 16:30:08)
MODANO VERSION
Modano version: 10.1.4.0
OPERATING SYSTEM
Full name: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version: 6.3.9600.0
Platform: Win32NT
Current Culture: en-NZ
Bits: 64-bit
Citrix/TS: No
NETFX
CLR Version: 4.0.30319.42000
EXCEL VERSION
Installed: Yes
Current installed version: Excel 2016 (16.0.11001.20108)
Excel Bits: 64-bit
VBA Installed: True
LICENSE STATUS
Registered: Yes
License key: XX
REGISTRY
Registry OKAY
SKU: Standard
Install Dir: C:\Users\ \AppData\Roaming\Modano
DISABLED ITEMS
No disabled items detected.
LOGS
Log Dir: C:\Users\ \AppData\Roaming\Modano\Logs
Log Files: Not Found
I think a lot of the issues you're experiencing are a result of the single document interface (SDI) which was introduced in Excel 2013, and results in each workbook having it's own Desktop-level window.
I also experienced a lot of volatility when first using the SDI and went through a period of adjusting my behaviour until I found ways of avoiding most of them. The main things I do are:
We've done a lot of work to manage the SDI from a Modano code perspective, because it's a major change in the way everything works on a Windows level. And we're always fixing and improving things, so as long as you update Modano regularly you should be OK.
Regarding saving modular workbooks, there's really no difference between using Save and Save As, other than if you're using version monitoring, in which the Save As command allows you to enter version data before saving your workbooks.