How to Clear Cache in Excel (Step by Step)

You open a large Excel file, and it takes forever to load. Formulas lag. Scrolling feels sluggish. In most cases, the problem is Excel’s cache — temporary files that Excel stores on your system to speed up processing.

Over time, these cached files pile up and do the exact opposite, they slow Excel down and eat up disk space. The fix? Clear Excel cache and give your workbook a fresh start.

Today I’d like to share with you 3 different ways to clear cache in Excel, using Excel Options, the Temp folder, and the Office Upload Center. Each method takes less than a minute.

Which Method Should You Use to Clear Excel Cache?

Before you jump in, here’s a quick comparison so you can pick the right method for your situation.

Method	Best For
Excel Options (Cache Settings)	Quick one-click cache delete — works on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365
Temp Folder (%temp%)	Deep cleanup of all Excel temp files on Windows 10 / 11
Office Upload Center	Clearing upload cache in Office 2013–2016 only (removed in Microsoft 365)

Now let me walk you through each method step by step.

Tested on: Excel 2019, Excel 2021, and Microsoft 365 (Windows 10 & 11). Last updated: April 2026.

Excel Options dialog showing Cache Settings section with Delete cached files button highlighted

How to Clear Excel Cache (Steps)

First, go to the file tab and open the Excel options.
From there, go to the save option and scroll to the end of the dialog box.
Now from the Cache Settings, click on the “Delete cached files”.
After that, you get a dialog box to confirm if you want to clear the cached files.
In the end, just click on “Delete Cached Files” to clear the Excel’s cache.

At this point, all the cached Excel files have been deleted from your system. Apart from this, there are a few more options in the same setting group that you need to know.

Days to Keep Files: You can change the settings to decide when you want Office to keep your files (cache data) in the cached memory. It is 14 days, by default, but you can specify a different day.
Delete Files from Cache when they are Closed: This will delete files from the cached memory once you close the file.

Using Office Upload Center to Clear Cache in Microsoft Excel

You can also use the Office Upload Center with the Office software package. Once you open the Upload Center, click on Settings ⇢ Delete cached files ⇢ Delete cached information.

In Office 365, the Office Upload Center has been removed and replaced by Files Needing Attention. This option is found in File Tab ⇢ Open ⇢ Files Needing Attention.

Clear Excel Cache from the Temp Folder (Windows 10 / 11)

Every time you work in Excel, it creates temporary files on your system. These Excel temp files build up over time and take up disk space. You can delete them manually from the Windows Temp folder. Let me walk you through the steps.

First, make sure Excel is completely closed. All Excel files should be closed, and the application should be exited if opened.
Now press Win + R on your keyboard. This opens the Run dialog box.
In the Run dialog box, type %temp% and press Enter. This opens the Temp folder where Windows stores temporary files.
In the Temp folder, look for any files that begin with “Excel” or have the .tmp extension. These are Excel cache files.
Select all the Excel temp files. You can click one file, then press Ctrl + A to select all.
Right-click the selected files and choose Delete, or simply press the Delete key on your keyboard.
After that, close the Temp folder and restart Excel.

Have a look below.

Windows Temp folder showing Excel temporary files selected for deletion

As you can see, all the Excel cache files are now removed from your system.

Where Does Excel Store Temp Files on Windows 10 and 11?

On both Windows 10 and Windows 11, the %temp% shortcut points to the same location:

C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Temp

But that’s not the only place. Excel also stores additional cache files in a separate folder:

C:\Users\[YourName]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache

I recommend checking both locations for a complete cleanup. The second folder is where Excel keeps cached copies of files you opened from OneDrive or SharePoint.

Tip: You can paste either path directly into the Windows File Explorer address bar and press Enter to jump there instantly. Replace [YourName] with your actual Windows username.

Note: If Windows says a file is “in use” and cannot be deleted, it means Excel is still running in the background. Open Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc), end any Microsoft Excel processes, and try deleting again.

But Why is it Important to Clear the Excel Cache?

Clearing the Excel cache can provide several benefits, such as improving the application’s performance. The Excel cache is a temporary storage type that the application uses to quickly access frequently used data. Over time, this cache can become quite large as more and more data is stored.

This accumulation of data can result in the application slowing down because it requires more processing power to access and navigate the cache.

By clearing the cache, you essentially free up this processing power, allowing Excel to run faster and more efficiently. This can be particularly useful when dealing with large spreadsheets or complex calculations, as it can help reduce loading times and improve the overall user experience.

Clear Excel Cache with VBA

You can also use a VBA macro to clear certain types of Excel cache. But there’s one thing you need to take care of — VBA cannot delete the file-level cache that Windows stores on disk. For that, use Method 1 (Excel Options) or Method 3 (Temp Folder) above.

What VBA can do is purge the PivotTable cache and the Clipboard cache, and force Excel to recalculate every formula from scratch. Let me walk you through both macros.

Macro 1 — Force a Full Formula Recalculation

This macro tells Excel to throw away every cached formula result and recalculate the entire workbook. It is useful when formulas return stale values.

Important: This does not clear file cache or temp files. It only forces Excel to recalculate all formulas in every open workbook.

You can use the following macro:

Sub ForceFullRecalculation()
    'Forces Excel to recalculate every formula
    Application.CalculateFull
End Sub

Here’s what this code does — Application.CalculateFull recalculates all formulas in all open workbooks. Excel ignores any previously cached results and computes each formula fresh.

VBA Editor showing the ForceFullRecalculation macro in a standard module

Macro 2 — Purge PivotTable and Clipboard Cache

If your workbook has heavy PivotTables, each one stores its own data cache. This macro loops through every PivotCache in the workbook and refreshes it. After that, it clears the Office Clipboard.

You can use the following macro:

Sub PurgePivotAndClipboardCache()
    Dim pc As PivotCache

    'Refresh and clear every PivotTable cache
    For Each pc In ThisWorkbook.PivotCaches
        pc.MissingItemsLimit = xlMissingItemsNone
        pc.Refresh
    Next pc

    'Clear the Office Clipboard
    Application.CutCopyMode = False

    MsgBox "PivotTable cache refreshed and Clipboard cleared.", vbInformation
End Sub

Let me explain what each part does:

ThisWorkbook.PivotCaches — this collection holds every PivotCache in the active workbook. The macro loops through each one.

pc.MissingItemsLimit = xlMissingItemsNone — this tells Excel to stop retaining old items that no longer exist in the source data. It shrinks the cache size immediately.

pc.Refresh — refreshes the cache with current source data and drops the stale copy.

Application.CutCopyMode = False — clears the Clipboard cache. You’ll notice the marching ants around copied cells disappear the moment this line runs.

Note: Run Macro 2 before saving your workbook. It reduces file size by removing stale PivotTable data that Excel quietly stores behind the scenes.

VBA Editor showing the PurgePivotAndClipboardCache macro with PivotCaches loop

Tips to Keep Cache Low in Excel

It’s really easy to clear the cache, and you can do it whenever you need to. But there are a few things you can keep in mind to follow so that the cache is limited and you don’t have to worry about it much.

Complex formulas, especially volatile ones like NOW, TODAY, and RAND, can increase cache load. Having multiple worksheets within a single workbook increases memory consumption.
Using conditional formatting rules on large ranges can also increase memory usage.
Workbooks with links to external data sources or other workbooks increase memory usage due to the need to maintain these links.
Embedded objects, images, and charts can increase the workbook size and cache.
Sharing workbooks for collaboration can increase cache usage as Excel needs to store multiple versions.
Multiple or complex pivot tables, mainly those with large source data, can consume a lot of memory.

Quick Recap

Here’s a quick summary of everything you learned in this guide.

Method 1 — Excel Options: Go to File Tab ➜ Options ➜ Save ➜ Cache Settings ➜ Delete Cached Files. This is the fastest way and works on Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365.

Method 2 — Upload Center / Files Needing Attention: Use Files Needing Attention in Microsoft 365, or the Office Upload Center in Office 2013–2016 (no longer available in M365).

Method 3 — Temp Folder: Press Win + R, type %temp%, and delete all Excel temp files. Also check AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache for cached cloud files.

Method 4 — VBA: Use a macro to force a full formula recalculation or purge PivotTable and Clipboard caches. This does not clear file-level cache.

In the end, clearing Excel cache is one of the simplest things you can do to speed up a slow workbook. I recommend doing it once a month if you work with large files regularly.

Which method worked best for you? I’d love to hear from you — let me know in the comments below.

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One of the reasons we clear cache in Excel is to make it work fast. But sometimes, a few problems cause a workbook to crash while opening. In that case, you can open Excel in safe mode to troubleshoot the problem, or you can also clear formatting to make your workbook faster.