Modern versions of Microsoft Excel include a powerful feature called “Linked Data Types,” which allows you to convert plain text into rich entities (like Stocks, Geography, or Currencies) that pull live data directly from the internet. For example, if you type “MSFT” and convert it to a Stock data type, Excel will dynamically pull in the current stock price, volume, and market cap.
While this is incredible for building real-time dashboards, it can be problematic if you need your data to remain completely static for auditing purposes, or if you are working on a metered internet connection where constant background data scraping is expensive. By default, Excel will attempt to auto-refresh these linked data types in the background. If you need absolute control over your spreadsheet’s numbers and network activity, you must completely disable this automatic background refresh.
Disabling Auto-Refresh via Data Type Settings
You can turn off the automatic background refresh for data types, forcing Excel to only update the numbers when you explicitly command it to do so.
- Open your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that contains the linked data types (e.g., Stocks or Geography).
- Click on any cell that contains a linked data type (you will see the small icon next to the text in the cell).
- Look at the main menu ribbon at the top of the screen and click on the Data tab.
- In the “Data Types” group (usually near the middle of the ribbon), look for the Refresh All button.
- Click the small down arrow directly underneath the “Refresh All” button to open a dropdown menu.
- Select Connection Properties… from the bottom of the list.
- A “Data Type Refresh Settings” window will appear.
- Look for the section labelled “Refresh control.” You will likely see that it is set to “Automatically every X minutes” or “Refresh data when opening the file.”
- Change the selection to the Manual radio button.
- Click OK to save your changes.
From this point forward, your spreadsheet is completely frozen in time. Excel will sever the constant background connection to the internet. The data in your cells will never change unless you explicitly navigate to the Data tab and manually click the “Refresh All” button yourself.