Excel Timer

OpenExcel is a command line utility program that provides the ability to open one or multiple Excel files, wait a specified number of seconds, and then close the workbooks. An alternative option is to use TASKKILL, however that approach closes all instances of Excel. The advantage of OpenExcel is that it only closes the specific workbooks.


OpenExcel is useful for Excel files that implement VBA scripts with the events Workbook_Open and Workbook_BeforeClose. For example, the Workbook_Open event may use a third party add-on to download data. The Workbook_BeforeClose event saves the downloaded data values (not formulas) to a separate file. The data download may take minutes to complete. However, trying to use VBA to perform the wait results in blocking the download operation.

Example:
OpenExcel.exe -File:c:\temp\data.xls -Visible -CloseSeconds:15 -ShowCountDown

Note: the VBA code Application.OnTime Now + TimeValue("00:00:59"), "MethodName" may be an alternative solution.