How to Clear Excel Temp Files (3 Quick Ways)

Clear Excel temp files mean the removal of temporarily saved Excel workbooks from your device. In this article, you will learn how to clear Excel Temp files.

A temporary or temp file is a special type of file that is created by the Windows system when the system requires it and is deleted automatically by the system when the job is completed. But, sometimes, some temp files don’t remove automatically.

As you can see in the below image, We are using the Excel Options dialog box. And, we are clearing Excel temp files by selecting 0 in the Show this number of Recent Workbooks field.

The Excel tutorial covers:

• Application of the Advanced menu from the Excel Options dialog box.
• Clearing of Excel temp Files with a Keyboard shortcut.
• Manually removal of all Excel temporary files.

1. Using Excel Options dialog box to Clear Temp Files

In the first method, we will reduce the number of recent workbooks from the Advanced option to clear Excel temp files. To demonstrate the approach, you have to launch Microsoft Excel on your device. The steps of this process are given below:

📌 Steps:

• First of all, select File > Options option. Alternatively, you can press the Ctrl + T keys to open the Excel Options dialog box.

• As a result, a dialog box called Excel Options will appear.
• Now, click on the Advanced option.
• Then, scroll down with your mouse for the Display section.
• After that, decrease the number of the Show this number of Recent Workbooks to 0.
• Finally, click OK.

• The temp file will not stay longer on your device.

Thus, we can say that our procedure works perfectly, and we are able to clear Excel temp files.

Read More: How to Clear Recent Documents in Excel

2. Clearing Excel Temp Files with ‘Win+R’ Key

In this process, we are going to use the ‘Win+R’ keyboard key to clear all temp files, including Excel. The steps of this approach are given as follows:

📌 Steps:

• At first, press the ‘Win+R’ key on your keyboard.

• As a result, a small dialog box called Run will appear.
• Now, write down the following command in that dialog box.

• Click OK.

• Another window will open with the Temp folder.
• After that, press ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all the files and press Delete.

• You will get all the temp files cleared from your computer.

Hence, we can say that our approach works effectively, and we are able to clear Excel temp files.

3. Deleting All Excel Temp Files Manually

In the last approach, we will manually go to the temp folder to clear Excel temp files. For different versions of the Windows operating system, the folder location path will be different. We will discuss all widely used versions of Windows.

3.1 Windows 11

We are going to explain the procedure to clear temp files, including Excel, for Windows 11 operating system. The steps are shown below:

📌 Steps:

• First, go to the C-Drive of your computer.

• Then, double-click to enter the Windows folder.

• After that, scroll down with your mouse and double-click on the Temp folder.

• Now, press ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all the files and press the Delete key.

• You will notice all the temp files cleared from your computer.

So, we can say that our procedure works precisely, and we are able to clear Excel temp files from the Windows 11 operating system.

3.2 Windows 10

Now, we will show you the procedure to clear temp files in another widely used Windows version which is Windows 10 operating system. The steps are shown as follows:

📌 Steps:

• Firstly, go to the C-Drive of your computer.
• Now, go to the Temp folder of a local user. Since we are using a local profile named Asus the pathway should be as follows:

• Then, press ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all the files and press the Delete key on the keyboard.

• You will see all the temp files cleared from your computer.

Therefore, we can say that our method works properly, and we are able to clear Excel temp files from the Windows 10 operating system.

3.3 Windows 8/7/Vista

Other well-known windows versions are 7/8/Vista. The temp folder pathway, as well as the temp file clearing process, are almost similar. So we are describing all of them in one section. The procedure is explained below step-by-step:

📌 Steps:

• First of all, go to the C-Drive of your computer.
• Now, go to the Temp folder of a local user. Since we are using a local profile named Asus the pathway should be as follows:

• Afterward, press ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all the files and press the Delete key.

• You will notice all the temp files cleared from your computer.

At last, we can say that our approach works fruitfully, and we are able to clear Excel temp files from the Windows 7/8/Vista operating system.

3.4 Windows XP

The version of Windows XP is quite old. You may not find this version frequently, yet we are showing the procedure for your convenience. The steps for this operating system are explained as follows:

📌 Steps:

• At first, go to the C-Drive of your computer.
• After that, follow the following pathway to go to the Temp folder.

• Then, press ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all the files and press Delete.

• You will see that all the temp files cleared from your computer.

Finally, we can say that our procedure works successfully, and we can clear temp files from the Windows XP operating system.

Read More: Difference Between Delete and Clear Contents in Excel

Conclusion

That’s the end of this article. We explained how to clear Excel temp files from your device. You can use the Excel Options dialog box to clear Excel temporary files. Besides, you can also clear Excel temp Files with a keyboard shortcut or even manually.
Please share any further queries or recommendations with us in the comments section below.

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