Unable to create workbook - COM @error 3 @extended error code -2147023170

[gcue]

Hi!  I am unable to figure out why i cannot create a workbook. cant find any reference to COM extended error code : -2147023170

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

$oExcel = _Excel_Open(False, False, False, False, True)

If @error Then  
    MsgBox($msg_error, $script_name, "Unable to create the Excel application object.")  
Else
    ConsoleWrite("success excel open extended: " & @extended)
    ;here i get "success excel open extended: 1" 
    ;so i know excel wasnt running and the COM object is succesfully created
EndIf

$oWorkBook = _Excel_BookNew($oExcel, Default)

If @error Then
    $ierror = @error
    $iextended = @extended
    
    ;here i get "Unable to create new workbook. (error: 3 extended: -2147023170)" 
    ;3 - Error returned by method Workbooks.Add. @extended is set to the COM error code
    ;can't find what that COM extended error code means


    _Excel_Close($oExcel)

    MsgBox($msg_error, $script_name, "Unable to create new workbook.")  
EndIf

 

[Jos]

36 minutes ago, gcue said:

cant find any reference to COM extended error code : -2147023170

Took me all but 5 seconds...  https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/vba-automation-error-2147023170-from-excel/f5fc473f-8271-4c28-89c4-2c64afabb97c

[gcue]

thanks for looking into it.  i didnt see any info on there which was relating to the issue im seeing.  not adding any links or anything just creating a new workbook.

[water]

I use the following approach:

• use the windows calculator to translate -2147023170 (decimal) to 800706BE (hex)
• use Google to search for "hresult 0x800706BE Excel"

Result is something like this: https://www.google.de/search?q=hresult+0x800706BE+Excel

 

Edited July 8 by water

[rudi]

Just as a shot in the dark:

I honestly do not know, how the Excel UDF interacts with Exel.exe, but, maybe: For a complete different task with Outlook (powershell) I ran into the issue, that Outlook is opening a "COM-Server", and with that one the PS-Commands interact.

 

Sometimes it did work, next day it didn't. The constraint finally was, that outlook.exe can open such a COM-Server exactly one time within a Windows PC / VM. I used Fast User Switching (FUS), and when I had two logins to this test-PC, and under the login context of "User-A" there was outlook running, then after FUS to user-B the first instance of outlook.exe was not able to create a COM-Server within this user context again, because this is a "one-COM-server-per-PC" thing, not "one-per-user-context".

 

Switching back to user-A, terminate Outlook.exe there, switching again to User-B, everything was working perfectly.

[gcue]

Here is what lead me to resolve the issue:

originally I had turned off visibility and alerting

$oExcel = _Excel_Open(False, False, False, False, True)

after i enabled

$oExcel = _Excel_Open(True, True, True, False, True)

I was able to see the error excel was providing

Quote

"You are attempting to save a file type that has been blocked by your File Block settings in the Trust Center."

Hope this can help someone else!

Thank you all for your help