How to Clear Excel Cache (Windows and Mac)

What Is Excel Cache (and When You Should Clear It)

In Excel, a cache is stored data that helps the app work faster. Instead of recalculating, reloading, or re-downloading everything every time, Excel saves certain information locally so it can reuse it later.

Excel uses cached files to help you:

• Open files faster
• Sync changes with OneDrive or SharePoint
• Store PivotTable data for quick analysis
• Recover work if Excel crashes

However, when cache files become outdated or corrupted, they can cause problems instead of improving performance. You may notice the following signs if your cache has issues:

• Excel feels slow or freezes unexpectedly
• Your Cloud files won’t sync
• You see errors like “File is locked” or “File is in use.”
• Your PivotTables are not updating

When you notice such problems, it’s important to clear your cache for the files to run normally, as I will show you later in the article.

The Most Common Excel Caches That Cause Issues

The following are the most common Excel caches that most users ever need to clear for optimal performance:

Office Document Cache (OneDrive / SharePoint)

The Office Document Cache stores local copies of cloud-based Excel files to speed up syncing and allow offline editing. It can cause problems if the cached versions conflict with the cloud copy.

The common symptoms of Office Document Cache include sync failures where files won’t upload or download properly. You may also see an error like “File is locked” or “Upload failed” errors, and changes not appearing for collaborators.

PivotTable cache

When you create a PivotTable, Excel takes a “snapshot” of your source data and stores it in an internal cache to make analysis faster. However, large datasets can significantly increase the snapshot file size, and cached data can become outdated or bloated.

Therefore, you should clear or refresh the cache when the file size is unusually large or when PivotTables show old or incorrect data. You should also clear the cache when you change the source data structure to improve accuracy and performance.

Temporary files

While you work in your file, Excel usually creates temporary files to support undo actions, autosave, and crash recovery. If the temporary files accumulate, they can cause Excel to crash or close unexpectedly. You will notice this if Excel takes longer to open or close, and if you get “Excel cannot open the file” errors.

How to Clear Excel Cache on Windows

Now that we’ve seen where Excel stores cached data, let me show you how to clear it in Windows.

Clear the Office Document Cache

The Office Document Cache is managed by Microsoft Office and handles syncing for cloud-based Excel files. The cache is controlled through the Upload Center or Office settings, but not directly inside Excel files.

Follow these steps to clear the Office Document Cache:

• Close Excel and all other Office apps
• Open the Start Menu and search for Upload Center. If unavailable, open OneDrive Settings instead.
• Go to Settings
• Choose Delete cached files
• Confirm when prompted

After you clear the cached files, Excel removes local copies of cloud files, but no cloud data is deleted. The files will re-sync from OneDrive or SharePoint the next time you open them.

Clear Excel temporary files

Excel stores temporary files separately from your actual workbooks. To access these temporary files:

• Press Windows + R

• Type %temp% and press Enter

• This opens the Windows temporary files folder

You can now safely delete files and folders with Excel closed. You should skip any files Windows says are “in use.”

Check out our Excel Shortcuts Cheat Sheet to learn how to improve productivity by learning the shortcuts for different Excel features.

Clear PivotTable cache (optional)

Although not common, you should clear the PivotTable cache when your Excel file is unusually large, when PivotTables show outdated or incorrect data, or if you changed the data source structure. Use the steps below to clear the PivotTable cache:

Right-click the PivotTable → PivotTable Options.

Go to the Data tab.

Set the Number of items to retain per field to None.

Click OK, then right-click and select Refresh.

When you clear the PivotTable cache, it reduces the file size and ensures the dropdown menus only show current data.

How to Clear Excel Cache on Mac

macOS handles Excel cache files differently and requires a few steps to clear them.

Clear Excel and Office Cache Files

Excel cache files are stored inside your user Library folder in macOS. To remove them safely:

• Close Excel and all Office apps

• Open Finder → Go → Go to Folder

• Paste the path ~/Library/Containers/

• Locate folders related to Microsoft Excel and Office

• Delete cache-related folders only (not documents)

This action removes temporary UI states and local cache, forcing Excel to rebuild them automatically when reopened.

Clear PivotTable cache on Mac

The process of clearing PivotTable cache on Mac is similar to Windows, but with fewer customization options. Refreshing PivotTables is usually sufficient, and the cache control is less visible than on Windows.

Common Problems After Clearing Excel Cache

After you clear the Excel cache, you may notice some unusual behavior, but it shouldn’t cause you to panic. These differences are usually normal and temporary, and include the following:

• Temporary slower startup: The first time you open Excel or a cloud-based file, it will take longer as Excel rebuilds fresh cache files on first launch.
• File re-syncing: If you cleared the Office Document Cache, you might see a "Syncing" status bar for a few minutes as cloud files may take a moment to download again.
• PivotTables recalculating or refreshing: Large workbooks may trigger a full recalculation as the cached results were deleted, hence rebuilt from the source when you open it.
• Recent files list: Sometimes clearing deep system caches can wipe your “Recent” files list. When this happens, you'll just need to open them manually from their folders once to bring them back to the list.

When You Should Not Clear Excel Cache

Clearing Excel cache is an important troubleshooting tool for slow workbooks, but you should be cautious when to apply it. You should be careful not to clear your cache when:

• Files haven’t fully synced: If OneDrive or SharePoint is still uploading or downloading files, clearing the cache can interrupt the process and create version conflicts.
• You’re working with unsaved changes: Cache clearing removes temporary local data. Always save and close files first to avoid losing recent edits.
• You’re troubleshooting unrelated issues: Cache problems usually show up as sync errors, slowness, or outdated data. If the issue is formatting, formulas, permissions, or add-ins, clearing the cache won’t help.
• The file is massive: If a file is slow simply because it has 500,000 rows and 50 PivotTables, clearing the cache is only a temporary fix. The "lag" is likely a hardware or file-design limitation.

Best Practices to Prevent Excel Cache Issues

To avoid most cache-related problems, follow these simple habits:

• Close Excel properly: Avoid force-closing the app unless it’s completely unresponsive. Closing Excel normally allows it to delete its own temporary "scrap paper" files.
• Don’t keep many large files open at once: If you keep large workbooks open at once, it forces Excel to juggle massive amounts of cached data. Always close an Excel file if you aren't using it.
• Monitor PivotTable size: Since PivotTables store a copy of the source data inside the file, always try to refresh sources promptly to avoid embedded data buildup.
• ​Let cloud files fully sync before shutting down: Before shutting down your laptop or closing a cloud-synced file, ensure the file says “Saved to Cloud” or shows the green checkmark icon for full sync.

Conclusion

Clearing Excel cache is a simple, practical fix for many common issues like slow performance, sync errors, and outdated data. In most cases, users only need to clear one or two specific caches, such as the Office Document Cache or temporary files, rather than resetting everything. When performed occasionally and at the right time, clearing the cache can quickly restore Excel’s performance and resolve frustrating cloud-sync problems without affecting your actual work.

If you want to advance your Excel skills, I recommend taking our Data Analysis in Excel course. This course will help you master advanced analytics and propel your career. I also recommend taking our Intermediate Power Query in Excel course to learn about data transformation and using the M language for creating dynamic functions.