Excel 2010 freezes and takes a long time to import data from a SharePoint list

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Symptoms

Assume that you have a Microsoft SharePoint list that contains some items that have large strings of text. When you export data from the SharePoint list to Microsoft Excel 2010, Excel freezes and "Adjusting Column Widths" is displayed in the status bar. Additionally, Excel takes a long time to import the data.

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Resolution

To resolve this issue, apply the following update:

2726914 Description of the Excel 2010 hotfix package (Excel-x-none.msp; Graph-x-none.msp): December 11, 2012

Registry key information

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

After you install the hotfix package, follow these steps to enable the hotfix:

Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Excel\Options
On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Type EnableFastBestFit, and then press Enter.
In the Details pane, right-click EnableFastBestFit, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
Exit Registry Editor.