Errors When Opening New or Recently Shared Diligent Files

Overview

When working with Diligent Excel cube files, you may encounter an error after opening or refreshing a file. This can happen with files that were recently Cube Updated, but it may also occur with any newly received or shared file that Excel does not yet recognize as trusted. This typically happens when:

• A file was Cube Updated from one Diligent instance to another.
• You received a file by email, Teams, or SharePoint and opened it without first saving/trusting it.
• The file was originally tied to another user or environment.

If the file isn’t trusted by Excel, you may see errors like this:

"Unhandled exception has occurred in a component in your application. If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue."

"Value cannot be null. Parameter name: uriString"

Why This Happens

These errors aren’t unique to Diligent cube files — they come from the way Microsoft Excel enforces security on files with external data connections. Diligent cube files connect directly to cloud-hosted data sources. When you open one of these files for the first time (for example, after downloading it from email, SharePoint, or Teams), Excel treats it as potentially unsafe until you explicitly allow it.

Microsoft designed this as a safeguard against malicious spreadsheets, since files with external connections could theoretically pull in harmful content. As a result, when Excel doesn’t trust a file, you’ll see:

• Protected View warnings asking you to Enable Editing.
• Security Warnings asking you to Enable Content.
• Failed login attempts where you get the wrong (old) login window instead of Microsoft 365 SSO.
• .NET Framework errors when the file’s connection can’t initialize.

Once the file is saved or stored in a Trusted Location, Excel no longer blocks the connection and the cubes refresh properly.

Workarounds & Fixes

1. Enable Editing, Enable Content, Save, then Refresh

1. Close all Excel windows.
2. Reopen the file.
3. If prompted, click Enable Editing and then Enable Content.
4. Save the file immediately (Ctrl + S).
5. Use the Refresh All Cubes button in the EBM Office Bridge ribbon.
   • You should be prompted with the Microsoft 365 SSO login window.
     
     

2. AutoSave Enabled (OneDrive/SharePoint Users)

If AutoSave is turned on in Excel, the file will save automatically when opened. This often resolves the issue without needing to manually press Ctrl + S.

3. Add Trusted Locations in Excel (Recommended)

The most reliable fix is to configure Excel to always trust files stored in specific folders:

1. In Excel, go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.
2. Select Trusted Locations.
3. Check Allow Trusted Locations on my network (important for SharePoint or network drives).
4. Add folders where you commonly save or open Diligent files (include subfolders):
   • Desktop
   • Downloads
   • Documents
   • Shared OneDrive/SharePoint team folders

Once added, files opened from these folders won’t trigger “Enable Editing/Content” prompts and will launch the correct Microsoft SSO login flow automatically.

This error usually occurs because Excel doesn’t trust the file’s source or hasn’t saved it properly after being shared or Cube Updated. The quickest fixes are saving the file after enabling editing/content or turning on AutoSave. For long-term stability, set up Trusted Locations so Excel always recognizes files from your usual folders.