How to Fix MS Excel file not opening ?

Issue:

In this blog, you will learn how to fix MS Excel file not opening, which wastes time and prevents you from using Excel. This could be due to the document being damaged or incompatible with the current version of Excel, the document having been updated multiple times in different versions of Excel, or the Excel file having been obtained via email. If the error warning persists, there are a few simple solutions.

Environment:

Microsoft Excel

Solution:

1. Change the File Extension

Until 2007, all versions of Excel saved documents in the XLS format. After which, it has been saving files in the XLSX format. The error “Excel cannot open the file because the file format or file extension is not valid” might be caused by a mismatch between the file extension and the Excel version.

All you have to do now is change the file format and it will become available.

Step 1: Open Excel and choose File from the taskbar.
Step 2: Then choose Options > Export > Change File Type from the drop-down menu.

2. Switch to the Previous Version of Excel

Try to revert to a prior version of Excel.

Step 1: Right-click, choose the damaged file.
Step 2: Go to Properties -> Previous Version. You’ll be presented with a list of prior versions.

Step 3: Click on the one you want and click Restore. You can safely use this way to eliminate the error

If you have enabled the autosave option in advance:

Step 1: Open the application and click File on the Taskbar.
Step 2: Click on Information using the left mouse button. There will be a list of files that have been saved automatically.
Step 3: Right-click on the file you require and select restore from the context menu
Step 4: Create a new name, enable XLSX, and click Save.

3. Open and Repair Feature

This is a built-in, simple-to-use MS Excel tool that helps you to fix the problem.

Step 1: Enter the Excel application, then click File on the Taskbar.
Step 2: Select Open from the drop-down menu.
Step 3: Select your inaccessible file
Step 4: Now select Open and Repair from the drop-down menu.

4. Reset Excel File Associations

When you open an Excel file, the file association ensures that the Excel application is used to open the file. And, occasionally, these file associations go faulty, and when you click on an Excel file, it doesn’t recognize that it needs to be opened with the Excel application.

Step 1: Go to the Control Panel.
Step 2: Go to Programs and select it.
Step 3: Select Default Programs from the drop-down menu.

Step 4: Select ‘Set your default programs’ from the menu that appears.
Step 5: Scroll down to the ‘Reset to the Microsoft recommended defaults’ section.
Step 6: Click on the Reset button.
Step 7: Locate the Excel file extensions (.xls,.xlsx,.xlsb,.csv, etc.) and make Excel the default application for these on the panel that appears.

5. Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

Hardware graphic acceleration improves the performance of your system, particularly when running Microsoft Office apps like MS Excel or MS Word. However, this can frequently result in your Excel files not opening or your pc or files crashing. The issue can be resolved by removing hardware graphic acceleration, which is enabled by default.

Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1: Open the Excel program.
Step 2: Select the File tab.
Step 3: Select Options.
Step 4: Click the Advanced tab in the left pane of the Excel Options dialog box that appears.
Step 5: Scroll down to the ‘Display’ section of the options.
Step 6: Check the box next to – ‘Display hardware graphic acceleration.

Step 7: Restart Excel

Conclusion:

The following procedures can help resolve “How to Fix MS Excel File Not Opening?” in the Windows system, depending on the engineer or the user who implements the instructions to resolve the issue.

The Anakage platform can help resolve above issue using “Proactive Cobot” which is an agent at the end point that can silent detect fix issues without providing admin access to the users. Click here to see a video on “MS Excel Functionality Loss”

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