File Format and Extension of [filename] don’t Match in Excel File

Summary: The “File format and extension of [filename] don’t match. The file could be corrupted or unsafe” error message indicates that the Excel file you’re trying to open is unsupported, unsafe, or corrupted. Read this article to learn more about this error and how to fix this error. It also mentions an advanced Excel recovery tool to repair the corrupted Excel file and retrieve all its data in a few clicks.

You can encounter the “File format and extension of [filename] don’t match. The file could be corrupted or unsafe” error when the Excel application detects any issue with the file. This happens when you try to open an old version file format in a newer version or if the file is received from an unsafe destination. This can prevent you from opening the Excel file.

As indicated from the error message, this error occurs due to the following reasons:

• The file has incorrect file extension.
• The file is corrupted.
• The file you are trying to open is protected.

Now, let’s see how to resolve this Excel error.

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Try the following methods to troubleshoot the “File format and extension don’t match” error in Excel.

Method 1: Rename the Excel File

You can face the “File format and extension don’t match” issue if the file has incorrect extension. It can occur if the file extension has been altered or you’ve mistakenly saved the file with incorrect extension. To fix this, you can try renaming the Excel file with the correct file extension.  

Method 2: Check the Default Excel File Format

Different versions of Microsoft Excel use different default file formats. For example, .xls is the default file format of older versions (2003 and lower) of Excel, whereas .xlsx format is used by the newer versions (2007 and later). Opening the Excel file with an incompatible extension can cause the “File format and extension don’t match” issue. You can check the Excel version you are using and ensure it’s compatible with the Excel file you are trying to open.

Method 3: Change the Protected View Settings

You may receive the “File format and extension of excel don’t match” error if the Excel file is protected. You can check and try disabling the Protected View settings .  

Caution: Changing the Protected View settings can put your system at risk. If the Excel file is being downloaded from the internet, it may contain viruses that can infect your system. So be careful before disabling the Protected View settings.

Steps to Change Protected View Settings in Excel:

• In the Excel’s File menu, click on Options.
• Select Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.

• Under Trust Center, select Protected View and disable the below three options:
• Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet.
• Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
• Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.

• Click OK. Then, try to open the Excel file.

Method 4: Check and Provide the Excel File Permissions

Sometimes, you can get the error if you don’t have sufficient permissions to open the Excel file. This usually happens when you try to open the Excel file received from other sources. You can check and provide the desired permissions to fix the error. Here are the steps:

• Locate the affected Excel file, right-click on it, and select Properties.

• In the Properties window, click the Securities option and select Edit.

• In the Security window, under ‘Group or users name’, select the user names. Check the file permissions and make sure Full Control is enabled. If not, then click on the Add option.

• Click on the Advanced option in the Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups window**.**

• Click the Find Now option. A list of all users and groups appears in the search field.

• Select “Everyone” from the list and then click OK.

• In the object names field, you will see ‘Everyone’. Click on OK.

• In the Permissions window, select “Everyone” and enable all options (Full Control, Modify, Read & Execute, Read, and Write) under Permissions for Everyone.

• Click Apply and then OK.

Method 4: Repair your Excel File

As the error message indicates, corruption is one of the causes of the “File format and extension of [filename] don’t match” error. If your file is corrupted, you can repair it using Microsoft’s built-in Open and Repair tool. Here are the steps to run the Open and Repair tool to repair corrupted Excel file:

• In Excel, click on File.
• Click Open and then click on Browse to select the corrupted Excel file.
• In the Open dialog box, click the Excel workbook (in which you are facing the error).
• Click the arrow next to the Open button and select Open and Repair.
• Then, click Repair to recover as much data as possible.
• The Excel prompts a message after the repair process is complete. Click Close.

The Open and Repair utility may fail to give the intended results. In such a case, you can repair the corrupted/damaged Excel file using a specialized Excel repair tool . Stellar Repair for Excel is one such tool that can repair severely corrupted Excel files. With the help of this tool, you can quickly recover all the objects from the Excel file. The tool has a simple user interface that even a non-technical can use to repair the Excel files. The tool can also repair multiple Excel files at once. You can check the tool’s functionality by downloading its demo version.

Closure

You can encounter the “File format and extension of [filename] don’t match” error due to different reasons. To resolve the issue, you can check the file extension, permissions, protected settings, etc. If you suspect the error has occurred due to corruption in the Excel file, you can try repairing the Excel file using the Open and Repair tool. If nothing works for you, then try Stellar Repair for Excel . It can repair highly damaged Excel files and recover all the data while preserving the file properties and cell formatting. The tool can help you fix all the common corruption-related errors quickly.

Excel File Corruption Warnings and Solutions

Summary: Many users reported error messages they receive when they try to save or open an Excel file. In this blog, you will learn about the warning messages that indicate your Excel file is corrupt and possible solutions to repair it. It also outlines the Stellar Repair for Excel to repair corrupt Excel files.

Excel users often report about receiving warning messages suggesting corruption in the workbook. This usually happens while opening an Excel file, ‘.xls’ or ‘.xlsx’ file created by earlier versions, or attempting to create a copy of the workbook.

Excel file corruption may occur due to several reasons including (but not limited to) virus infection, sudden system shutdown during write operation, and leaving excel file open on the shared network.

Occurrences of Excel File Corruption Warnings

Occurrence 1 – “Excel found unreadable content in . Do you want to recover the contents of this workbook? If you trust the source of this workbook, click Yes”.

On clicking ‘Yes’, you will receive the following error:

 “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened”.

Occurrence 2 – “Excel cannot open the file , because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file”.

Besides the warning messages outlined above, there are a few other tell-tale signs of Excel file corruption such as:

• Excel crashes or freezes, preventing you from accessing the workbook and information stored in it.
• Unexpected errors occur during the save operation listed as below:
  • “An unexpected error has occurred. AutoRecover has been disabled for this session of Excel”.
  • “Errors were detected while saving ”.

Solutions to Fix Excel File Corruption Issue

Follow the below-listed solutions to deal with corruption issues in Excel:

NOTE: If you encountered problem opening Excel files after upgrading to latest Windows Operating System (OS) and Office program, try updating your Office as well as Windows OS to latest patches provided on the Microsoft site. Microsoft frequently releases Office and Windows OS patches to help users’ correct known errors. Check if you can open the corrupt workbook after installing the update.

Solution 1 – Use Open and Repair Utility

Excel comes with a built-in recovery mechanism. It automatically starts ‘File Recovery Mode’ when a user opens a corrupt workbook, and attempts to open and repair the workbook. Sometimes, the recovery mode might not start automatically. In that case, you will need to repair the Excel file manually by using ‘Open and Repair ’ utility.

Steps to use Microsoft’s built-in repair utility are as follows:

Step 1: Select File > Open.

Step 2: Click the folder containing the corrupt workbook, and then click Browse.

Step 3: In the Open window, select the corrupt workbook.

Step 4: Next, click the arrow in the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.

Step 5: In the window that appears, click Repair.

If  ‘Open and Repair’ doesn’t work in excel , select Extract Data to extract formulas and values from the corrupt workbook.

NOTE: If you need a quick solution to salvage your data, use an Excel file repair tool.

Or else, attempt the following solutions to deal with corruption in Excel file .

Solution 2 – Uninstall and Re-install Office Installation

NOTE: Make sure to create a backup of your Excel file before uninstalling and re-installing your Office application.

Download the Office uninstall support tool to remove the application.

You can read: Simple Ways to Open Corrupt Excel file Without any Backup

To reinstall Microsoft Office, follow these steps:

NOTE: Before proceeding with Office re-installation process, make sure that you have license keys ready.

Step 1: Open the Microsoft Office site.

Step 2: Select Sign in.

NOTE: You may skip this step if you’re already signed in.

Step 3: After signing in, from the Office sign-in page, click Install/Install Office

Your Office application will get re-installed. Now open the backed-up Excel file and see if the problem is fixed.

Solution 3 – Move Excel File to a Different Location

Often moving a corrupt Excel file to a different location can help solve the corruption problem. Here’s how:

Step 1: Open the corrupt Excel file by navigating to the following path:

C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel

NOTE: Make sure to replace User_Name with your user name. If you are unable to find the Excel file, you will have to search for the file manually in Program Files (x86).

Step 2:  Open the Excel folder, and move the corrupt file to some other location.

Step 3: Delete the files from the Excel folder.

Now try opening the Excel file you have moved and see if the issue is resolved.

Solution 4 – Use Excel File Repair Software

If none of the above solutions works for you, use Stellar Repair for Excel. It is a specialized Excel file repair software that helps repair corrupt Excel file and recover workbook data in its original state.

Essentially, the software helps rebuild the corrupt file to restore every single object in the file. It can recover objects including user-defined charts, conditional formatting rules, formatting of the charts, properties of worksheet, engineering formulas, etc.

Steps to use Stellar Repair for Excel are as follows:

Step 1: Download, install and launch Stellar Repair for Excel software.

Step 2: In Select File window, click Browse to select the file you want to repair.

NOTE: If you are unaware of the Excel file location, click ‘Search’ in the Select File window to find the file.

Step 3: Once the files are selected, click Repair to initiate the repair process.

Step 4: Preview the repaired file and select all or specific files you want to save.

Step 5: Click Save File on Home menu.

Step 6: In Save File window, choose ‘Default Location’ or ‘Select New Folder’ to select the location where you wish to save the file. Click OK.

The selected files will be saved at the specified location.

Conclusion

You may experience Excel file corruption warning messages while opening or saving an Excel file. The file may become corrupt due to malware infection, sudden system shutdown, and forgetting to close workbook on a shared network. This post outlined occurrences of Excel file corruption warnings, and also described solutions to fix the issue.

You may try using Microsoft’s built-in ‘Open and Repair’ tool to repair corrupt workbook and recover data from it. If this solution doesn’t work, proceed with uninstalling and re-installing the Office application. Another solution is to move corrupt files to another location. But if the problem still persists, use Stellar Repair for Excel software to repair single or multiple Excel (.xls or .xlsx) files and restore data.

How to repair corrupt Excel file

Stellar Repair for Excel is an excellent tool to repair corrupt or damaged MS Excel files. Mentioned below are the steps to perform Excel repair with this tool:

• Download & Run the Stellar Repair for Excel.

• A dialog box appears on your screen, click ‘OK’ to proceed.

• To select your corrupt .XLS or .XLSX file, click ‘Browse’ button. However, if you do not know the location of your .XLS or .XLSX file, the software provides you the option ‘Search’ to search for your corrupt Excel files.

• Select the checkboxes against the files that you want to repair and click ‘Repair’. This starts the scanning process.

• The list of all the files that the software has scanned is displayed in the tree-view in the left pane. Click on a file from this tree-view to see its preview in the middle pane. From this list, you can select the file that you want to recover.

• You can either select the ‘Default location of file’ or ‘Select New Folder’ in the ‘Save Document’ dialog box to save the repaired files.

Stellar Repair for Excel Stellar Repair for Excel is the best choice for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files. This Excel recovery software restores everything from corrupt file to a new blank Excel file.

Learn More

Fix the Too many different cell formats Error in Excel?

Excel has set a limit on the number of unique cell formats within a workbook. Excel 2003 allows up to 4000 different cell format combinations, whereas Excel 2007 and later versions allow a maximum of 64000 combinations. When this limit exceeds, you may encounter errors, such as “Too many different cell formats”. It can prevent you from inserting or modifying workbook rows or columns. Sometimes, it prevents you to copy and paste the content within the same or different workbooks.  This error may also occur due to various other reasons.

You can encounter the “Too many different cell formats” error due to the below reasons:

• Formatting is missing in the workbook.
• Size of your Excel file has increased due to excessive use of complex formatting (conditional formatting).
• Workbook contains a large number of merged cells.
• There are multiple built-in or custom cell styles.
• Excel workbook is corrupted.
• The unused styles are unexpectedly copied to new workbooks (when moving or copying a worksheet from one to another).
• Workbooks contain multiple worksheets with different cell formatting.

Methods to Fix the “Too many different cell formats” Error in Excel

First, check that your Excel application is up-to-date. It helps in preventing duplicate styles in workbooks. If the error persists, then follow the below methods:

Method 1: Simplify the Workbook Formatting

You can face the error in Excel - Too many different cell formats, if the size of your Excel file has increased due to excessive or unnecessary formatting. You can try to simplify the formatting of the affected workbook. While reducing the number of formatting combinations, you can follow the simplifying guidelines, such as using a standard font and applying borders consistently. Follow the below steps to remove unnecessary formatting in your worksheet:

• First, open the affected worksheet.
• Now, use the shortcut key (Ctrl+A) to select all the cells.
• In the Excel ribbon, navigate to the Home tab and click Clear.

• Then, select the Clear Formats option.

The above steps will remove all unnecessary formatting from the selected cells, thus reducing the number of cell formats. Besides this, you can try removing the cell patterns (if any) or use cell styles  to remove unnecessary formatting in the workbook.

Method 2: Remove Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting is also one of the reasons behind the “Too many different cell formats” error. It usually occurs if you have applied multiple rules to various cells or cell ranges within a workbook. Each rule has its own formatting settings. If you’ve applied a large number of conditional formatting to cells, it can increase the number of unique cell formats. You can check and remove the unnecessary conditional formatting. Here are the steps to do this:

• Open the Excel file in which you are getting the error.
• Go to the Home tab and locate Conditional Formatting.

• Select Manage Rules.

• The Conditional Formatting Rules Manager wizard is displayed. You can check the formatting rules and delete the unnecessary rule by clicking on the Delete Rule option.

Method 3: Repair your Excel Workbook

Corruption in the Excel workbook can also cause the “Too many different cell formats” error. You can try the Microsoft inbuilt utility to repair the file. Follow these steps to use this utility:

• Open your Excel application. Go to File > Open.
• Click Browse to choose the affected workbook.
• The Open dialog box will appear. Click on the corrupted file.
• Click the arrow next to the Open button and then select Open and Repair.
• You will see a dialog box with three buttons - Repair, Extract Data, and Cancel.

• Click on the Repair button to recover as much of the data as possible.
• After repair, a message is displayed. Click Close.

If the Open and Repair utility does not work or fails to repair the corrupted Excel file due to any reason, then you can use Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the Excel file. It is a simple-to-use third-party Excel repair tool with an intuitive UI that enables anyone to use it without much effort. The tool can help in fixing the “Too many different cell formats” error. It does so by repairing the Excel (XLS/XLSX) file and recovering all the components, including damaged cell style, without impacting the original formatting. You can download the software’s demo version and install it to check how it works.

Method 4: Save the Excel File to a Binary Workbook (.xlsb) Format

You can also get the “excel too many cell formats” error if the size of the spreadsheet is too large. You can try saving the Excel file in binary (.xlsb) format to reduce the Excel file size. Here’s how to do so:

• In Excel, navigate to File > Save As.
• Select Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb) in the Save as type dialog box.

• Click Save.

Some Additional Solutions

Here are some additional methods you can try to fix the issue:

1. Check and Fix the Un-used Style Copy Issue

Many users have reported encountering the “Too many different cell formats” error when moving or copying the content of a workbook from one Excel to another and the unused styles being copied from one workbook to another. Microsoft has released a hotfix package which contains a fix for this issue. You can install this hotfix package (2598143 ) to resolve the issue.

2. Use Clean Excel Cell Formatting Option

You can check and enable the Excel cell formatting option to fix the “Too many cell formats” issue. This option will help you remove the excess formatting  in your workbook. To locate this option, click on the Inquiabove steps willre tab. If you fail to see the Inquire tab, then check if the Inquire option is enabled in the Excel Com Add-ins settings.

3. Clean up Workbooks using Third-Party Tools

The “Too many different cell formats” issue can occur if your workbook contains a large number of unnecessary styles, as mentioned above. You can use third-party tools, such as XLStyles Tool   or Remove Styles Add-in  to clean up workbooks recommended in Microsoft Guide. However, Microsoft takes no guarantee of these tools.

Closure

If you’re getting the “Too many different cell formats” error in Excel, try the methods discussed in this post to resolve it. You can simplify the formatting by following standardized guidelines and clearing all the unnecessary conditional formatting. If the error has occurred due to corruption in Excel file, then you can use Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the Excel file. It is an advanced tool that can repair Excel worksheet and recover all its objects without losing the original formatting.

How to Repair Corrupted or Damaged Excel File with Ease?

Summary: The Excel file is prone to corruption. Users can face several issues related to corruption. So here in this infographic, I am discussing a professional tool,- Stellar Repair for Excel, to easily repair corrupted Excel files.

Stellar Repair for Excel is among the top choices for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files. This Excel recovery software restores everything from the corrupt file to a new blank Excel file. Incoming, the information graphics complete overview of the repair process is explained in step-by-step methodology. Explore and reap the benefits of recovering corrupt or damaged Excel files.

Very much sure about the result of using the excel file recovery tool, share your experience with us.

How to Fix Excel Formulas Not Working Properly | Step-by-Step Guide

Summary: Excel formulas sometimes fail to function correctly and even return an error. This article explains what you might be doing wrong that prevents Excel formulas from working properly and solutions to resolve the issue. If your formulas have disappeared from the Excel spreadsheet and you are having trouble recovering them, you can use an Excel repair tool to recover the formulas.

When working with Excel formulas, situations may arise when the formula doesn’t calculate or update automatically. Or, you may receive errors by clicking on a formula.

Problems Causing the ‘Excel Formulas not Working Properly’ Issue and Solutions

Let’s check out the possible reasons that cause Excel formulas to work properly and solutions to resolve the issue.

Problem 1 – Switching Automatic to Manual Calculation Mode

Automatic and manual are the two modes of calculation in Microsoft Excel.

By default, Excel is set to automatic calculation mode. Everything is recalculated automatically when any changes are made in a worksheet in this mode. You may switch from automatic to manual mode to disable the recalculation of formulas, particularly when working with a large Excel file with too many formulas.

Excel will not calculate automatically when set to manual calculation mode. And this may make you think that the Excel formula is not working properly.

Solution – Change Calculation Mode from Manual to Automatic

To do so, perform these steps:

• Click on the column with problematic formulas.
• Go to the Formulas tab, click the Calculation Options drop-down, and select Automatic.

Problem 2 – Missing or Mismatched Parentheses

It’s easy to miss or incorrectly place parentheses or include extra parentheses in a complex formula. If a parenthesis is missing or mismatched and you click Enter after entering a formula, Excel displays a message window suggesting to fix the issue (refer to the screenshot below).

Clicking ‘Yes’ might help fix the issue. But Excel might not fix the parentheses properly, as it tends to add the missing parentheses at the end of a formula which won’t always be the case.

Solution – Check for Visual Cues When Typing or Editing a Formula with Parentheses

When typing a formula or editing one, Excel provides visual cues to determine if there’s an issue with the parentheses inserted in a formula. Checking for these visual cues can help you fix missing/mismatched parentheses.

• Excel helps identify parenthesis pairs by highlighting them in different colors. For instance, the pair of parenthesis outside is black.
• Excel does not make the opening parentheses bold. So, if you’ve inserted the last closing parentheses in a formula, you can determine if your parentheses are mismatched.
• Excel helps identify parentheses pairs by highlighting and formatting them with the same color once you cross over them.

Problem 3 – Formatting Cells in an Excel Formula

When adding a number in an Excel formula, don’t add any decimal separator or special characters like $ or €. You may use a comma to separate a function’s argument in an Excel formula or use a currency sign like $ or € as part of cell references. Formatting the numbers may prevent the formula from functioning correctly.

Solution – Use Format Cells Option for Formatting

Use Format Cells instead of using a comma or currency signs for formatting a number in the formula. For instance, rather than entering a value of $10,000 in your formula, insert 10000, and click the ‘Ctrl+1’ keys together to open the Format Cells dialog box.

Problem 4 – Formatting Numbers as Text

Numbers are displayed as left-aligned in a sheet in a worksheet, and text formatted numbers are right-aligned in cells. Excel considers numbers formatted as text to be text strings. Thus, it leaves those numbers out of calculations. As a result, a formula won’t work as intended. For example, in the following screenshot, you can see that the SUM formula works correctly for normal numbers. But, when the SUM formula is applied to numbers formatted as text, the formula doesn’t return the correct value.

Sometimes, you may also see an apostrophe in the cells or green triangles in the top-left corner of all the cells when numbers in those cells are formatted as Text.

Solution – Do Not Format Numbers as Text

To fix the issue, do the following:

• Select the cells with numbers stored as text, right-click on them, and click Format Cells.
• From the Format Cells window, click on Number and then press OK.

Problem 5 – Double Quotes to Enclose Numbers

Avoid enclosing numbers in a formula in double-quotes, as the numbers are interpreted as a string value.

Meaning if you enter a formula like =IF(A1>B1, “1”), Excel will consider the output one as a string and not a number. So, you won’t be able to use 1’s in calculations.

Solution – Don’t Enclose Numbers in Double Quotes

Remove any double quotes around a number in your formula unless you want that number to be treated as text. For example, you can write the formula mentioned above as “1” =IF(A1>B1, 1).

Problem 6 – Extra Space at Beginning of the Formula

When entering a formula, you may end up adding an extra space before the equal (=) sign. You may also add an apostrophe (‘) in the formula at times. As a result, the calculation won’t be performed and may return an error. This usually happens when you use a formula copied from the web.

Solution – Remove Extra Space from the Formula

The fix to this issue is pretty simple. You need to look for extra space before the equal sign and remove it. Also, ensure there is an additional apostrophe added in the formula.

Other Things to Consider to Fix the ‘Excel Formulas not Working Properly’ Issue

• If your Excel formula is not showing the result as intended, see this blog .
• When you refer to other worksheets with spaces or any non-alphabetical character in their names, enclose the names in ‘single quotation marks’. For example, an external 5reference to cell A2 in a sheet named Data enclose the name in single quotes: ‘Data’!A1.
• You may see the formula instead of the result if you have accidentally clicked the ‘Show Formulas’ option. So, click on the problematic cell, click on the Formula tab, and then click Show Formulas.
• If you’re getting an error “Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet”, find solutions to fix the error here .

Conclusion

This blog discussed some problems you might make causing an Excel formula to stop working properly. Read about these common problems and solutions to fix them. If a problem doesn’t apply in your case, move to the next one. If you cannot retrieve formulas in your Excel sheet, using an Excel file repair tool like Stellar Repair for Excel can help you restore all the formulas. It does so by repairing the Excel file (XLS/XLSX) and recovering all the components, including formulas.

How to Fix a Corrupted .xls File? The Everything Guide

Undoubtedly, Excel is so powerful that it can help you to process, analysis, and store data, in masses.

That’s the reason it has been there for years and helping this world in data.

But…

With all those powers comes some nasty problems which no Excel users like to face. Can you guess what I’m talking about?

Think about a Corrupted Excel File. Nightmare? Isn’t it?

And do you remember that last time when you have opened a workbook and you got a message that this workbook is might corrupt?

The TRUTH is, this is something which you cannot avoid, but, you can prepare yourself in the best way and deal with it like a PRO.

So today, in this post, I’d like to share with you to everything you need to know about a corrupt Excel file (.xls), why it happens, how to fix it like a PRO, and much more.

…let’s get started.

Note: In this post, we’ll be covering the .xls version (which is the extension for the file which is created in Excel 2007 or the earlier versions) and if you want to know about the new version, here’s the quick fix for that.

Why My Excel File Got Corrupted?

There can be one or multiple reasons for an Excel file to get corrupted. Below I have detailed about some of the major of them.

1. Large Excel File

You can store data in a workbook the way you want but sometimes using excessive thing can make an Excel file bigger in size.

And that kind of data files can crash at any point in time. Here are a few things which make the Excel files heavy, like

• Conditional Formatting.
• Colors formatting.
• Using merged cells in place of text alignment.
• Volatile functions: Formulae that iterate every time you open or change a cell value; OFFSET, NOW.
• Using a complete column or row as a reference than the data set range.
• Using complex formulas; VLOOKUP in place of Index/Match, Nested If in place of MAXIFS, MINIFS.
• Calculations or reference across workbooks.

Related: How to Fix Formatting Issues in Excel

2. Abrupt System Shutdown

Shutting down the system without following the procedure can corrupt your data file.

This shut down can be due to a power failure or any other unexpected technical challenges.

So it is always important to follow the procedures and shut down your system properly to avoid data losses.

3. Infected Excel File (Virus Attack)

This is the most common and obvious reason for Excel file corruption.

Although we always keep our system safe using various Antiviruses, still there is always a probability of virus attacks and loss of important files.

It is always advised to use a safe and strong antivirus compatible with your system requirements.

What are the Signs to Know When an Excel File is Corrupted?

In this section, we will discuss what are the signs which you can get when an Excel file is corrupted, let’s dig into it.

1. The File is Corrupt and Cannot Be Opened

This is one of the most common messages you can see when your workbook is corrupted.

But there is also a chance that it is just because of the version compatibility where you have a .xls file but you are using the latest version of Excel check out this detailed post by Priyanka

2. We Found a Problem with some Content in this File…

There’s another error message which you can get while opening a file:

We Found a Problem with some content in Do you want us to recover as much as we can? If you trust the source of this workbook, click yes.

There are a lot of applications out there (I think almost every) which exports the data as a .xls format. Those files have a greater chance of having this kind of error.

3. “Filename.xls” cannot be accessed

There can also be a situation where you get the error:

“Filename.xls” cannot be accessed. The file may be corrupted, located on a server that is not responding.

Well, this message is a bit misleading.

You won’t be able to decide that your file is actually corrupted or just not on the location.

My Excel File Got Corrupted, now What Should I Do?

There are many ways to recover the data from the corrupt excel files. But before you start, it is always advised to create a copy of the corrupted file.

You can save a lot of time with Stellar Repair for Excel, which make data recovery just with few clicks.

But before you go for a data recovery software, let’s try out some manual steps which can help.

When a workbook get corrupted the first thing comes to the mind is to recover data from it…

…and you what there’s a simple option there in the Excel which you can use to do this. Below are the steps you need to follow:

• First of all, open the Excel and click on the office icon.

• After that, go to the “Open” and select the file which is corrupted.

• Now, click on the open drop-down and select “Open and Repair”.

• At this point, you have two options:

1. Repair File
2. Extract Data

Let’s get into both of these options one by one…

1. Repair File

This option helps you to repair the file and the moment you click on it it takes a few seconds afterward and shows you the result with a message box and also provide you a log file.

And once it is done with repairing, you’ll get your file opened and you can save that file as a new copy.

Yes, that’s it.

2. Extract Data

If somehow you aren’t able to get your file repaired, you can also extract data from that file using “Extract Data” option.

Even in this option, you can get data in two ways.

1. As Values
2. With Formulas

In the first option, Excel simply extracts data as value ignoring all the formulas driving those value (which is the best way if you just need to have that data back).

But in the second option, Excel tries to recover the formulas as much as possible.

Check out this smart technique by Jyoti which you can use it you aren’t able to recover data from the file.

Click here

## Preventions to Not to have any Excel File Go Corrupt in Future

Future is fragile, what I’m trying to say is the more you work in Excel and process data there could be a chance that your workbook goes corrupt.

If there’s no security then what an EXCEL POWER user should do?

Well, there are few things which you can do or take care of while working with Excel so that you won’t have to worry about corruption of Excel workbooks.

Let’s see what you can do…

1. Change Recalculation Option

Now here’s the thing when you work with a hell lot of data, there a common thing that you gotta using formulas. Right?

But, the thing these formulas are something which makes your Excel file slows down sometimes make them go corrupt.

There’s one small tweak you can do in your workbook is change the calculation method.

Now with the manual calculation, you just need to whenever you open your file it won’t recalculate all the formulas.

And when you update your data you can simply click on the “Calculate Now” and it will calculate all the formulas again.

Quick Tip: Beware of Volatile Functions and use them with caution as recalculates them every time you change something in the worksheet.

2. Use VBA Codes Instead of Formulas

Now, this is what I do when I need to use complex formulas in a workbook.

Here’s how you can do this: Let’s say you have a formula in the cell A1, like below, which calculates the age.

=“You age is “& DATEDIF(Date-of-Birth,TODAY(),”y”) &” Year(s), “& DATEDIF(Date-of-Birth,TODAY(),”ym”)& “ Month(s) & “& DATEDIF(Date-of-Birth,TODAY(),”md”)& “ Day(s).”

Now, instead of simply entering it into the cell A1 which I would write a macro code which inserts this formula into the cell A1 and then convert it into the a value.

Here’s the code:

Sub CalculateAge()
Range(“B1”).Value = _
“=””Your age is “”” & _
“&DATEDIF(A1,TODAY(),””y””)” & _
“&”” Year(s), “”” & _
“&DATEDIF(A1,TODAY(),””ym””)” & _
“&”” Month(s), and “”” & _
“&DATEDIF(A1,TODAY(),””md””)” & _
“&”” Days(s).”””
Range(“B1”) = Range(“B1”).Value
End Sub

Note: To write these code you need to have basic understading of VBA (make sure check out this guide for this).

3. Use a File Recovery Application

Recently we asked a quick question to our readers on ExcelChamps that if they have ever faced a situation where they got a corruption message in Excel.

You’ll be astonied to hear that 50% percent of the people said “YES” they faced this thing in the past.

Now, this is alarming, if you are heading a team or you have a bunch of people in your company who use Excel…

…there’s a high probability that half of them gonna face this issue. So the best way to deal with this to have an App FIX your Excel file for you.

With STELLAR REPAIR FOR EXCEL, you just need a few clicks, yes that’s right. Let me show you with the below steps:

• First of all, download the app and install it (it’s simple).

• After that, open the app and click on the “Browse” and simply select the file which is corrupted.

• In the end, click on the REPAIR to let the Excel repair software fix your file (it takes a few seconds).

Once you complete repairing your file, you’ll get a message in your on the status bar and after that, you can open your file.

Final Thoughts

If you are a POWER Excel user then there’s a must for you to have known how to deal with a situation where you got a corrupt Excel file.

But I must recommend you to TRY OUT Stellar Repair for Excel so that’s you don’t have to worry about your Excel files anymore.

I’m sure you found this post helpful, and please don’t forget to share this tip with your colleagues, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.