[Fixed] “Microsoft Excel Cannot Access the File” Error

Summary: The “Microsoft Excel cannot access the file” error usually occurs when there is an issue with the Excel file you are trying to save. This post summarizes the causes behind the error and mentions some effective solutions to fix it. If you suspect the problem is encountered due to corruption in the Excel file, you can use the professional Excel repair tool mentioned in the post to repair the file.

You may experience the “Microsoft Excel cannot access the file” error when saving the Excel file. This happens when the Excel application fails to read the file you are attempting to save. The error message indicates that there is an issue with the file name or its path. Sometimes, the error occurs if the file you are trying to access is already in use by another application. Some other reasons for the “Excel cannot access the file” error are:

• Faulty or incompatible Excel add-ins.
• The file is in Protected View.
• The Excel file is damaged or corrupted.
• You do not have the required permissions to access the file.
• The Excel file is not in a compatible format.

Methods to Fix “Microsoft Excel Cannot Access the File” Error

Sometimes, changing the file location can fix the “Microsoft Excel cannot access the file” error. You can try changing the file location, if the location is incorrect. If moving the file to a different location didn’t work, then try the below troubleshooting methods.

Method 1: Check the File Name and Path

You can get the “Microsoft Excel cannot access file” error if there is an issue with the file path – either the path does not exist or it is too lengthy, thus creating conflicts. Make sure the file path is correct. If the file name is too long, you can rename the file with a short name and also move the file to the parent folder instead of a subfolder. After that, remove the file from the Recent list that is created by Excel based on your recent activity. Follow the below steps:

• Open the Excel application.
• In the Recent list, right-click on the affected Excel file.
• Now, select Remove from list.

• Close the Excel application.

Now, reopen the problematic file and check if the error exists. If yes, then follow the next solution.

Method 2: Try Clearing the Microsoft Office Cache

Sometimes, clearing the Microsoft Office cache can help eliminate the “Excel cannot access the file” error. To clear the Microsoft Office cache, follow the given steps:

• First, close all the Office applications.
• Press Windows+R to open the Run window.
• Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache and press the Enter key. You can change ‘16.0’ with your Office version.

• In the OfficeFileCache window, clear all the temporary files.

Method 3: Check and Update Microsoft Excel

You can try updating your Microsoft Excel application. The latest updates include bug fixes, security patches, and other improvements. Updating the application can help fix several issues that might be causing the error. Here are the steps to update Microsoft Excel:

• Open your Excel application.
• Go to File and then select Account.
• Under Product information, click Update Options and then click Update Now.

Method 4: Disable Protected View

You may get the “Microsoft Excel cannot access the file” error if the Protected View option is enabled. You can try disabling the Protected View settings in Excel. This allows you to open the file without any restrictions. However, disabling the protected view can put your system at high risk. To disable the Protected View in Microsoft Excel, follow the below steps:

• In Excel, go to File and then click Options.
• In the Excel Options window, click Trust Center and then click Trust Center Settings.

• Click Protected View from the left pane in the Trust Center Settings window.
• Unselect the options under Protected View. Click OK.

Method 5: Check and Disable Add-ins

The “Excel cannot access the file” error can also occur due to faulty add-ins in Excel. To check if the error has occurred due to some faulty add-ins, open the application in safe mode (press Windows + R and typeexcel /safe in the Run window**)**. If you can save the file without any hiccups in safe mode, this indicates some problematic add-ins are behind the error. You can remove the Excel add-ins by following these steps:

• Open your Excel application and go to File > Options.

• In Excel Options, select Trust Center and then click Trust Center Settings.

• In Trust Center Settings, click Add-ins and thenselect “Disable all applications Add-ins”. Click OK.

Method 6: Check File Permission

You can get the “Excel cannot access the file” error if you don’t have sufficient permissions to modify the Excel file. You can check and provide the write permissions to fix the issue. Here’s how to do so:

• Open Windows Explorer.
• Find the affected Excel file, right-click on it, and click Properties.

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

• In the Security window, select the user names under ‘Group or users name’.
• Check the file permissions and make sure the write option is enabled. If not, then grant the permission. Click Apply and then OK.

Method 7: Check External Links

The “Excel cannot access the file” error can also occur due to broken external links in the Excel file. External links are references to the data or content in other files. The link usually breaks if the file has been moved to another location or the file name is changed. You can check and change the source of link.

Method 8: Repair your Excel File

Excel may fail to read the file if it is corrupted or damaged. If the error “Excel cannot access the file” has occurred due to file corruption, then try the Excel’s Open and Repair utility to repair the Excel file. Here are the steps:

• In the Excel application, click the File tab and then select Open.
• Click Browse to select the problematic 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 fails to work , it indicates the Excel file is severely corrupted. Use Stellar Repair for Excel to repair severely corrupt Excel file. It helps recover all the components of the corrupted Excel file, such as charts, formulas, etc. without making any changes to the original file. It can also fix all types of corruption-related errors. You can use Stellar Repair for Excel to repair Excel files created in all Excel versions – from 2007 to 2023.

Closure

The “Microsoft Excel cannot access the file” error can occur due to numerous reasons. Follow the troubleshooting methods, such as checking file location, path, permissions, etc., as discussed above to fix this error. Sometimes, Excel throws this error if the file you are trying to save is corrupted. You can try repairing the file using the built-in utility – Open and Repair. If the file is severely corrupted, then you can use Stellar Repair for Excel . It can repair damaged Excel files (.xls, .xlsx, .xltm, .xltx, and .xlsm) with complete integrity.

How to Fix the #Value! Error in Excel?

Summary: #Value! is a common error that occurs when using formulas in Excel. It can be due to an issue with the cells you are referencing or use of formulas in the wrong type or format. This blog will discuss some cases when this error may occur and the solutions to fix the issue. You’ll also find about an Excel repair software that can help fix the error if it has occurred due to corruption in Excel file.

You may experience the #Value! error in Excel when trying to enter invalid data type into the formulas. Sometimes, it appears when a value is not the expected type or when dates are given a text value. This Excel error may occur due to several reasons. However, the exact cause of this error is difficult to find. Below, we will be discussing some cases where you may get this error and the solutions to resolve the issues.

Case 1: Wrong Argument Data Type in Formulas

Sometimes, Excel throws the “#Value!” error if it recognizes incompatible arguments in the formulas.

For example: The Date function in the sheet expects only numerical values as arguments. In the below image you can see that when the formula’s string value is used in the month (January), it resulted in the #VALUE! error.

Solution

To fix the issue,

• Double-click the formula to verify the type of arguments.

• Correct the argument in the cell (B2).

The formula will work as expected.

Case 2: Using the Basic Subtraction Formula

Users often experience the #Value! error, when using the basic subtraction formula in Excel.

Solution

Check the formula and the type of values in the cell. If these are correct and the error persists, then follow these steps:

• Go to the Start button on Windows, type Control Panel, and double-click on it.
• Click Clock and Region > Region.

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• On the Format tab, click Additional Settings.

• In the Customized Format window, search for List Separator.

• Check if the List Separator is set to minus (-). Change it to comma (,).

• Click OK.
• Now, open the Excel file and again try to use the formula.

Case 3: Wrong Text Value

The #Value! error can also occur due to the formula’s wrong value.

For example: If you are using the formula to add values in cells and Excel recognizes the unexpected text value, you may get a #Value error.

Solution

To fix the issue, you can correct the value or use the SUM function. It is recommended to use functions instead of operations to reduce the errors. In Excel, the formulas with math operators may not able to calculate the text in the cells. The SUM function automatically ignores the text value(er), calculates everything as numbers, and displays the result without the #Value! error.

Case 4: Blank Space in Cells

You may get the #Value! error if your formula refers to other cells with space or hidden space. Sometimes, spaces that make a cell display blank but actually they are not blank.

Solution

You can either delete the space or replace the blank space. Here’s how:

1. Delete the Blank Space

First, check if a cell is blank or not. To do this,

• Select the cell that looks blank.
• Press F2.

The blank cell won’t show space.

Then, press the Backspace key to delete the space. It will fix the error.

2. Replace Blank Space

You can also use the “Find and Select” option to replace the blank space in Excel. Here are the steps:

• Open the Excel file that shows #Value! error.
• On the Home tab, click Find & Select > Replace.

• In the Find what field, type a single space and delete everything in the “Replace with” field.

• Click Replace All > OK.

Case 4: Problem with Network Connection

Many users have reported experiencing errors when using Excel online due to problems with the network connection.

Solution

Check your Internet connection and see if it is working properly.  

Case 5: Wrong Formula Format

If you enter the wrong formula with a missing parenthesis or comma, then Excel can throw the #Value! error. The error can also occur if the application finds a special character within a cell.

Solution

Correct the formula and use the ISTEXT function to find the cells with issues.  

Case 6: Corruption in the Excel File

If none of the above works, then it indicates the Excel file is corrupt. The formulas in the Excel file do not work due to corruption.

Solution

You can use the Open and Repair utility in Excel if you are getting the error due to corruption in Excel file. In case the utility fails or the Excel file is severely corrupt, you can use a third-party Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. It is a powerful tool to repair corrupted or damaged Excel files and recover all its data, with 100% integrity. The tool supports Excel 2019, 2016, and older versions.

Closure

There are several reasons that can trigger Excel to throw the #Value! error. It can occur if there is an incorrect argument data type in formulas or blank space, text, or special characters within a cell. This blog discussed the possible scenarios when this error occurs. You can apply the solutions mentioned above to fix the error. If the #Value! error occurs due to corruption in the Excel file, then you can use Stellar Repair for Excel . It is a reliable tool that helps in fixing corruption-related errors in Excel.

Solutions to open Excel Read Only Documents

‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ is an error message that usually appears when you try to open an Excel (XLS or XLSX) file downloaded from the Internet, email, or the network server. It may also appear when you try to open an encrypted or password-protected Excel document. In such a case, MS Excel prevents the user from making any changes to the document.

Reasons behind the “Excel cannot access ‘xxx.xls.’ The Document may be read-only or encrypted” Error

There could be several reasons that may cause the error. Some of them are as follows:

• Corrupt or damaged Excel workbook
• Incompatible or unsupported add-in
• Antivirus or malware software conflict
• Read-Only Excel file
• The file is encrypted
• File or drive read/write permissions issues
• Protected Excel workbook
• Damaged or missing MS Office (MS Excel) program files

Solutions to Open and Edit Read-Only Excel Documents

Below are a few solutions that can help you fix the ‘Excel cannot access ‘xxx.xls.’ The Document may be read-only or encrypted’ error and allow you to open and edit Excel documents.

• Remove Read-only Attribute from Excel File Properties

The ‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ error message may appear when the Excel file property is set to read-only. To check if this is the case, follow these steps:

• Right-click on the particular Excel (xls/xlsx) document and select ‘Properties’.
  • Uncheck the ‘Read-only’ attribute and then click the ‘OK’ button.

Now try to open the Excel document and check if the problem is fixed.

• Adjust Antivirus Settings

A few antivirus programs block Excel files and other Office documents by opening those in ‘read-only’ mode. In such cases, try adjusting the antivirus settings to open the Excel files normally. This will allow you to edit, modify, and save the Excel workbook without encountering the “Excel cannot access ‘xxx.xls.’ The Document may be a read-only or encrypted” error message.

• Disable Protected-View

The error may appear when you try to open an Excel file received as email attachments or downloaded from unsafe source. The file may potentially contain viruses, worms, or other types of malware that could damage the system or the server.

To safeguard the system, MS Excel opens such files in Protected View. It may also open an Excel workbook in Protected Mode when it detects a problem with the file. This security feature allows you to read or view Excel files and reduces the risks to the computer system or PC.

However, you can click File > Info and then click ‘Edit Anyway‘ to access and edit file content. You may also disable the Protected View setting via File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings…> Protected View. However, we do not recommend this.

• Renew/Activate Microsoft Office

If MS Office is in a deactivated state or its subscription has expired, the Office documents, including the Excel, could be in ‘read-only reduced functionality mode.’

In such a scenario, activate Microsoft Office or renew the Office subscription. Then open the Excel workbook and check if the problem of ‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ is resolved.

• Check if OneDrive Storage is Full

If Excel files are saved on OneDrive with low or no storage space, you may encounter such issues with your files.

To know the amount of free space on OneDrive, follow these steps:

• On your PC, open Settings and navigate to OneDrive.
  • Click ‘Sync Settings > File Storage‘ to see available space.

You may also visit onedrive.live.com, sign in to the account, and then check the available space. If there’s no space available or the drive is full, empty the storage space and see if the problem is resolved.

• Check and Update MS Office and Windows

Microsoft releases updates to fix known errors. Thus, it is critical to update both Windows and MS Office to the latest release and avoid issues, such as ‘Excel cannot access ‘xxx.xls.’ The Document may be read-only or encrypted.’

• Repair MS Office (MS Excel)

The error ‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ may appear due to a problem with your MS Office (MS Excel) program. You can repair the MS Office program to resolve such errors. The steps are as follows:

• Open Control Panel and click Uninstall a Program link under Programs.
• Choose Microsoft Office from the list and click the Change button.

• Select Quick Repair and then click Repair to fix problems with MS Office and MS Excel. It will also restore any missing or damaged program files.

After the Repair, open the Excel workbook and check if the error is resolved.

• Check Permissions

The error message may also appear if you access an Excel workbook from a network or shared drive due to lack of write permission. Make sure you have read and write permissions assigned for the particular network drive. Alternatively, you can copy the file from the network drive and save it in your local folder to access and edit it without encountering this error message.

• Repair MS Excel File

If none of the solutions worked, the Excel workbook could be damaged or corrupt. To repair such damaged Excel workbook or spreadsheet, you can use the inbuilt ‘Open and Repair…’ option in MS Excel or install an Excel repair software , such as Stellar Repair for Excel. The software comes in handy when the Open and Repair option fails to fix the Excel workbook problems. It repairs the corrupt or damaged Excel workbook, extracts all components and content from the file with 100% integrity, and saves them in a new Excel workbook.

Conclusion

Sometimes, the ‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ error can be resolved by a simple restart. But if it doesn’t work, you can follow the solutions discussed in this article to resolve the ‘Excel cannot open read-only documents’ issue.  However, if the issue is caused due to a damaged or corrupt Excel workbook, these methods may not work. In such a case, you can use Excel’s inbuilt repair utility, i.e., Open and Repair, or install Stellar Repair for Excel software recommended by MVPs and industry experts to fix all kinds of problems with MS Excel workbooks.

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.

Excel AutoRecover not working, what is next?

Consider a Scenario

A professional with Windows 10 computer had MS Office 2016 installed on it. For an official purpose, he worked on an Excel workbook and saved it as an XLSX file. After working for hours on it, which was saved with a file name, a power outage occurred in his building for quite some time. After the power was back, he reopened Excel to find a list of recovered files in ‘Document Recovery’ section on the screen’s left side. However, the file that he had worked on recently was the ‘Original version,’ i.e. the last version saved by him and not the auto-saved Excel file. This meant the Excel document did not have any new data that was entered since the last time he saved it. Consequently, he lost hours of work. According to him, this happened despite the fact that the ‘AutoRecover’ feature was enabled. (Still, this needs to be checked and ensured.)

The ‘AutoRecover’ feature might not work in any of these cases:

• AutoRecover Feature is disabled - With this feature disabled, the Excel files are not auto-saved if the document is closed without saving, or the document closes unexpectedly due to an untoward incidence. To check, see if ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’ and ‘Keep the last auto-saved version if I close without saving’ checkboxes are checked or unchecked. If either one is unchecked or both are unchecked, it signifies that the AutoRecover feature is disabled. Else, the AutoRecover is enabled.
• Corruption in the Excel XLSX file – If ‘AutoRecover’ is enabled, most probably the cause is ‘damaged Excel XLSX file.’

Before discussing solutions to resolve the ‘Excel AutoRecover not working’ issue, let’s have an overview of the ‘AutoRecover’ and ‘AutoSave’ features.

A Brief Overview of Excel AutoRecover and AutoSave Feature

AutoRecover is an inbuilt feature in MS Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2003, and 2007 that allows saving all of the ‘open Excel files’ at a fixed-interval in a user-specified location or AutoRecover file location. Besides, AutoSave is an add-in that exists in Excel 2002 and earlier versions to save all open Excel files in case of a crash, power outage, or accidental closure of Excel files without saving. Users can recover these files if Excel closes suddenly, for instance, at the time of power outage or failure. The auto-recovered Excel files are saved at a default location.

Methods to Fix ‘Excel AutoRecover Not Working’ Issue

Manual Methods

Method 1 - Enable the ‘AutoRecover’ Feature if Disabled

Make sure that you have the ‘AutoRecover’ feature enabled in your Excel application. If not, follow these steps to enable it:

• Open Excel with MS Excel 2016/2019
• Click on File and then on Options tab
• In ‘Excel Options’, click on Save tab
• Check ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’ and ‘Keep the last auto saved version if I close without saving’ box
• Set the time in ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minutes’
• Click on the OK button

Note: With this method, it is not possible to recover data from the current Excel file. From next time onwards, the AutoRecover feature starts working following which Excel shall start auto-saving Excel files as per the time set in ‘Save AutoRecover information every * minute’.

Method 2 - Repair Corrupt Excel File

If corruption in Excel XLSX file has resulted in ‘Excel AutoRecover not working’ issue, you will need to repair Excel file . Use ‘Open and Repair’ inbuilt utility to fix and repair the damaged (corrupt) Excel file and extract its data. To use the inbuilt utility, execute the following steps:

• Go to location “C:\Users\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles” to find Excel TMP files and save it as XLSX file

Note: In Windows 8, the location is the same as mentioned above that is for Windows 10. In Windows 7, the location is “C:\Users\name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel\”

• Open a blank Excel sheet; click File >> Open
• Go to the location and folder containing the damaged Excel file
• In the Open dialog box, choose the damaged Excel file and click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click Open and Repair
• In the window that appears, click Repair to recover as much data as possible

Now, open the Excel (XLSX) file to check if the Excel file is repaired and its data is recovered.

Use a Professional Excel File Repair Tool

Using a third-party Excel file repair tool can help you repair damaged Excel XLSX file and recover all the data. Stellar Repair for Excel  is one tool you can rely on to repair severely corrupt Excel files (XLSX or XLS).

Here are a few other reasons why you should choose Stellar Repair for Excel software:

• Repairs Excel file while keeping the worksheet properties and cell formatting same as before.
• Recovers all of the Excel file components like tables, forms, reports, charts, chart sheets, cell comments, formulas, images, etc.
• Can batch repair multiple Excel files simultaneously
• Supports Excel 2019 and earlier versions

Conclusion

To help resolve the problem of ‘AutoRecover not working’, different methods have been discussed, depending on the cause of the problem. These solutions can be implemented to check the possibility of getting back maximum data added in last saved version of the Excel file. However, to fix corruption in the excel file, using a specialized tool such as Stellar Repair for Excel software recommended by MS Excel Experts and MVPs can help. The software can repair severely damaged Excel file easily and efficiently.

Data Disappears in Excel - How to get it back

Summary: You may face the issue of ‘Excel spreadsheet data disappeared’ after changing Excel file properties and formatting rows and columns. This blog discusses the possible reasons for data disappearance and the solutions to fix the issue. Also, it mentions an Excel file repair tool to retrieve the data from the file. Sometimes, while editing or formatting a cell in an Excel spreadsheet, the data may go missing or disappear. Let’s discuss in detail the reasons that may cause the ‘Excel data disappeared’ issue along with the solutions.

Probable Reasons for Data Disappearing in MS Excel and Solutions Thereof

Reason 1 – Unsaved Data

While entering data in an Excel spreadsheet, it is important to save the data at frequent intervals. Doing so prevents any unsaved data from disappearing if you lose power or accidentally click ‘No’ when prompted to save the file. Unfortunately, such a situation is quite common as users often close the file without saving the recently made changes to a spreadsheet.

Solution – Use the ‘AutoSave’ Feature

With the AutoSave feature enabled in Excel, data won’t be lost in the event of power failure or abruptly closing the Excel program. By default, Excel automatically saves the information in a spreadsheet after every 10 minutes. You can reduce the limit to a few seconds to reduce the chances of Excel file data lost after being saved.

Reason 2 – Changing Excel Format

You can save an Excel file in various formats, like spreadsheet, text, webpage, and more. However, at times, saving the spreadsheet in a different format may lead to missing data. For example, when you save a workbook to a text file format, all formulas and calculations applied to the data will be lost.

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### Solution – Adjust a Spreadsheet for the Changed Format 

If you’re changing the format of a spreadsheet, make space for the rows and columns. Also, remove all calculations before saving the file.

Note: If the sheet is shared on multiple computers, then save the file in compatibility mode.

Reason 3 – Merging Cells

You can combine two or more cells data to make one large cell. This technique is primarily used to fit the text of a title in a sheet. If there is data in two or more cells, then only the data in the top-left cell is displayed and the data in all other cells is deleted. If the other merged cells have been populated with data after merging, the data is not featured and it does not appear even after remerging the cells.

Solution – Merge Cells inside One Column

To merge cells without data loss, combine all the cells you want to merge within a column and do the following:

• Select the cells to be combined.
• Ensure that column width is wide enough to fit the contents of a cell.
• In the spreadsheet, under the Editing group, click ‘Fill,’ and then click ‘Justify.’

• Under Alignment, click on the ‘Merge & Center’ option to center align the text. Or, click on ‘Merge Cells’.

Note: This solution works for text only. You cannot use it to merge formulas or any numerical values. If you need to combine two or more cells with formula into a single cell, try using the Excel CONCAT function .

Reason 4 – Cell Formatting

Cells and text in the cells can be displayed in different colors to make the spreadsheet simple to create and infer. You may experience data loss when you try to modify the data or change the color or size of the data. Though the information may exist, the data may show an error due to the following reasons:  

• White-colored text will not show in a white-colored cell
• Large font-sized data may not appear in small-sized cell
• Calculations may show (#VALUE) error after cell-formatting

Solution – Check and Clear Formatting

Make sure to use dark-colored text on a white-colored cell. Also, resize the cell to fit the text size. Check if numbers in a cell are entered as text. If so, you need to apply a number format to the text-formatted numbers. Read more about it, from here .

What Else You Can Do to Resolve the ‘Excel Data Disappeared’ Issue?

If you can’t recover the missing Excel file data, try to repair or extract the data from the file using the built-in Excel repair tool. Follow the below steps to use the tool:

• Open MS Excel, click File > Open > Computer > Browse.
• On the ‘Open’ window, select the file you want to repair and then click on the Open dropdown.
• Select Open and Repair.

Use the ‘Repair’ option to repair the file and recover as much data as you can from the repaired file. If this doesn’t work, use the ‘Extract’ option to recover the data.

If you fail to retrieve the disappeared data from that file using the above-listed steps, opt for an Excel repair tool , like Stellar Repair for Excel. This software has a proven track record of repairing corrupt or damaged Excel files and recover all the data.

The software helps:

• Fix all corruption errors. It helps in getting back the data which has disappeared.
• Repair a single as well as multiple Excel files.
• Recover all components of XLS/XLSX files – tables, chart sheet, cell comment, image and more.
• Preserve the worksheet properties and cell formatting.
• Support the latest Excel 2019 and earlier versions.

The Excel repair software repairs the Excel file in these simple steps:

• Launch and open the software.
• Select the corrupt Excel file by using the ‘Browse’ option. If the file location is not available, then find the Excel file using the ‘Search’ option.

• Click ‘Repair’ to scan the corrupt file.

• Once the repair process is complete, verify the components of Excel file and check if the available preview shows complete data that disappeared from Excel.

• Save file at default location or preferred location.

The Excel file with all the restored data will be saved at the selected location.

Conclusion

It is better to repair the affected Excel file than suffer the loss when data or text disappears in Excel. A professional software ensures that users get back all the data in the form of a new Excel file. Stellar Repair for Excel software repairs the corrupt file without modifying the original content and file format. The software’s easy-to-use user interface lets you perform the functions without formal software training and technical expertise.

How to fix “damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible” Excel error?

Summary: Unable to resolve “damage to the file was so extensive that repair was not possible” error in Excel? Read this post to discover more details about the error, possible causes, and how to rectify the error. To save time & efforts, you can also try an Excel file repair software to resolve the “damage to the file…” error in a few clicks.

When opening a workbook in Microsoft Excel 2003 or later, you may encounter an error message,

“Damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible. Excel attempted to recover your formulas and values, but some data may have been lost or corrupted.”

The error message may also occur while exporting an Excel file. Let’s find out what causes this error and what we can do to fix it.

Reasons Behind “Damage to the File Was So Extensive That Repairs Were Not Possible” Error

Your Excel file may be corrupt, oversized, virus-afflicted, etc., which can trigger this error and make the repair impossible. Below are some common reasons.

• Large or oversized excel files hindering export
• Data restore errors
• Field length of a cell is more than 256 characters
• Software conflicts, viruses, network failure
• Unable to open files in upgraded versions
• Errors on output exceeding 64000 rows
• Limited system resources (such as RAM, internal memory)

In a nutshell, the error generally happens if Excel discovers unreadable content, which may also interrupt file saving in Excel.

How to Resolve “Damage to the File Was So Extensive That Repairs Were Not Possible” Error?

Here are a few methods you can follow to fix or resolve the Excel repair error.  

Method 1: Perform Basic Troubleshooting

When opening a corrupt workbook, Microsoft Excel automatically initiates the file recovery mode to repair the corrupt file. However, if it fails to perform automatic recovery, then follow these basic troubleshooting steps:

• This error mainly happens when you try to open the Excel file in an upgraded version.  Try to open the file in an older version of Excel. You might be able to open it.
• Try saving the file with a different file name.
• Use a different file extension to save the file.
• You can save the Excel file as HTML and then open it. However, an HTML file might not save conditional formatting.
• Close other opened applications on the system which may be causing the error.
• Select less data for export at once.
• Delete worksheets if copied from another document; for instance, delete any file or screenshots you have imported.
• Open the file on another system.

If the error persists, then use the manual method to repair a workbook using the below steps:

• Go to the “File” tab.

• Select Open and select the damaged spreadsheet from the Recent Workbooks section on the right, if listed. However, if you cannot find the file in the Recent Workbooks section, click on “Browse” and choose the corrupted workbook.

• Click the drop-down arrow on the Open tab and select Open and Repair.

Method 2: Check if exporting a Heavy File is Causing Resource Limitations in Excel

Sometimes, when you try to export an Excel sheet carrying a huge database, you may face memory errors in older Excel versions like Excel 2003. Here, you’ll have to decrease the amount of data as Excel 2003 does not permit exporting extensive data beyond a limit. However, modern versions such as Excel 2007, 2010 & 2016 allow exporting a large amount of data and utilize more RAM than the older versions.

Following are some other workarounds:

• Use a lesser number of query presentation fields to re-generate the query. Then, again re-enter those fields.
• Decrease the multi-line string field data text up to 8000 characters.

Method 3: Copy Macros and Data to Another Workbook (Empty) in an Advanced Excel version

If the issue is occurring due to version incompatibility, i.e., if the file opens easily in the older version but shows errors in the new version. You can:

Use the older version to open the file or copy the data or macros in an empty workbook of the new version of Excel.  

Copying the Macros in the Workstation

In Microsoft Excel, you can use the Visual Basic Editor to open the workbook with macro on another workbook by copying the macro. Both VBA tools and Macros appear in the Developer section of the excel file. This option is disabled by default. So first, you need to enable it.

Follow the instructions to enable it:

• Open Excel and go to File > Options.

• Click “**Customize Ribbon.**”

• Look at the right side of the pane and ensure the Developer tab is checked.

• Click OK.

Once you have enabled the Developer tab, follow the steps to copy the macro from one workbook to another:

• First, open both the workbooks- the workbook containing the macro and the workbook in which you need to copy the macros.
• Locate the Developer tab.

• Select Visual Basic to display the “Visual Basic Editor.”

  

• Go to the View menu in the Visual Basic Editor.

• Select Project Explorer.

• In the Project Explorer window, drag the module you need to copy to the destination workbook. For example:

Module 1 has been copied from Book2.xlsm to Book1.xlsm

Method 4- Restore the backup file

The workbook backup helps to open the corrupted or mistakenly deleted file. Sometimes, the issue can be fixed using the Recover Unsaved Workbook option in Excel. Here’s the list of steps to recover the files in Microsoft Excel:

• Go to the File tab on Excel.

• Click Open.

• Search on the top-left of the screen to click Recent Workbooks as below:

• Next, scroll down to the bottom.
• Click the “Recover unsaved workbooks” button.

• Scroll and find the lost file.
• Now double-click on the file to open.

Conclusion

“Damage to the file was so extensive that repairs were not possible” error can be fixed with the above troubleshooting methods or by using a third-party Excel repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Excel . Although There are no standard resolutions to fix the excel error as they may vary with different scenarios. In some cases, the manual methods might be time-consuming or fail to fix the error or recover the excel file. Hence, using an excel file repair tool may be the best option! It extracts data from the corrupted file and saves it to a new Excel workbook, which you can open and edit.