Excel is an excellent spreadsheet software application that is extensively used by individuals and businesses alike. People use it for the purpose of preparing their home budgets with it while commercially it is used for making invoices and even for payroll purposes too. Some of the companies even use it for data manipulation and analysis as well thanks to the many analytical tools that it provides. Considering the importance of this software application, it is no wonder that people get scared when an error message is encountered when opening an MS Excel file. One such error of note is the ‘Excel Cannot Open the File Error’ of MS Excel 2007.
The ‘Excel Cannot Open the File Error’ of MS Excel 2007 is the most common error that is faced by Excel users around the world. The full error message that is displayed on the screen of the users is,
"Excel cannot open the file 'filename.xlsx' because the file format for the file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file."
It can be a very disturbing sight for a user to have this error message flash across his screen. This error is usually seen when an excel workbook that has been sent as an email is opened by the user. Emailed excel spreadsheets aren’t the only ones which throw up this error message, though. Normal excel files can sometimes start displaying this error as well without any prior notice. The following are some of the reasons that might be behind the generation of this error message.
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Compatibility issues in between the excel file that you are trying to open and the version of the excel software that you are using.
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The excel file that you are trying to open is either damaged or corrupted.
Part 1: How to Repair the Excel Cannot Open the File Error
Fixes: This error message can be repaired using the following two possible fixes. Once the issue causing the error has been resolved, you will have no trouble in opening the excel file that you were trying to open before.
Try Changing the Extension of the Excel Workbook You Wish to Open: If the reason for the error message is a compatibility issue then it would be best to check whether your version of the Excel software supports the xlsx extension or not. See if ‘xlsx’ extension is present in the ‘File Types’ folder which is located in the ‘Folder Options’ of the ‘Tools’ menu in ‘My Computer’. If this isn’t the case then you will have to alter the extension of your excel file to ‘.xls’ from ‘.xlsx’.
Try Using the MS Excel Feature of ‘Open and Repair’: If the reason for the error message is a corrupted excel file then Excel’s ‘Open and Repair’ feature can be used to repair corrupted Excel file. You can find this option in the ‘Open’ dialog box. It is located in the menu that drops down when the arrow next to the ‘Open’ option is pressed. After selecting the corrupted excel file, click on this feature, it will perform the excel file repair and get the file to open without issue.
Part 2: How to Repair Corrupt Excel File with Excel Repair Software
If the above-mentioned methods fail to fix the issue then using an excel repair tool remains the only available option. Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair is one of the best excel repair software available in the market at the moment. It is recommended that you make use of this software to repair corrupted excel file and get it to open normally. The reason why Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair is so good at its job is because it has a myriad of features that enable it to fix any kind of issue being faced by the excel files.
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Recovers all kind of data stored in damaged excel file such as tables, charts, formulas, comments, images, etc.
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Restore all of your corrupted excel files to their original standing.
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Preview the repaired excel file in real-time,see how much of the file has been recovered as it is being repaired.
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All kind of MS office corruption errors (for XLS and XLSX files only) can be handled with this tool.
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This excel file repair tool can be used on both windows and Mac platforms in order to repair corrupt excel file.
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All kind of MS office corruption errors (for XLS and XLSX files only) can be handled with this tool.
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This excel file repair tool can repair damaged files of all versions from 2000 to 2016 that includes 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, etc.
The following is a step-by-step tutorial that will teach you how to repair corrupted excel file using the Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair.
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‘Add File’ : The first step of this tutorial is regarding the adding of the corrupted file into the Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair. You will have to make use of the ‘Add File’ option for this purpose. The ‘File’ menu is where you are going to find this option.
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‘Search File’: The second step of this tutorial is regarding the searching of the corrupted file. There are three options that can be used for this purpose. You can either choose ‘Search File(s)’, ‘Select Folder’ or ‘Select File’ for searching the corrupted file to be repaired.
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‘Scanning’: The third step of this tutorial is regarding the scanning of the corrupted file. Choose the corrupted file and then click on the ‘Scan’ button.
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‘Previewing’: The fourth step of this tutorial is regarding the previewing of the corrupted file. Choose the corrupted file in the family tree present on the left side of the screen and then double click on it to preview it.
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‘Saving’: The fifth step of this tutorial is regarding the saving of the repaired corrupted file. There are two options that can be used for this purpose. You can either choose ‘Select New Folder’ or ‘Default Location’ for saving the repaired corrupted file.
You can avoid getting your excel files corrupted by ensuring that you have an updated version of a good anti-virus program. Moreover, taking proper care when shutting down the system can also help in avoiding corruption of excel file.
The following tips might help you in doing the excel file repair if all other resolutions fail.
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Always check the extension of the excel file before trying to open it.
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Make sure the excel file you receive in email is compatible with your MS excel software version.
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Scan every excel file for viruses before opening them.
Amy Dennis
staff Editor
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