In this Excel tutorial post you will learn how to open corrupted file in Excel.
If you're facing issues while opening an Excel file and encountering error messages such as "File is corrupt and cannot be opened" or "Excel cannot open the file (filename) because the file format or file extension is not valid," here are some steps you can try to recover your data:
- Check the file format: Make sure the file format is supported by Excel. If it's a .csv or .txt file, you can try to open it using Excel's Text Import Wizard.
- Repair using built-in tools: You can try using Excel's built-in repair tools to open the file. Go to File > Info > Repair > Repair Workbook, or try using the Open and Repair option when opening the file by going to File > Open, then select the file, and click the drop-down arrow next to the Open button, and select Open and Repair.
- Rename the file extension: Sometimes changing the file extension from .xlsx to .zip and then back to .xlsx can repair a corrupt file. To do this, right-click on the file, select "Rename," and change the file extension to .zip. Then, open the .zip file, extract the "xl" folder, and save it as a new .xlsx file.
- Recover previous versions: If you have the "File History" feature enabled in Windows, you can try to recover a previous version of the file. Right-click on the file, select "Restore previous versions," and select a version of the file from the list.
- Try third-party recovery tools: If the above steps do not work, you can try using a third-party recovery tool such as Stellar Phoenix Excel Repair or DataNumen Excel Repair. These tools can help you recover data from a corrupt Excel file.
Note: While these steps may help you recover some or all of your data, there's no guarantee that all data will be recovered, and some data loss may occur. Before attempting to recover a corrupt file, make sure you have a backup of the file to minimize the risk of data loss.
In conclusion, if you have a corrupt Excel file, there are several steps you can try to recover your data, including checking the file format, repairing using built-in tools, renaming the file extension, recovering previous versions, or using third-party recovery tools. However, it's important to have a backup of your data to minimize the risk of data loss.