Excel files won't open since I've upgraded to Excel 2016 (says they are corrupt)

Question

I recently upgraded to Excel 2016.  I use the Office Personal 365 subscription.

My files now won't open.  They show as corrupt.  It tries to open in "protected" mode, but it stops working before anything happens.  I didn't have issues before upgrading.

Hopefully this is an easy fix, but I can't seem to find a solution online.  Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

Answer 1

Bert, I'm sorry that the Quick Repair didn't work for you. Here is a more detailed reply addressing all of the different permutations of issues I have seen. Hopefully something in the list will help you. If not, please let me know.

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for providing information and helping us to identify all of the different problems. Unfortunately, there is no one single cause to files not opening correctly when double clicked and there are even a few different experiences that often get grouped together as "The file didn't open". Specifically, we see the following behaviors most often:

1. After double clicking a file to open it, Excel opens with a grey background, but the file never opens. Additionally, a message about "There was a problem sending the command to the program" may appear.
2. Double clicking a file doesn't even open Excel, and/or the icons on the Desktop and in File Explorer don't appear to be associated with Excel.
3. Double clicking the file opens Excel, but an error appears saying the file is corrupted or opens in Protected View, preventing edits.

Here are the proposed solutions/workarounds for each of the above problems:

Potential solutions to Problem 1 "App opens, but file doesn't"

1. Ensure that the DDE option is unchecked. The option can be found in File -> Options -> Advanced -> "Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)"
2. Disable all third party apps that interact with Excel. We have found some occurrences of third party add-in or applications that intercept commands from Windows to Excel, preventing Excel from opening the file. Specifically, we have seen security, encryption and two-factor authentication add-in prevent files from opening. Add-ins can be disabled by unchecking all boxes in File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins (in dropdown at bottom of screen) > Go… > Uncheck all boxes > Click OK. Unfortunately, there is no way to manage Third Party applications that interact with Excel, so you would need to find those manually in Task Manager Processes and stop any that you think could interfere (CTRL+ALT+DELETE > Task Manager > Processes).
3. Unhide windows. If all of the windows on a workbook are hidden, it will appear that the file didn’t open. You can unhide windows by clicking the "Unhide" button in the Window section of the View tab in the ribbon.
4. Update registry entries for DDE. It is possible that through installation of add-ins, upgrades or other means, the registry values that control DDE can be changed. We recommend using Quick Repair or Full Repair  to restore registry values, rather than changing them manually. You can access repair from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Right click Microsoft Office 365 [or whichever version you have installed] > Change > Quick Repair.
5. As a workaround, you can open the Excel app and then try and open the file again (either from within the app or by double clicking on the file again). This will bypass most of the problems associated with DDE, allowing you to open files.

Potential solutions to Problem 2 "Excel files aren't associated with the Excel application"

1. Run a Quick Repair. The most likely cause here is a Windows upgrade, Office upgrade or installation of a different document management suite caused the Office files to no longer be associated with the Office applications on your computer. You can access repair from Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Right click Microsoft Office 365 [or whichever version you have installed] > Change > Quick Repair.

Potential solutions to Problem 3 "Corruption message or Protected View Message"

1. When opening the file, let Excel repair the corruption. This happens automatically when Excel detects the file is corrupted. It attempts to repair as much as possible.
2. The file opens in Protected View. If it is from an untrusted location (email attachments and web locations are generally considered untrusted), then this is expected behavior and was designed that way to protect from accidently opening files that contain malicious content.

Lastly, if you are experiencing the first problem and none of the solutions resolve the issue, please let me know and I can work with you individually to determine what is happening and hopefully find a resolution.

Thanks,

Micah

Answer 2

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.

We understand how you feel about the situation. Let me guide you to resolve the issue.

Usually, Protected View options will appear in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Open Word, Excel and PowerPoint and then go to File> Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View > Uncheck Enable all the options> OK > OK and verify the result.

Hope it helps. If you have further questions related to this issue, please let me know.

Thank you.

Answer 3

Thanks for the response, but this did not solve my issue.  When I got to the "protected view" screen you described the "enable" box was not checked.  I tried checking it and unchecking it but not change or solution to my issue.

Answer 4

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View > Uncheck all options

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > File Block Settings > Uncheck all options.

Answer 5

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Protected View > Uncheck all options

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > File Block Settings > Uncheck all options.

Vijay,

I am also unable to open excel files in Excel 2016 after upgrading from2013.  (2103 worked fine) 

Your fix of unchecking the Trust Center settings did not work.

Any other ideas?  Word 2016 does work, (and the Trust Center boxes are checked in Word.  Still works fine!)  Only Excel is the problem.  Cannot open existing files when double clicking.  Can select fime through Open or drag and drop into open program, but no double clicking.