Convert Microsoft Excel file to text file

Question

Convert Microsoft Excel file to text file

Rajashekar Marri 61

Hi,

I have a requirement from our customers to convert excel files to text files. I was provided with a PowerShell script to convert excel to text to be run every day. When I run the script from PowerShell the script runs as expected converts excel files to text files but when I schedule and run it through task scheduler it is erroring with the below log,

****Microsoft Excel cannot access the file 'E:\Test_reports\PaymentWarehouse\test\ETPAY-en_2021-07-21T092301719Z.xlsx'.
There are several possible reasons:
• The file name or path does not exist.
• The file is being used by another program.
•
The workbook you are trying to save has the same name as a currently open workbook.\n****

Please let me know if anyone got an idea,

Thanks

David 151 Reputation points

2022-01-11T06:13:09.243+00:00

You could probably try Spire.XLS for .NET to convert excel to text. It does not require MS Office to be installed on machines.

2 answers

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David 151 Reputation points

2022-01-11T06:13:09.243+00:00

You could probably try Spire.XLS for .NET to convert excel to text. It does not require MS Office to be installed on machines.

Answer 1

@Rajashekar Marri ,

Which version of Office are you using?

Per my research, please create the following folder and add full control permissions for the relevant users.

For 64-bit Windows:
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile\Desktop
For 32-bit Windows:
C:\Windows\System32\config\systemprofile\Desktop

For more information, please refer to the method in this similar thread.
Please note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link.

Hope the information is helpful to you.

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Answer 2

Rajashekar Marri 61

I tried creating the Desktop folder in the path mentioned, it did not work.

Viki Ji_MSFT 4,471 Reputation points

2021-08-10T09:28:37.403+00:00
@Rajashekar Marri ,
Thanks for your reply.

Please provide the detailed version of Office. It is recommended to update your Office to the latest version first.

Then please check if there is the issue with using PowerShell script to convert other files, you can also try it on another PC.

If all files have this issue.
I suggest you refer to the steps in this document to convert Excel files to text files.

If only a specific file has this issue.
Is E:\Test_reports\PaymentWarehouse\test the path where the file is stored? Please try the following steps to check this issue.

Try to move to another location.

Rename it.

Copy the file to another PC.

Any updates, please let me know.
Rajashekar Marri 61 Reputation points

2021-08-10T14:34:47.047+00:00

Windows Server 2012 R2,
Microsoft office is Professional 2016 (16.0.5149.1000) MSO(16.0.5149.1000) 64-bit.

I tested the script on Windows 10 machine with Office 365 license and the script was running ok on the task scheduler as expected.
Viki Ji_MSFT 4,471 Reputation points

2021-08-11T09:09:55.37+00:00

@Rajashekar Marri ,
Thanks for your reply and sharing.

In this thread, tntng resolved this issue by modifying the folder C:\windows\SysWOW64\config and sub folder C:\windows\SysWOW64\config\systemprofile to allow permissions to the service account in the Security tab.

If this issue persists, I would suggest you open a paid ticket to help you test remotely and further analyze this issue.
Thanks for your understanding!
Rajashekar Marri 61 Reputation points

2021-08-16T14:27:39.8+00:00

I am hoping someone may have seen this before on specifically with Windows Servers.

I have tested through task scheduler on Windows Server 2012 I have Microsoft Office Professional License and on Windows Server 2019 with Microsoft Office 365 license no luck on them. I was getting the same error.

However, the test works fine on windows 10 machines through a task scheduler.

The user I am trying is local administrator and Domain Admin.

Microsoft Excel cannot access the file 'F:\cms\Temp\EXTPAY-en-us_2021-06-18T040503370Z.xlsx'. There are several possible reasons:
• The file name or path does not exist.
• The file is being used by another program.
• The workbook you are trying to save has the same name as a currently open workbook.\n

Any advice,
Thanks

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Convert Microsoft Excel file to text file

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