Unable to open EXCEL.EXE

Question

I have Windows 10 and Office 365, which includes Excel 2016. An installed, non-Microsoft tool requires linking with the Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint executables, in order to send output from the tool to Excel and Powerpoint. I have located the EXCEL.EXE file in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.Office.Desktop.Excel_<…>\Office16, but double-clicking it does not open Excel. (I can still open Excel by clicking its icon from the start button.) Any guidance would be appreciated on either of the following:

A) If there is another version of the Excel executable, where do I find it? OR

B) Alternatively, if the one I have found is the correct one, then how do I open it directly?

Thank you.

[Moved from Microsoft 365 and Office/Excel/Windows 10/Microsoft 365 Apps or Office 365 Business]

Answer 1

Office 365 is not Excel/Office 2016

You cannot move the excel.exe location the path you show is not valid

The actual path is c:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windws|start Menu\Programs

Type excel in the Cortana search, rt click>Open File location

Answer 2

Thank you, Palcouk, for both suggestions. Sadly, neither works:

• The location you indicate (with a slight modification, “|start Menu” —> “Start Menu”) does not contain EXCEL.EXE. I ran a Search on that folder, and two folders up, but did not find EXCEL.EXE.
• I have uninstalled Cortana, but typed EXCEL.EXE in the Search window in my taskbar, then clicked a) Open: It did not open; b) Open file location: It gave me the same location as I indicated in my original post. That EXCEL.EXE file does not open upon double-clicking.

I did not move the EXCEL.EXE file location at any time.

Open to other suggestions.

Answer 3

Hi Phaedrus,

Welcome to community. I go through the post carefully and understand you want to open EXCEL.exe.

Generally, it's in the location C:\Programs Files (X86)\Microsoft Office\Office16

Or C:\Programs Files\Microsoft Office\Office16

You may try to go to the location above and see if you can find EXCEL.exe and open it.

If issue persists, to help you do further troubleshooting, could you please let us know your Office version?

I notice you mentioned you that can still open Excel by clicking its icon from the start button, please open Excel, then go to File>Account, on the right side, capture a full screenshot of Product Information.

If you cannot open Excel application, please open Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program. From the programs list, capture a screenshot of your Office product as below.

Many thanks for your patience and effort.

Have a nice day and stay safe!

Best Regards,

Tina

Answer 4

Thank you, Tina.  

Neither the C:\Program Files nor the C:\Program Files (x86) folders contains a folder named “Microsoft Office”.  The former does contain a folder called “WindowsApps”, which contains the EXCEL.EXE file, in the path outlined in my original message.  However, it does not open upon double-clicking.

The screen shots you have suggested are below, one from Excel: File>Account, and two from Settings>Programs>Add or remove Programs.  Please advise.  Thanks.

Answer 5

Hi Phaedrus,

Thanks for your feedback.

When I test from my side, I can find the EXCEL.EXE from the path below in File Explorer and I can open it by double clicking. My Windows is 64 bit.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

It seems your Office version screenshots are not uploaded, could you please upload them again? You can use the Insert Image button to upload images in your reply.

![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/a0265380-2aee-4af0-a055-2ca8cbb5fe95?platform=QnA