Unable to open Excel File

Question

I accidentally removed an excel file from my "recents" on my MAC desktop. When I went to open it, it appears that it is possibly now corrupt? It has a "squiggly" mark in front of the file name. HELP!!! I need this file for my 2023 taxes

Error message: Excel cannot open the file '~$2023 SPORTS EXPENES 2.xlsx' because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file.

Answer 1

Hi Tom ,

Thank you for contacting us today! As a Microsoft Ambassador, I can help you find self-help solutions for many common issues related to your account, billings or subscriptions.

The error message you are seeing indicates that Excel is having trouble reading the file format or file extension of your 'Monthly Budget.xlsx' file. This can happen if the file is corrupted or if the file extension has been changed or is incorrect.

I would like you to try some few things to fix the issue:

• Please check for file corruption: Try to open the file on another device or in another program to see if it is indeed corrupted. If it is, you may need to restore the file from a backup or recreate it from scratch
• Check the file extension: Make sure that the file extension is correct and matches the file format. In this case, the file extension should be '.xlsx'. If it is not, try renaming the file to include the correct file extension
• Try opening the file in a different version of Excel: Sometimes, certain versions of Excel may not be able to open files created in other versions. Please try to open the file in a different version of Excel or on a different device to see if that resolves the issue
• Repair Microsoft Office: It's good to try repairing Microsoft Office on your Mac to see if that resolves the issue. You can do this by going to the Applications folder, open the Microsoft Office folder, and then open Office Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to repair your Office installation
• Using a file recovery tool: If none of the above steps work, then try using a file recovery tool to recover the contents of the file. There are several free and paid tools available online that can help you recover data from a corrupted file

I hope one of these steps helps you to resolve the issue with your file. If you have any questions, Please let me know and I'll be glad to assist you further

I hope this was helpful and again feel free to contact me with any other questions. I would be very thankful if you could leave a review :)! Thanks, Shannah

Answer 2

Files with names that begin with tildes (~) are not actual workbooks. They are the temporary 'lock' files that are created so that Excel can keep track of who has a file open.