excel file extension not valid or file is corrupt

Question

Hi 

I have an very important excel documentation with information regarding my entire life which all of a sudden does not want to open and is displaying the message : "excel could not open the file 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'. I have tried every problem solving I could find on google but to no avail. Please assist me in trying to solve this for me. I am willing to send this file to anyone who can break this for me.

Answer 1

Hi Shivani, this is Bryll

Thank you for taking the time to write us in the Microsoft Community.

According to your post, you are facing problem with opening a specific Excel file. Assuming our summary is accurate, we would like to share a heads up that Data recovery is a complex process, and its success cannot be guaranteed as it may be caused by uncontrollable factors such as file corruption. We will endeavor to use our best effort and expertise to recover your data, but we cannot make any guarantees regarding the quantity, quality or completeness of the retrieved data.

These are the nearest tactics that correspond with the described problem:

• Open the affected Excel file using Office Online on the web browser. Then click “Open in desktop app” button on ribbon bar to open the file in desktop app.
• Rename the file extension to match the format of the file, such as .xlsx or .xls: Right-click on the Excel file then go to properties > General tab > Rename the file extension
• Repair your Excel file: Repair a corrupted workbook - Microsoft Support
• Change Trust Center settings:
  1. Open any Office program and click on "File" in the top left corner.
  2. Click on "Options" at the bottom of the left-hand menu.
  3. Click on "Trust Center" in the left-hand menu.
  4. Click on "Trust Center Settings" on the right-hand side.
  5. Click on "Protected View" in the left-hand menu.
  6. Uncheck all the options including "Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet".
  7. Click "OK" to save the changes.
  8. In the Trusted documents tab, check "Allow the documents on a network to be trusted" and click OK.
• Unblock the Excel file from its properties: Visit this support link for the steps Error: Can't read file, or Presentation cannot be opened - Microsoft Support
• Disable Excel Add-ins:

1. From Start menu, search any Office program then right-click to Run as Administrator
2. Go to File > Options > Add-ins.
3. In the Manage drop-down list, select COM Add-ins and click Go.
4. Uncheck all items and click OK.

If problem remains, please enlighten us on the issue further by responding to these questions:

1. Does the issue persist when you open the file on Office Online via web browser?
2. Can you open the files on a different computer or device?
3. Is the file stored locally on your computer or on a network drive or cloud storage?
4. What is the update build number of your Excel program? About Office: What version of Office am I using? - Microsoft Support

If nothing is sensitive on the file in question, we would like to ask for a sample file of the issue to recommend other strategies. You can upload a sample document to (say) OneDrive or Dropbox and generate a download link which you post in a reply here.

We will recommend other strategies once we receive your response to our questions outlined above. If possible, please share some screenshots or video of the problem.

Best regards,

Bryll

Community Moderator

Answer 2

Hello there,

We haven't heard from you, so we assume that your issue has already been addressed. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link:  Create a new question (microsoft.com)

Bryll

Community Moderator

Answer 3

These steps did not resolve my issue, I have one specific file that I cannot open or copy to a new location