excel spreadsheet - thumbshoot

Question

I can not open an excel spreadsheet. It is only giving me a thumbshoot.

Answer 1

Hi, I'm John! I will help you with this.

May I know what troubleshooting steps have you already taken? This will help me avoid recommending them again.

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If you haven't tried anything yet please start by:

First, please check if your Microsoft 365 is active or if your Office license is listed. You can do this by signing in at https://account.microsoft.com/services if the subscription is active or if your Office license is listed, try these steps:

Repair Office apps:

• Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
• Find Microsoft 365 or Office in the list, select it, then choose Change > Quick Repair.
• If that doesn’t help, run the repair again but select Online Repair instead.

Check for updates:

• Open any Office app (if it opens even briefly), go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
• Restart your device after repair and try opening the apps again.

If the apps still don’t open, please let me know if you’re using Microsoft 365 or a one-time purchase version (like Office 2021), so I can guide you with the next specific steps.

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Let me know how it goes or if you have any further questions or concerns.

Click "Add comment" to let me know.

Regards,

John J.D.

Answer 2

The issue is typically that Excel is opening but only shows a blank/thumbnail-like screen instead of the workbook. Use these steps in order and test after each one:

1. Check for hidden workbook
   1. Open Excel.
   2. Go to View tab.
   3. Select Unhide.
   4. Choose the workbook (if listed) and select OK.
2. Refresh the Excel window
   1. With the blank Excel window open, select the Minimize button in the top-right corner.
   2. In the taskbar, right-click the Excel icon and select the spreadsheet (or double-click the Excel icon) to restore it.
3. Disable hardware graphics acceleration
   1. Open Excel.
   2. Select File > Options.
   3. Select Advanced.
   4. In Display section, enable Disable hardware graphics acceleration.
   5. Select OK, then close and reopen Excel and the file.
4. Check DDE setting (if using Excel 2016 or earlier)
   1. In Excel, select File > Options.
   2. Select Advanced.
   3. In the General section, clear Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE).
   4. Select OK, then try opening the file again from File Explorer.
5. Reset Excel file associations
   • On Windows 10/11:
     1. Copy the problematic file to the desktop.
     2. Right-click the file > Properties.
     3. On General tab, check Opens with.
     4. Select Change > More apps.
     5. Select Excel, tick Always use this app, then OK.
6. Turn off add-ins
   1. In Excel, select File > Options > Add-Ins.
   2. At Manage (bottom), choose COM Add-ins > Go.
   3. Clear one add-in, select OK, close and reopen Excel and the file.
   4. Repeat for each COM add-in to find the culprit.
   5. If still failing, repeat but choose Excel Add-ins in Manage and test one by one.
7. Repair Office
   1. Close all Office apps.
   2. Open Settings > Apps > Apps & features.
   3. Select Microsoft 365/Office > Modify.
   4. Choose Online Repair and start the repair.
   5. After it finishes, restart Windows and try opening the workbook again.

If the workbook still only shows a thumbnail/blank after all steps, contact Microsoft Support for deeper troubleshooting.

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References:

• Troubleshoot opening a blank screen when you double-click a file icon or file name in Excel
• Excel opens to a blank screen