Excel worksheet won’t open – How to fix it can be a frustrating issue, but by following these structured steps, you can diagnose and resolve the problem efficiently. Whether it’s checking compatibility, repairing corrupted files, updating the application, or ensuring proper file access permissions, each solution offers a pathway to regain access to your valuable data. Don’t let technical difficulties slow you down; with the right approach, you can quickly move past these hurdles and continue your work seamlessly. Addressing the issue when an Excel worksheet won’t open is crucial for maintaining productivity and data integrity.
In this tutorial, we’ll discuss the causes of Excel files not opening and how to fix the issue. Now that you are aware of what is ahead, let’s get started.
This Tutorial Covers:
- Potential Causes for Microsoft Excel Not Opening
- How to Open Excel Files That Won’t Open
- Uncheck the Ignore DDE checkbox
- Disable Add-ins
- Microsoft Office rectification
- Reset the associations for Excel files
- Turn off hardware graphics acceleration
- When Every Attempt Fails
1. Potential Causes for Microsoft Excel Not Opening
There are numerous things that can go wrong with Excel because it is a tool that has to function flawlessly with other programs and operating systems.
Of course, there is also the chance that the issue is with the Excel program itself.
The following are some potential causes of Microsoft Excel not opening on your computer:
- There is a troublesome add-in that prevents you from opening Excel files. If so, you’ll probably be able to open Excel programs but not a particular Excel file (or a new Excel file)
- Before you can start opening Excel files again, it’s possible that your Excel application is corrupt and needs to be repaired.
- The operating system and other apps are unable to interface with your Excel application. You may easily solve this by enabling the setting, at which point your files will resume functioning (covered later in this tutorial)
- When you try to open an Excel file, it won’t recognize what program to use because the file association is broken. Once more, this may be easily fixed by just resetting the file associations. This problem frequently affects many users who have upgraded their operating system or Excel.
- The file you’re trying to open is damaged. This frequently occurs when you copy a file to an external or network device and then transfer it to your PC, or when someone else shares the file with you. It isn’t much you can do in this situation other than to ensure that you create file backups in the future.
2. How to Open Excel Files That Won’t Open
Let’s now examine some of the techniques you might employ to resolve the Excel files not opening problem.
These fixes are listed in the order that they are most likely to work.
3. Uncheck the Ignore DDE checkbox
When excel not opening files, make sure that the appropriate setting is enabled for the Dynamic Data Exchange is the most frequent and straightforward repair (DDE).
Excel communicates with other programs using DDE.
The DDE setting is normally off, but if it were to accidentally turn on, it might prevent your PC from opening Excel files.
This will prevent you from opening specific Excel files but will allow you to launch your Excel application from the start menu.
The steps to resolve this DDE issue are as follows:
Step 1: From the “Start” menu, open the Excel document. On the “File” tab, click.
Step 2: After that, select “Options”.
Step 3: Click on the ‘Advanced’ option in the left pane of the Excel “Options” dialog box that appears. To access the “General” section, scroll down. Ensure that the setting “Ignore other programs that employ Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)” is off. Close the Excel Options dialog box after that.
The problem should be resolved now if this setting was previously enabled, and you have disabled it following the aforementioned methods.
Continue reading if this approach doesn’t work for you.
4. Disable Add-ins
Many users use third-party add-ins for Excel to expand its usefulness and give them access to numerous functions that are not included by default.
One of the known add ins called “ThinkCell,” which allowed us to make stunning charts that were not feasible with Excel alone.
And occasionally, these add-ins cause you to be unable to open your Excel files.
Disabling the add-in is a simple workaround for the issue.
The following are the actions you can take in Excel to disable an add-in when excel won’t open:
Step 1: From the “Start” menu, open the Excel document. On the “File” tab, click.
Step 2: After that, select “Options”.
Step 3: Select “Add-ins” from the left-hand menu in the Excel Options dialog box.
Select “Manage” from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the dialog box.
Step 4: Choose COM Add-ins. Then click on “Go”
Step 5: Disable each add-in in the COM Add-ins dialog box that appears. Select “Ok.”
Try once more to open an Excel file that wouldn’t open before. The file ought to open right now if the item was the problem.
Many times, it’s a one-off problem, and enabling the add-in today won’t affect how well it works. If the issue persists after you allow the add-in, you may be certain that the add-in is corrupt and needs to be permanently disabled.
5. Microsoft Office rectification
Another reason Excel files might not open is if the Microsoft Office program needs to be repaired or reinstalled because it became corrupt. But let’s attempt the repair option first as reinstalling requires a little more work.
To fix the Microsoft Office program on your computer when excel won’t open, follow these steps:
Step 1: Press the R key while keeping the Windows key pressed. The “Run” dialog box will then be displayed.
Step 2: “appwiz.cpl” should be typed into the run box. This will launch the dialog box for applications and features.
Step 3: In the list, look for “Microsoft Office”.
Step 4: “Change” can be selected by right-clicking the “Microsoft Office” option (in case you see the “Repair” option right here, click on it)
Step 5: Select the “Quick Repair” option in the ensuing dialog box. choose the Repair option.
It will repair your Microsoft Office application in a few minutes if you follow the instructions that appear.
If a corrupt Microsoft Office application was the problem, the solutions listed above ought to resolve it.
But let’s attempt some more fixes in case you’re still unable to open Excel files.
6. Reset the associations for Excel files
File association ensures that the Excel application is used to open an Excel file when it is opened.
And occasionally, these file associations are incorrect, so when you click on an Excel file, it may not recognize that the Excel application is required to access it. Resetting file associations is the solution.
The steps to do this when excel not opening are as follows:
Step 1: Launch the Control Panel. Select Programs.
Step 2: Then select Default Programs.
Step 3: Select “Set your default programs” by clicking.
Step 4: Scroll down to “Reset to the Microsoft recommended defaults” in the Default Apps window that opens, and then click the Reset button.
Your Excel files would open if there was a mismatched file association causing the problem.
Because we have changed every application’s default setting on your system, any manual adjustments you may have made—such as choosing a specific file extension to be opened with a particular application—would likewise have been reverted to the default.
Select the “select default applications by file type” option if you only want to change the default settings for the Excel files and not for the other programs.
Find the Excel file extensions (.xls,.xlsx,.xlsb,.csv, etc.) and make XLS the default program for them on the screen that appears.
7. Turn off hardware graphics acceleration
Your system will run more efficiently with hardware graphic acceleration, especially when running Microsoft Office programs like MS Word or MS Excel.
However, this frequently also causes your excel file won’t open and/or your system or files to crash.
So, if all else fails, it would be worthwhile to attempt this approach.
Disabling hardware graphic acceleration, which is turned on by default, can fix the problem.
How to do it is as follows:
Step 1: From the “Start” menu, open the Excel document. On the “File” tab, click.
Step 2: After that, select “Options”.
Step 3: Click the Advanced tab in the left pane to launch the Excel Options dialog box. To access the “Display” settings, scroll below. The ‘Display hardware graphic acceleration’ option should be checked. Select OK.
Your Excel files should now begin opening if hardware graphic acceleration was the problem.
8. When Every Attempt Fails
Finally, you can only perform so much troubleshooting.
The best course of action is to contact Microsoft support and see if they can assist you if nothing else has so far worked for you.
These problems can frequently be traced back to a recent Microsoft upgrade that may have unintentionally triggered them.
To get in touch with Microsoft support, use the link below:
https://support.microsoft.com/contactus/
You can also try posting your question on one of the numerous active Microsoft forums, where the wonderful people of the Internet can come to your aid.
Although I am aware that this is not the best option, it can help you acquire advice and answers from professionals, which is beneficial in virtually all circumstances.
These are the techniques you can use to troubleshoot Microsoft file opening issues.
Most of the time, it should be resolved with straightforward setting adjustments like turning off third-party add-ins or clearing away file associations, but in a small minority of instances, if you can’t figure out the problem, your best bet is to contact Microsoft support.
Application of Excel worksheet won’t open – How to fix it
- Check File Format Compatibility: Ensure the Excel file is in a format compatible with your version of Excel. If not, convert the file to a compatible format using another program or an online tool.
- Repair Corrupted Files: Use Excel’s ‘Open and Repair’ feature to attempt to fix corrupted files. Navigate to ‘File’ > ‘Open,’ select the corrupted workbook, and click on the arrow next to the ‘Open’ button, then choose ‘Open and Repair.’
- Disable Add-ins: Incompatible or corrupt add-ins can prevent Excel files from opening. Start Excel in Safe Mode by holding ‘Ctrl’ while opening the program, which disables add-ins, and then try opening the file again.
- Update Excel: Ensure your Excel application is updated to the latest version. Outdated versions can lead to compatibility issues with newer file formats or features.
- Check File Location and Permissions: Verify that the file is not located in a restricted or inaccessible location. Ensure you have the necessary permissions to open the file.
- Scan for Viruses: Malware or viruses can cause files to become corrupted or inaccessible. Run a virus scan to check for infections that might be preventing the file from opening.
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