How do you fix Excel Cannot open the file XLSX because the file format or file extension is not valid?
There is always a number associated with such errors, to find that number press “Ctrl+Shift+I” and you’ll find “101590” at the lower-right corner of this message. There could be the following reasons behind this error; Show
There are various Excel errors and ways to fix them, and this error can also be fixed easily. In this article, we have mentioned some of the useful methods to solve this error.
From this feature, you can easily repair and open the corrupted .xlsx files.
Using Kernel Excel Repair is very simple. The user-interface of this tool is specially designed keeping the usability of users in mind. Follow these steps to use the tool:
This way you can easily access the data of your corrupted .xlsx file. Final Words“Excel cannot open the file ‘(filename)’.xlsx because the file format for file extension is not valid” is a common error that any user can face while opening a .xlsx file. With the help of the above methods, this error can easily be resolved without affecting the integrity of the file. Priyanka is an entrepreneur & content marketing expert. She writes tech blogs and has expertise in MS Office, Excel, and other tech subjects. Her distinctive art of presenting tech information in the easy-to-understand language is very impressive. When not writing, she loves unplanned travels.Despite the increasing challenges from competitors like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel remains the most used spreadsheet app. It’s the app of choice in most workplace settings. What’s more, it includes numerous tools that help streamline and ease workflows. Excel, like every other Microsoft app, occasionally runs into issues. Most of these are mere annoyances and can be solved with one or two program or system reboots. However, the “Excel cannot open the file because the file format or extension is not valid” issue has proved to be more bothersome for several users. If you encounter this message when you try to open a file in Excel (or an Excel file), this guide will be helpful. We explain the possible reasons why the error can occur and three solutions that could work for you. Excel Cannot Open the File Because the File Format or File Extension Is not ValidWhen any user encounters this error in Excel, it’s usually due to one of two reasons:
A corrupted file is unlikely to be opened by the parent program. Even if it successfully opens, it’s likely to have multiple errors such as missing data or unreadable portions. Excel and several other programs go the extra mile and simply don’t open corrupted files. It’s up to the user to try and fix the file corruption first or use another document with uncorrupted data. Sometimes, the corruption is caused by malware that infiltrated the system. This can happen if your system isn’t fully protected when working with Spreadsheets on the web. Unrelated internet activity can cause this as well. After all, some malware types are known to be distributed as macros that can attach to Office documents. It is better to be prepared for anything. Auslogics Anti-Malware will protect you against online and offline threats, as your main or supplementary antivirus. It’s unobtrusive, lightweight, fast, and frequently updated. RECOMMENDED Protect PC from Threats with Anti-Malware Check your PC for malware your antivirus may miss and get threats safely removed with Auslogics Anti-Malware Auslogics Anti-Malware is a product of Auslogics, certified Microsoft® Silver Application Developer DOWNLOAD NOWSometimes, this error could be due to incompatible or unsupported file formats. Versions of Excel since 2007 use Office Open XML as the primary file format but are backward-compatible with the earlier versions of Excel files. A glance at the file extension will tell you straight away whether the program can open that file. If the file you’re attempting to open is in one of these formats, it won’t open because it’s been corrupted. That’s because the file extension is compatible with Excel: Excel Workbook. xlsx Excel Macro-enabled Workbook. xlsm Excel Binary Workbook. xlsb Excel Macro-enabled Template. xltm Excel Add-in. xlam Spreadsheet. xls Excel Template. xlt Excel Macro. xlm In addition, documents in these non-Excel file extensions can be opened by the program, though functionality might be reduced in some fashion: XML. Spreadsheet 2003 or XML formatted files. xml Lotus Spreadsheets. prn Tab delimited/Unicode text files. txt Comma-separated values files. csv Data Interchange Format files. dif Symbolic Link Format text files. slk dBase Data Files. dbf OpenOffice Files. ods XML Paper Specification Files. xps Portable Document Format files. pdf Note that this isn’t an exhaustive list. Excel can open files with other extensions, including html. How to Fix the “Excel Cannot Open the File Because the File Format or File Extension Is not Valid” Issue on Windows 10Sometimes, when opening a file in Excel, the program displays this error message instead: Microsoft Excel Excel cannot open the file [File Name] 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. If you encounter this error in any version of Excel since Excel 2007, three options are open to you:
Let’s explain each option in more detail. Solution 1. Check the File ExtensionIf you’re unable to open the file, it could be due to an unsupported file extension. To be frank, this is very rare nowadays since most spreadsheets use a format Excel can open. However, if you’re trying to open the document on a pre-2007 Excel program, you can have issues with certain files. There are two scenarios here:
In both instances, the solution is the same. Open any Excel file (or just launch the program and open a blank spreadsheet) and click the File tab. Next, click Open > Browse and locate the file you’re trying to open. Now, look under the file name field and change the file extension. If you’re trying to open an xlsx document in a legacy Excel version, change the extension to xls. If you’re trying to open a document in an unsupported or less common file format, change the extension to xlsx or xls. Save the change and then try opening the file again. If everything is done right, the file should open now. Solution 2. Repair the FileWhen you get the “Excel cannot open the file because the file format or file extension is not valid” error, it’s likely because the spreadsheet is corrupt. If you manage to open the file anyway, there might be multiple errors and we’re sure you don’t want that. It is better to try repairing the file first and that is exactly what we’re going to do.
Excel will attempt to repair the file and then open it. Solution 3. Change Group PermissionsIn rare instances, the “Excel cannot open the file because the file format or file extension is not valid” error happened because the file has special permissions. Removing this permission will allow your Excel program to open it without issues. How do I fix XLSX format is not valid?How to Recover Excel File When the File Format or File Extension Is Not Valid. Right-click the inaccessible Excel file and choose "Properties".. Open the "Previous Version" tab to list all the previously stored versions of the Excel file.. Choose the most recent version and click "Restore" to retrieve the spreadsheet.. How do you fix this workbook couldn't be opened because the file format may not be matching with the file extension?In Microsoft Excel, click File and then Options. Navigate to Save. At the "Save files in this format:" option, select "Excel Workbook (*xlsx)". This will resolve the issue for new spreadsheets saved via the add-in.
How do I open an Excel file that says an extension is not valid?Fix Excel File Format/Extension Is Not Valid [5 Solutions]. Solution 1. Changing to Another File Extension.. Solution 2. Recover Unsaved Workbooks.. Solution 3. Restoring Previous Version of Excel File.. Solution 4. Using Open and Repair Feature.. Solution 5. Repair Corrupted Excel File.. |