In 2007, with the release of Microsoft Office 2007, Bill Gates' company introduced the public to a new universal format for working with spreadsheets - Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet (abbreviated xlsx). The introduction of this format was intended to unify document flow between various software environments from different manufacturers and developers. Files in xlsx format can be opened by many software products, such as Microsoft Works, Corel WordPerfect Office, Panergy docXConverter, OxygenOffice Professional, OpenOffice, PlanMaker Viewer, Gnumeric, Ability Spreadsheet, Corel Quattro Pro and others. However, the main program that was originally designed to work with xlsx files and fully supports them is Microsoft Excel. It is Excel that is able to fully reveal the potential capabilities of this standard and use it to its fullest.
Microsoft Excel
Excel is a standard program from the Microsoft Office package, the usual version of which has been used on a personal computer (desktop, laptop) since 2007.
To launch the required document, use the following instructions:
- launch an application with the Microsoft Office Excel 2007 logo on the device;
- click on the “File” icon (top right);
- An additional menu will open, select the “Open” line. Attention! Another option to open a new document with the desired extension is to simultaneously press the hotkey combination “Ctrl” + “O”. The method is standard for all products of the Microsoft Office application suite;
- the startup process will begin, an additional working window will appear on the monitor, in the center of which there is a navigation area;
- go through the sections to the location of the element you are looking for;
- Select the name with the left mouse button, the “Open” button below is activated - press LMB.
The process of opening an object in the program takes a few seconds. After this, you can begin editing the item or viewing information.
Final words
“Excel cannot open the file '(file name)' .xlsx because the file format or extension is invalid” is a common error you may encounter when opening an Excel file. Using the methods described above, this error can be easily resolved without losing data.
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Apache OpenOffice Calc
This application is analogous to the Microsoft Office package. Unlike previous software, in Apache Open Office Calc the xlsx extension is not considered the main one - you will not be able to create and save a workbook using the utility. User action steps:
- download, install and run the program;
- click on the “Spreadsheet” item;
- a separate working window will open on the monitor, at the top of which there is a horizontal standard menu of functions - click “File”, then “Open”;
- find the place where the desired document is located (you can also use hot keys, as in the previous instructions);
- Select the name and click “Open”.
Attention! An alternative way to launch is to launch the application, press “Ctrl” and “O” at the same time, select the location where the desired document is saved, and press the launch button. Both options are suitable - the user can choose either one.
Problems opening XLSX files
The Excel document opens without problems with the programs presented above. Problems occur for the following reasons:
- incompatibility with current software;
- The file parameters are set incorrectly;
- the integrity of the table is violated;
- the file is damaged by viruses;
- conflicts within the OS;
- there are no executable files and libraries in the executable program;
- the volume is damaged.
In 95% of cases, the problem is solved by resaving the file on the computer or reinstalling a program for working with XLSX files.
We recommend creating backup copies of important spreadsheets, since data recovery often results in loss of information and reading errors.
LibreOffice Calc
This utility is an additional analog free tool. To open the file, you need to follow these steps:
- download and launch the application;
- Click the “Create” button at the top of the working window, select the “Calc Table” line;
- The application will launch, click on the “File” item.
After this, just like in the standard Excel program, you need to open the folder where the document is located and start opening it.
Solution 2: Change the Excel file extension to open it
Very often this error occurs due to an incompatible Excel file extension. MS Excel saves Excel documents as XLSX or XLS files by default. Excel 2003 and earlier versions save files in XLS format, while Excel 2007 and later versions such as Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, and 2022 save files in XLSX format. You can change the default file format for the corresponding Excel version to any other file format supported by MS Excel.
Step 1: Open Microsoft Excel and go to the File tab.
Step 2: Click Export and select Change File Type.
Step 3: Change the file extension to any other file format supported by MS Excel and click Save As. Then check if Excel can open your file.
File Viewer Plus
The utility works with elements of various extensions, including xlsx. In order to open the desired object, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- launch the software on your PC, click on “File”;
- then – the line “Open...”;
- find and highlight the desired element, press the open key.
A combination of keyboard hot buttons, as in the previous paragraphs, is suitable for operation. For convenience, you can save the desired object on the Desktop or in a separate folder.
Documents in xlsx format are tables for working with numbers and summarizing data. The user can open and edit such files using various programs - from a standard office application package or analog software.
General description of the XLSX format
An XLSX file is a virtual table divided into columns (maximum 16384, indexed in Latin letters and combinations) and rows (maximum 1048576, numbered), which form intersections, cells. The latter are in A1, G8, etc. format. (combinations of column and row index) are filled with digital and text information, formulas, and functions.
The format functionality allows you to carry out the following commands with cells:
- Union;
- deletion;
- value assignment;
- creating a formula for further calculations inside the table;
- development of forms, price lists, invoices;
- working with hyperlinks;
- changing width, height, background, fonts;
- selecting an arbitrary area with frames;
- assigning absolute values to columns and rows.
You can't do this with a text editor. How to open an XLSX file on a computer? Let's figure it out now.
Docspal
Another popular resource is Docspal to view xls files online. It does not support document editing or formatting, but can be very useful for quickly viewing the desired document in excel format. Document conversion is also supported.
At this time, there are no problems in the operation of the resource; it works extremely stably.
Part 1. How to recover an Excel file that is damaged and cannot be opened
Microsoft has released many versions of Excel and has improved the design in each version, so the methods for recovering an Excel file are slightly different.
Excel file is corrupted in Excel 2016, 2013, 2010
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Step 1: Launch Excel 2016/2013/2010 from your desktop, open the File menu and select Open. If you are using Excel 2013/2016, click on the location where your file is stored and click the Browse button.
Step 2: Once the dialog box opens, navigate to where your file is located and select it. Then expand the Down button instead of clicking the Open button directly.
Step 3: Then select "Repair" to recover your damaged Excel file using the built-in recovery feature. If the recovery function does not work, try the Extract Data function instead.
Excel file is corrupted in Excel 2007
Step 1: Also open the Excel program on your computer, find the “Microsoft Office” button and click on it. Then select "Open" from the list.
Step 2: Find the damaged Excel file you want to repair and highlight it in the Open dialog box, then click the down icon next to the Open button and select Open and Repair.
Step 3: Next, you will be presented with two options: “Recover” and “Extract Data”. The first one will recover the workbook data in a file and the second one can extract the data from the workbook. Make a decision based on your requirements.
This method also works when your Excel file is not responding.
Causes and solutions
As with any other problematic issue, the search for a way out of problems with opening an Excel workbook lies in the immediate cause of its occurrence. Therefore, first of all, you need to establish exactly the factors that caused the application to malfunction.
To understand whether the root cause is in the file itself or in software problems, try opening other documents in the same application. If they open, we can conclude that the root cause of the problem is damage to the book. If the user still fails to open it, then the problem lies in a problem with Excel or the operating system. You can do it another way: try opening the problematic book on another device. In this case, its successful opening will indicate that everything is in order with the document, and problems should be looked for elsewhere.
Reason 1: Compatibility issues
The most common reason for failure to open an Excel workbook, if it is not due to damage to the document itself, is a compatibility issue. It is not caused by a software failure, but by using an old version of the program to open files that were made in a newer version. At the same time, it should be noted that not every document created in the new version will have problems opening in previous applications. On the contrary, most of them will start normally. The only exceptions will be those where technologies were introduced that older versions of Excel cannot work with. For example, early copies of this table processor could not handle circular references. Therefore, the old application will not be able to open a book containing this element, but it will launch most other documents made in the new version.
In this case, there can only be two solutions to the problem: either open similar documents on other computers that have updated software, or install one of the new versions of the Microsoft Office package on the problematic PC instead of the outdated one.
The opposite problem is not observed when opening documents in a new program that were generated in older versions of the application. Thus, if you have the latest version of Excel installed, then there cannot be any compatibility issues when opening files from older programs.
Special mention should be made about the xlsx format. The fact is that it has been introduced only since Excel 2007. All previous applications cannot work with it by default, because their “native” format is xls. But in this case, the problem with launching this type of document can be solved even without updating the application. This can be done by installing a special patch from Microsoft on the old version of the program. After this, books with the xlsx extension will open normally.
Reason 2: incorrect settings
Sometimes the cause of problems when opening a document may be incorrect configuration settings of the program itself. For example, when you try to open any Excel workbook by double-clicking the left mouse button, the following message may appear: “An error occurred when sending a command to the application.”
This will launch the application, but the selected book will not open. At the same time, through the “File” tab in the program itself, the document opens normally.
In most cases, this problem can be solved in the following way.
- Go to the “File” tab. Next, move to the “Settings” section.
After performing this operation, retrying to open the document by double-clicking the mouse should be successful.
Reason 3: Setting up mappings
The reason that you cannot open an Excel document in the standard way, that is, by double-clicking the left mouse button, may lie in the incorrect configuration of file associations. A sign of this is, for example, an attempt to launch a document in another application. But this problem can also be easily solved.
- Through the Start menu, go to Control Panel.
Next, move to the “Programs” section.
In the application settings window that opens, go to the item “Assign a program to open files of this type.”
After this, a list of many types of formats will be built, to which applications that open them are indicated. We look in this list for Excel extensions xls, xlsx, xlsb or others that should open in this program, but do not open. When you select each of these extensions, there should be a Microsoft Excel sign at the top of the table. This means that the matching setting is correct.
But, if, when selecting a typical Excel file, another application is specified, then this indicates that the system is configured incorrectly. To configure the settings, click on the “Change program” button in the upper right part of the window.
As a rule, in the "Select a program" window, the name Excel should be in the group of recommended programs. In this case, simply select the application name and click on the “OK” button.
But, if due to some circumstances it is not on the list, then in this case click on the “Browse...” button.
After this, an explorer window opens, in which you must specify the path to the main file of the Excel program itself. It is located in the folder at the following address:
Zoho Excel Viewer – how to open xlsx and xls
This online resource https://sheet.zoho.com/sheet/excelviewer is a viewer for viewing Excel files with advanced functionality, allowing you not only to view, but also to edit, save, share, and even convert files into the format the user needs. You can either open files from your computer or use a link to the desired file on the network.
- To use the capabilities of Zoho Excel Viewer, click on the “Select file” inscription.
- Upload it from your computer and then click on the "View" button.
- The resource supports xls, xlsx, sxc and csv formats.
