File Format Not Valid

[Laurie_O16]

I use the latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac. A few weeks ago I went to open one of my spreadsheets and it said the file format wasn't valid. I finally got it opened and copied the information into a new workbook. I saved the workbook and made sure I could re-open it without problems.

Today I opened that new workbook and it says: file format not valid. I cannot open it to get the information. This only happens with a couple of spreadsheets starting w/the one described above.

Any ideas?

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I use the latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac. A few weeks ago I went
to open one of my spreadsheets and it said the file format wasn't valid. I
finally got it opened and copied the information into a new workbook. I saved
the workbook and made sure I could re-open it without problems.

Today I opened that new workbook and it says: file format not valid. I cannot
open it to get the information. This only happens with a couple of
spreadsheets starting w/the one described above.

Couple of questions:

What version of MacOS? Have you updated recently?

What format are these files in (e.g., xls, .xlsx, etc)

Where are they stored (local HD, network, etc)

Do these files have any distinguishing/common characteristics?

Were these files created by you?

How did you "finally (get) it opened"?

 

[Laurie_O16]

I run version 10.4.11 and it was updated about a couple weeks ago or so.

File formats are .xls

I had them stored on my flash drive but even if I move them to my desktop I cannot open them.

The first file I couldn't open (that I finally got open) was a "to-do" list that I copied the information into the new workbook that I can't open.

Both files were created on my ibook by myself.

I finally got the first file opened because I saved it originally to my desktop. Then I copied it to my flash drive. I then moved the desktop copy to the trash. When the flash drive one wouldn't open I took the other copy out of the trash. When I opened that it says:This file is not in a recognizable format. But, if you click "OK" you can open it.

Since the second workbook was saved on the desktop I did the same thing as the first file by putting it on the flash drive. But with the second, I cannot open it on the flash drive nor on the desktop.

 

[Laurie_O16]

Any ideas yet?

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I run version 10.4.11 and it was updated about a couple weeks ago or so.

File formats are .xls

I had them stored on my flash drive but even if I move them to my desktop I
cannot open them.

The first file I couldn't open (that I finally got open) was a "to-do" list
that I copied the information into the new workbook that I can't open.

Both files were created on my ibook by myself.

I finally got the first file opened because I saved it originally to my
desktop. Then I copied it to my flash drive. I then moved the desktop copy to
the trash. When the flash drive one wouldn't open I took the other copy out
of the trash. When I opened that it says:This file is not in a recognizable
format. But, if you click "OK" you can open it.

Since the second workbook was saved on the desktop I did the same thing as
the first file by putting it on the flash drive. But with the second, I
cannot open it on the flash drive nor on the desktop.

No idea what's going on, sorry. The only thing I can offer is that you
may have some document corruption, in which case the best remedy is
likely to be copying and pasting into a fresh workbook.

 

[CyberTaz]

Just to interject one suggestion -

*Never* open files directly from a USB or attempt to save directly to one -
always copy back & forth from the HD. They're fine for transporting data,
but contrary to their misleading moniker they are *not* drives & shouldn't
be treated as such. Although you can "get away with it" for a while you'll
eventually wind up with corrupt files.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Hugh Mackenzie]

I use the latest version of Microsoft Office for Mac. A few weeks ago I went to open one of my spreadsheets and it said the file format wasn't valid. I finally got it opened and copied the information into a new workbook. I saved the workbook and made sure I could re-open it without problems.

Today I opened that new workbook and it says: file format not valid. I cannot open it to get the information. This only happens with a couple of spreadsheets starting w/the one described above.

Any ideas?

I'm having exactly the same problem. I work away on a file that I have created, saved on my hard drive, save it and close it. But when I try to open the file, I get a message saying that the file format is not valid. Luckily I'm using Leopard 10.5 and Time Machine, so I can usually go far enough back to get a version that will work, but I've lost the work I did in the meantime. It doesn't happen all the time. Only occasionally. Before the first upgrade came out, I was having problems saving large files that have pivot tables. Excel 2008 simply refused to save these large files. I haven't tested to see if the upgrade fixed this problem, but the problem I'm posting about here didn't start happening until after the upgrade was installed. I'm inclined to stop using Excel 2008 and stick to 2004 until these problems are fixed.

 

[CyberTaz]

I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, but I can say that since you
don't even mention the use of a USB flash drive your problem is *not*
"exactly the same" - in fact, it's not even related.

Even if it were, hijacking threads that have been cold for a month or more
is not the best way to call attention to your need. It sounds like a serious
matter so I'd suggest that you submit it as a *new* post giving all
specifics about your OS version & type of Mac as well as any other details
about the files involved.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac