message - file format is not valid

[robert potts]

I cannot now open an EXCEL file I created some while ago.
Instead I get a message saying file format is invalid.
File name is less than 219 characters. I can see what is
in the file using Quick View.
How can I restore access to file using EXCEL?

 

[CLR]

Maybe try Inserting it into a blank Excel sheet.........or try opening it in
Excel XP, or even MS Word........

Does it for sure have an .xls extention......maybe someone opened it in
another program and saved it as some thing else......

hth
Vaya con Dios,
Chuck, CABGx3

 

[Dave Peterson]

Sometimes excel workbooks get corrupted.

One cause is opening them from a floppy and saving to that floppy. (Instead you
should use windows explorer to copy to your harddrive/LAN drive), work on it
from there, save it there and use windows explorer to copy it back to the
floppy.)

Another is opening the workbook in MSWord and saving it as an MSWord document
(with a .xls extension).

If you did the MSWord thing, you maybe able to recover a little bit of your data
by opening it in MSWord and copying and then pasting to excel. (But tons of
stuff will be lost.)

And sometimes the workbooks just get corrupted.

You might be able to recover more by using another program--both xl2002 and
OpenOffice have better reputations for opening files that earlier versions of
excel couldn't.

(http://www.openoffice.org, a 60-65 meg download or a CD)

If the file is really important, there are commercial recovery services. I've
never used it, but you might want to check into:
http://www.officerecovery.com

Do you have a backup? Any chance you emailed a version to someone who could
email it back?