Solved Excel file won't open

[Frank C]

I have an Excel file that will not open from Windows Explorer. It will open from Excel's Recent Document List. I want it to open from Explorer because the recent document list changes over time.
The .xlsx file is on a public disk shared by my desktop and a laptop. I did open the file with Open office on the laptop. The laptop does not have Office 2007. Open office may have corrupted the file. It did not change the .xlsx extension. If I can't find a solution I will have to recreate the file from scratch.
Any suggestions?

 

[Frank C]

I'm beginning to think my problem is not Excel but Widows Explorer. If I put the path and file name in the file name box and click open, it opens just fine.
C:\Users\Owner\Music\Recordings\Piano\Ohman & Arden\Ohman & Arden.xlsx

 

[Lottiemansion]

Hi,

The path names are different & therefore they are different file & that is the problem!

Find the one file that works & copy that to a single location & then create two shortcut links to it on both machines.

This will ensure they are both referencing a the same file!

From the information above the file (Ohman & Arden.xlsx) should be in the location above "C:\Users\Owner\Music\Recordings\Piano\Ohman & Arden"

 

[Frank C]

Thanks Lottie,
I deleted all of the .xlsx files except a newly created one here:
"C:\Users\Owner\Music\Recordings\Piano\Ohman & Arden\Ohman & Arden.xlsx
This disk is not shared so I didn't create a shortcut.

The file does not open from Explorer

The file does open if I paste the path/file in the file name box

My explorer has the switch /e,

 

[Frank C]

My problem widens. I tried to access many .xlsx files as well as .docx files via Windows Explorer. I am getting the same error.
I have a few power point files (.PPT) these are OK. I don't have any one note files (.one).
I am going to try a recent restore point

 

[Barman58]

Hello Frank,

The explorer switch /e is just a View option providing a fall back to previous dialogues, it's not the default so could be removed, although I doubt this is your issue.

What you may want to try is check the associations for your .XLSx files, especially as you have, as stated, opened these files in Openoffice

To check


In Explorer, Right Click on the file and you should have an option to "open With ...", [if this option is not visible try shift +Right Click], select this option and check that the option is set to Excel.exe.

If not you should be able to select from a list that includes Excel, [you may need to select the other option if it's not obvious].

There is a checkbox on this tab to "Always open with..." make sure that this is Checked, [unfortunately windows, sets this checkbox to "on" by default and therefore opening a file just once in a different program from your usual one can easily cause this type of issue]

 

[Frank C]

Thanks Barman58 ,
Your analysis is correct. Not only did I mess up the connection of the .xlsx that I was working on but I messed up the program connection of ALL .xlsx files. Now, it would seeem simple enough to re-establish that connection. I did not see Excel in the list ("you should be able to select from a list that includes Excel")
Here is my approach:
Settings > Control Panel > Default Programs > Associate a file type or protocol with a program > Select .xlsx > Change

Program > Browse > Open this path; C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Microsoft Office
Select > Microsoft Office Excel 2007
Problem; It doesn't appear in the Other Programs list after I selected it in the list from browse.

 

[Barman58]

OK, from your screenshot it appears that you are selecting the excel entry in the start menu. this is actually just a shortcut

you need to browse to the actual executable file which is EXCEL.EXE

Try at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\

The number shown in the the last folder in the structure would depend on the office version you are using (2007=12, 2010=14, 2013=15 and older than 2007 I seem to remember it was just Microsoft office.

You will of course only need to do this once

it's good practice to use the open with, with caution and always check the status of the checkbox,

Perhaps MS will finally set the default to UnChecked in Windows 9 which is the safe option I've seen more than one system where an inadvertent OPEN With change to a system file type are made completely inoperative

 

[Frank C]

Remember the eureka moment in "My Fair Lady" when Liza finally said "The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in the Plain"?
Higgins said " I Think She's Got IT"
That is the way I feel!
Once I got the correct path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\EXCEL.EXE
Now, Open With > Choose default program worked!
All my .xlsx files are opening with Excel.
Thanks Barman58
Frank C.

 

[Barman58]

Glad I could Help