I get a message saying that "Excel cannot open the file

Every now and then, when I try opening an Excel file, I get a message saying that "Excel cannot open the file 'file.xlsx' because the file format or the file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension
matches the format of the file.

I see this most often when a file has been transferred around a lot and gets corrupted due to bad sectors on hard drives, 
bad thumb drives, etc...
Occasionally, I find a repair utility that will....kind of....fix it. You tend to lose all formatting and usually the user 
would have to spend more time doing than life than simply starting from scratch. If on a file server, shadow copies
(previous versions) are a god send.
If it happens completely randomly, does it happen more often to the same group of people? Perhaps an update malfunctioned? 
Reinstall Office? Try XLSX Open File Tool for recovery your documents (http://www.xlsx.openfiletool.com/)
There could be so many reasons this could happen, but all the above is where I'd start.
Also read this
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/xlsx-viewer-download/Yf8eudHMWv8

Similar Messages

  • Excel cannot open the file 'file.xlsx' because the file format

    Every now and then, when I try opening an Excel file, I get a message saying that "Excel cannot open the file 'file.xlsx' because the file format or the file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension
    matches the format of the file.

    Hi,
    Which Excel version are you using? As far as I know, this issue is caused by malware on the affected machine.There are now two known variants of malware which causes this problem: Win32/Crilock.A and
    Win32/Buma!rts. They have both been identified as a new family of ransomware.
    We'd better clean your machine, run Microsoft Safety Scanner (http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx).
    For more detail information, please refer to the following link:
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/the_microsoft_excel_support_team_blog/archive/2013/09/07/quot-cannot-open-the-file-because-the-file-format-or-extension-is-invalid-quot-opening-office-files.aspx
    Regards,
    George Zhao
    TechNet Community Support
    It's recommended to download and install
    Configuration Analyzer Tool (OffCAT), which is developed by Microsoft Support teams. Once the tool is installed, you can run it at any time to scan for hundreds of known issues in Office
    programs.

  • Excel cannot open the file beacuse 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 [help]

    Hi,
    I have a excel file that I have been using since beginning of year.
    Yesterday, I tried to open it but a message comes out "
    Excel cannot open the file beacuse 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"
    After I click yes, the page is blank. The file is about 400kb in size.
    I have try open and repair and third party repair program and not working also.
    I would appreciate a lot if you can help me.
    Thank you very much.

    Per your post, this problem might be caused by malware on the affected machine.
    http://blogs.technet.com/b/the_microsoft_excel_support_team_blog/archive/2013/09/07/quot-cannot-open-the-file-because-the-file-format-or-extension-is-invalid-quot-opening-office-files.aspx
    In order to clean your machine, run Microsoft Safety Scanner (http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx) to kill the malware, and then repair Excel file itself.
    If this is not the case, feel free to post back and let me know. Thanks.
    Tony Chen
    TechNet Community Support
    We
    are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this
    interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time.
    Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.

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