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Question
Thursday, August 1, 2019 2:52 PM
Hi there
We've recently run into this issue while we're upgrading our estate to Windows 10 from Windows 7.
Many of our users have a lot of files they need to access that are HTML with a .XLS extension so they open in Excel. This worked on our previous machines (Windows 7, Office 2010), the user would be presented with an error message where they are warned the format of the file doesn't match the file extension. Select yes and then the file opens.
I can't post images so the error message that displays is as follows: "The file you are trying to open, 'file name.xls', is in a different format than specified by the file extension. Verify that the file is not corrupted and is from a trusted source before opening the file. Do you want to open the file now?"
This worked well for us. However, now that we've been upgrading to our new machines (Windows 10, Office 2016), we've found that we can no longer open these files. Instead of being presented with the message above, we get a new one that doesn't allow us to open the file.
The new message is as follows: "Excel cannot open the file 'file name.xls' because 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.
We're using a workaround at the moment where the user changes the file extension to .HTML, opens this in excel and then saves as .XLS. This isn't that ideal for us though.
Is it possible for us to open the .XLS wrapped HTML files like we could before?
Any help would be much appreciated!
Cheers
Jacob
All replies (4)
Friday, August 2, 2019 8:20 AM
Hi Jacob,
If you use Windows Installer version (MSI) Office 2016, maybe you can try installing this security updates KB3115438 for Excel 2016. After you install this new update, Excel 2016 will open HTML documents (even if they're renamed as .xls files) in protected view instead of silently failing.
And you also can refer to this link to see more information: https://excel.uservoice.com/forums/304921-excel-for-windows-desktop-application/suggestions/15385080-html-formatted-files-with-an-xls-extension-no-lo
Hope it helps.
Regards,
Bella Wu
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Friday, August 2, 2019 10:01 AM
Hi Bella
Thanks for replying to me so quickly! Unfortunately this doesn't help me with my issue. The KB3115438 update is already installed onto our machines and we're still seeing this issue.
I don't suppose you have any other ideas?
Cheers
Jacob
Monday, August 5, 2019 9:08 AM
Hi Jacob,
Does the current version of Excel have other problems besides this issue? If so, try repairing Office application.
Have you restarted the computer after you install that update KB? Since it is really the workaround for this issue, I suggest you refer to it again: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3181507/excel-workbooks-may-not-open-after-ms16-088-is-installed
Maybe you can also try update Office 2016 to the latest version to see if it helps.
Regards,
Bella Wu
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
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Monday, August 12, 2019 9:48 AM
Hi Jacob,
Do you have any updates?
Regards,
Bella Wu
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they helped. If you have feedback for TechNet Subscriber Support, contact [email protected].
Click here to learn more. Visit the dedicated forum to share, explore and talk to experts about Microsoft Office 2019.