How to Fix Excel has Encountered a Problem

While working on MS Excel, you may encounter various errors that can hamper your work and productivity. One of the errors that you may receive is ‘Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close’.Due to this error, your Excel program may stop and asks you to recover the data from Excel file.

What are the Reasons for ‘MS Excel has Encountered a Problem’ Error?

Following are some primary causes that may result in the ‘Microsoft Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close’ error:

Corrupt Excel File: If you try to open a corrupt or damaged Excel file, the file may not open and displays this error message.
File not Saved Properly: If Excel files aren’t saved correctly, this error may occur when you open the file.
Incompatible File Version: If the MS Excel application version does not support the Excel file version, the file may not open and throws the error.
Issues with MS Office/MS Excel Installation: This error can sometimes be caused due to damaged MS Office/MS Excel installation.

How to Fix ‘MS Excel has Encountered a Problem’ Error?

You can resolve the error by using the following methods:

1. Try to Open Excel in Safe Mode

Open the Excel application in safe mode and then try to open the Excel file. This will help you find out if the problem is caused by some incompatible add-ins. The steps are as follows:

Hold Windows + R keys together to launch the Run dialog box.
Type Excel /safe in the search box and hit Enter.
If your Excel application opens in safe mode, it means that the issue is caused due to incompatible or faulty add-ins. In such a case, you need to disable the add-ins:
Go to the File menu and click the Options menu. Further, choose the Add-ins option.

Now, choose the Go button at the bottom of the Excel Options window.
A list of available add-ins appears.
Now, uncheck the boxes against the add-ins.

2. Disable Macros Using the Trust Center Settings

Sometimes, the Macros prevent Excel from managing the files. You can disable the Macros to resolve the issue. Follow these steps:

Launch your MS Excel application.
Now, go to File > Options > Trust Center.
Further, click the Trust Center Settings.

Now, navigate to the Macro Settings option.

Herein, select the ‘Disable all macros with notification’ radio button. Then, click OK.

3. Repair MS Office Application

Sometimes, problems with your MS Office application may cause the Excel has encountered a problem error. In such a case, you need to repair your MS Office application. Here are the steps to do so:

Launch Control Panel > Uninstall a Program.
Find your MS Office application and click the Change option.
A new window will appear. Herein, select the Repair option.

Now, follow the MS Office installation wizard to finish the repair process.

What to do if the above methods don’t work?

If you have tried the solutions mentioned above and are still not able to resolve the ‘Excel has encountered a problem and need to close’ error, it indicates that the Excel file is corrupt. You can use a professional Excel repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel , to repair the corrupt file. The software repairs the file and retrieves all the data, including the tables, charts, formulas, etc. from the damaged workbook. It is compatible with all the MS Excel versions.

To know how Stellar Repair for Excel works, see the following video:

To Wrap Up

The ‘Excel has encountered a problem and needs to close’ error may occur due to different reasons. You can fix this error by following the methods mentioned in this post. If the error has occurred due to corruption in the Excel file, you can use a third-party Excel repair tool, like Stellar Repair for Excel. The software can repair damaged or corrupt Excel file of any size and retrieve all the data.

Top 5 Ways to Fix Excel File Not Opening Error

Summary: MS Excel users sometimes face issues while using the MS Excel application. One such issue is the Excel file not opening error. In this post, we’ve mentioned the reasons that may result in this error and the ways to resolve it. Also, you’ll find about an Excel repair software that can help you repair corrupt Excel files.

Several Microsoft Excel users have reported encountering the ‘Excel file not opening’ error when opening their Excel file. There are several reasons that may cause this error. In this post, we’ll be discussing the reasons that may lead to the ‘Excel file not opening’ error and the top 5 ways to fix this error.

Why Does the ‘Excel File Not Opening’ Error Appear?

Following are some possible causes that may result in the ‘Excel file not opening’ error:

There may be a problem with an add-in that is preventing you from opening the Excel files.
There’s a chance that your Excel application is faulty.
Your Excel program is unable to communicate with other programs or the operating system.
The file association might have been broken. This is a common problem faced by users who have upgraded their Excel application or operating system.
The file you’re trying to open is corrupted.

5 Ways to Fix Excel File Not Opening Error

Let’s explore the ways to resolve the Excel file not opening error:

1. Uncheck the Ignore DDE Checkbox

Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)allows Excel to communicate with other programs. The Excel error may occur due to incorrect DDE settings. You need to ensure that the correct DDE configuration is enabled. Follow the steps provided below:

Launch your MS Excel file.
Go to File > Options.

Now click on Advanced.

Further, find the General option on the screen.

Uncheck the option **‘Ignore other applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)**’.
Click OK to save the changes.

2. Reset Excel File Associations

When you launch your Excel file, the file association ensures that the Excel application is used to open the file. You can try to reset these associations and see if Excel opens after this. Proceed with the following steps to do so:

Navigate to Start Menu and launch Control Panel.
Now, navigate to Programs > Default Programs > Set Your Default Programs.

A new window will open. Herein, find the Excel program in the list and select it. Now, select the option ‘Choose defaults for this program’. Click OK.

A new window for ‘Set Program Associations’ will open.
Check the box against the ‘Select All’ option.
Further, click Save to reset the Excel File Associations settings.

3. Disable Add-Ins

Many people install third-party add-ins to enhance the application’s functionality. Sometimes, these add-ins can create an issue. Follow the below-mentioned steps to disable the problem creating add-ins:

Launch MS Excel application.
Navigate to File > Options > Add-ins.

In the window that opens, go to the Manage option at the bottom.
Herein, select the COM Add-ins option from the dropdown list. Click Go.

In the COM Add-ins window, uncheck all the boxes to disable the add-ins. Click OK.

4. Repair MS Office Program

Sometimes the issue is not with your Excel file. Instead, the reason for the error can be a corrupt MS Office application. You can repair the program to fix the Excel file not opening error. Here are the steps:

Press the Windows + R keys to launch the ‘Run’ dialog box.

Enter the text ‘appwiz.cpl’ to launch the program and features window.

Find the MS Office program in the list of applications.

Right-click on it and select Change.

In the new window, select the Quick Repair radio button. Click Repair.

Follow the on-screen instructions to repair the Office application. Once the repair process is completed, you can try opening the Excel file to see if the problem is resolved.

5. Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

The hardware graphics acceleration assists in the system’s better performance, especially when you use MS Office applications, like MS Excel or Word. Sometimes, this causes the Excel file not opening issue. You can disable this option to try to resolve the issue. Here are the steps:

Launch your MS Excel application.
Navigate to File > Options > Advanced.
Herein, go to the Display option.
Uncheck the Disable hardware graphics acceleration checkbox. Click OK.

What If These Solutions Do Not Work?

If you have applied all the methods mentioned above and still cannot open your Excel file, there are chances that your file is corrupted. You can use a specialized Excel repair tool , such as Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the corrupted Excel file. This software has powerful algorithms that can scan and repair even severely corrupt Excel files, without any file size limitation. After repairing the file, it restores all the data, including tables, charts, rules, etc. to a new Excel, with 100% integrity.

To know how the software works, see the video below:

Conclusion

Before you proceed with resolving the Excel file not opening error, try to find out the root cause of this error. If you know the real reason, you can try the method right away. If the reason for the error is corruption in the Excel file, the best option is to repair the file using a professional Excel repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel .

Best Excel Repair Software till Date - Try Now

Summary: In this blog, we overview and conclude Stellar Repair for Excel as Best Excel Repair software till date – based on its distinctive features and capabilities. Also, you’ll get to know what makes it the top Excel repair software from the perspective of recognized review websites, tech community forums, and users. In addition, you’ll find the simple and step-wise process of repairing Excel by using the software.

Corruption in Excel files can hamper workflow, bringing productivity to a halt. And what can be more concerning is that you may lose sensitive data if the corrupt or damaged file is not repaired on time. An Excel file may get corrupted due to various reasons.

Common Reasons Behind Excel File Corruption

Abrupt system shutdown
Human errors such as accidental deletion, formatting, or overwriting an Excel workbook
Damaged Excel installation
Hardware failure
Virus infection or malware attack
Bad sectors on the hard drive on which Excel files reside
Large-sized Excel file

Regardless of the reason, manually troubleshooting corruption errors in an Excel file can drain time, resources and may even cause data loss. However, using a third-party professional tool such as Stellar Repair for Excel can save you the manual efforts and time in repairing Excel files, keeping the original data intact.

What Makes Stellar Repair for Excel the Best Software?

While there is no dearth of Excel file repair tools, Stellar Repair for Excel software has garnered considerable interest and positive reviews by MVPs . The software has remarkable features that make it the Excel file repair specialist.

Key Features of Stellar Repair for Excel Software

Though the software encompasses several great features and a simple-to-use and intuitive user interface, some of the key features that make it the best Excel repair software are:

Restores Excel (XLS / XLSX) File in Original, Intact State

The software repairs corrupt Excel files and restores all the data in the original format. Also, it helps restore the original properties of cell formatting of the workbook.

Capability to Resolve all Excel Related Errors

Most errors that crop up unexpectedly while working with Excel files are the result of damages caused due to human errors, virus infection, power surges, etc. The software can help you easily fix corrupted Excel files to get rid of errors such as “Excel is not responding ”, “Excel found unreadable content in name.xls ”, “Excel cannot open the file filename.xlsx”, etc.

Real-Time Pre-Recovery Preview

It provides users with the opportunity to preview recoverable Excel file items before saving them. This helps users estimate how much data they will be able to salvage by using the tool, thus helping them make an informed decision about investing in the software.

Besides these features, some other aspects that make the software a recommended choice for Excel repair are as follows:

100% Secure****: Downloading and installing this software is 100% safe and secure, since Norton antivirus security comes installed with it.
Tested by MVPs****: Stellar Repair for Excel software is tried and tested by credible MVPs.
Allows Testing before Purchase: The software’s demo version lets you understand the tool and its advantages before buying it.
Stellar is Microsoft Gold Partner****: The software’s vendor, Stellar Data Recovery, is a certified Gold partner for Microsoft.

Stellar Repair for Excel – The Most Recommended Software

Check out the user ratings and reviews to understand why Stellar Repair for Excel ranks as the top Excel file repair software, and why you should choose it over its competitors:

Capterra – 4/5

A user has shared how effectively the Stellar Repair for Excel software repaired and restored the corrupted Excel file.

g2.com – 4.5/5

The Excel Repair software got a rating of 4.5/5 on g2.com based on the positive reviews of the users.

Softpedia – 3.5/5

Softpedia gave the product a rating of 3.5/5 and reported it as 100% clean (meaning without malware).

Support and Compatibility
Stellar Repair for Excel software supports the latest MS Excel versions 2019, 2016, 2013, and lower versions. It can operate smoothly on Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and earlier operating systems.
System Requirements
Stellar Repair for Excel requires a minimum Pentium Class Processor with 2 GB minimum memory and 250 MB of free storage drive space.

How to Use Stellar Repair for Excel Software to Repair Excel Files?

Follow these steps for repairing damaged or corrupt Excel files:

Run the software and from the main software screen, select the corrupt Excel files you want to repair by clicking Browse or Search.

Once the file is selected, click Repair to begin repairing the corrupt file.

When the scanning finishes, all recoverable data is displayed in the left-pane of the preview window. Click on any item to preview its content in the right-pane.

For saving the file, click the Save File button on the Home menu.
When prompted, select a target location to save the repaired file and click OK.

The repaired Excel file will now get saved in the selected target location.

Concluding Lines

Stellar Repair for Excel software empowers users to repair Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files and restore worksheet data in the event of file corruption and data loss. More importantly, the software performs granular-level recovery to restore the complete file items while preserving worksheet properties and visual representation.

How to repair corrupt Excel file

Stellar Repair for Excel is an excellent tool to repair corrupt or damaged MS Excel files. Mentioned below are the steps to perform Excel repair with this tool:

Download & Run the Stellar Repair for Excel.

A dialog box appears on your screen, click ‘OK’ to proceed.

To select your corrupt .XLS or .XLSX file, click ‘Browse’ button. However, if you do not know the location of your .XLS or .XLSX file, the software provides you the option ‘Search’ to search for your corrupt Excel files.

Select the checkboxes against the files that you want to repair and click ‘Repair’. This starts the scanning process.

The list of all the files that the software has scanned is displayed in the tree-view in the left pane. Click on a file from this tree-view to see its preview in the middle pane. From this list, you can select the file that you want to recover.

You can either select the ‘Default location of file’ or ‘Select New Folder’ in the ‘Save Document’ dialog box to save the repaired files.

Stellar Repair for Excel Stellar Repair for Excel is the best choice for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files. This Excel recovery software restores everything from corrupt file to a new blank Excel file.

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How Can I Recover Corrupted Excel File 2016?

Error Messages Indicating Corruption in Excel File

When an Excel 2016 file turns corrupt, you’ll receive an error message that reads: “The file is corrupt and cannot be opened .”

But sometimes, you encounter the “Excel cannot open this file” error message due to corruption in the file.

Why does Excel File turn Corrupt?

Following are some common reasons that can turn an Excel file corrupt:

Large size of the Excel file
The file is virus infected
Hard drive on which Excel file is stored has developed bad sectors
Abrupt system shutdown while working on a worksheet

Workarounds to Recover Data from Corrupt Excel

The workarounds to recover corrupted Excel file 2016 data will vary depending on whether you can open the file or not.

How to Recover Corrupted Excel File 2016 Data When You Can Open the File?

If the corrupt Excel file is open, try any of the following workarounds to retrieve the data:

Workaround 1 – Use the Recover Unsaved Workbooks Option

If your Excel file gets corrupt while you are working on it and you haven’t saved the changes, you can try retrieving the file’s data by following these steps:

Open your Excel 2016 application and click on the Open Other Workbooks option.

Click the Recover Unsaved Workbooks button at the bottom of the ‘Recent Workbooks’ section.

A window with list of unsaved Excel files will open. Click the corrupt file you want to open.

This will reopen your last saved version of the Excel workbook. If this method doesn’t work, proceed with the next workaround.

Workaround 2 – Revert to Last Saved Version of your Excel File

If your Excel file gets corrupt in the middle of making any changes, you can recover the file’s data if the changes haven’t been saved. For this, you need to revert to the last saved version of your Excel file. Doing so will discard any changes that may have caused the file to turn corrupt. Here’s how to do it:

In your Excel 2016 file, click File from the main menu.
Click Open. From the list of workbooks under Recent workbooks, double-click the corrupt workbook that is already open in Excel.
Click Yes when prompted to reopen the workbook.

Excel will revert the corrupt file to its last saved version. If it fails, skip to the next workaround.

Workaround 3 – Save the Corrupted Excel File in Symbolic Link (SYLK) Format

Saving an Excel file in SYLK format might help you filter out corrupted elements from the file. Here are the steps to do so:

From your Excel File menu, choose Save As.
In ‘Save As’ window that pops-up, from the Save as type dropdown list, choose the SYLK (Symbolic Link) option, and then click Save.

Note: Only the active sheet will be saved in workbook on choosing the SYLK format.

Click OK when prompted that “The selected file type does not support workbooks that contain multiple sheets”. This will only save the active sheet.

Click Yes when the warning message appears - “Some features in your workbook might be lost if you save it as SYLK (Symbolic Link)”.

Click File > Open.
Browse the corrupt workbook saved with SYLK format (.slk) and open it.
After opening the file, select File > Save As.
In ‘Save as type’ dialog box, select Excel workbook.
Rename the workbook and hit the Save button.

After performing these steps, a copy of your original workbook will be saved at the specified location.

How to Recover Corrupted Excel File 2016 Data When You Cannot Open the File?

If you can’t access the Excel file, apply one of these workarounds to salvage the file’s data.

Workaround 1 – Open and Repair the Excel File

Excel automatically initiates ‘File Recovery’ mode on opening a corrupt file. After starting the auto-recovery mode, it attempts to reopen and repair the corrupt Excel file at the same time. If the auto-recovery mode does not start automatically, you can try to fix corrupted Excel file 2016 manually by using ‘Open and Repair’. Follow these steps:

Open a blank file, click the File tab and select Open.
Browse the location where the corrupt 2016 Excel file is stored.
When an ‘Open’ dialog box appears, select the file you want to repair.
Once the file is selected, click the arrow next to the Open button, and then click the Open and Repair button.
Do any of these actions:
Click Repair to fix corrupted file and recover data from it.
Click Extract Data if you cannot repair the file or only need to extract values and formulas.

If performing these actions doesn’t help you retrieve the data, proceed with the next workaround.

Workaround 2 – Disable the Protected View Settings

Follow these steps to disable the protected view settings in an Excel file:

Open a blank 2016 workbook.

Click the File tab and then select Options.

When an Excel Options window opens, click Trust Center > Trust Center Settings.

In the window that pops-up, choose Protected View from the left side navigation. Under ‘Protected View’, uncheck all the checkboxes, and then hit OK.

Now, try opening your corrupt Excel 2016 file. If it won’t open, try the next workaround.

Workaround 3 – Link to the Corrupt Excel File using External References

If you only need to extract Excel file data without formulas or calculated values, use external references to link to your corrupt Excel 2016 file. Here’s how you can do it:

From your Excel file, click File > Open.
From the window that opens, click Computer and then click Browse and copy the name of your corrupt Excel 2016 file. Click the Cancel button.

Go back to your Excel file, click File > New > Blank workbook.

In the new Excel workbook, type “=CorruptExcelFile Name!A1” in cell A1 to reference cell A1 of the corrupted file. Replace the ‘CorruptExcelFile Name’ with the name of the corrupt file that you have copied above. Hit ENTER.
If ‘Update Values’ dialog box appears, select the corrupt 2016 Excel file, and then click OK.
If ‘Select Sheet’ dialog box pops-up, select a corrupt sheet, and press the OK button.
Select and drag cell A1 till the columns required to store the data of your corrupted Excel file.
Next, copy row A and drag it down to the rows needed to save the file’s data.
Select and copy the file’s data.
From the Edit menu, choose the Paste Special option and then select Values. Click OK to paste values and remove the reference links to the corrupt file.

Check the new Excel file for recoverable data. If this didn’t work, consider using an Excel file repair tool to retrieve data.

Alternative Solution to Recover Excel File Data

Applying the above workarounds may take considerable time to recover corrupted Excel file 2016. Also, they may fail to extract data from a severely corrupted file. Using Stellar Repair for Excel software can help you overcome these limitations. The software helps repair severely corrupted XLS/XLSX file and retrieve all the file data in a few simple steps.

Key benefits of using Stellar Repair for Excel are as follows:

Recovers tables, pivot tables, images, charts, chartsheets, hidden sheets, etc.
Maintains original spreadsheet properties and cell formatting
Batch repair multiple Excel XLS/XLSX files in a single go
Supports MS Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, and previous versions

Check out this video to know how the Excel file repair tool from Stellar® works:

Conclusion

Errors such as ‘the file is corrupt and cannot be opened’, ‘Excel cannot open this file’, etc. indicate corruption in an Excel file. Large-sized workbook, virus infection, bad sectors on hard disk drive, etc. are some reasons that may result in Excel file corruption. The workarounds discussed in this article can help you recover corrupted Excel file 2016 data. However, manual methods can be time-consuming and might fail to extract data from severely corrupted workbook. A better alternative is to use Stellar Repair for Excel software that is purpose-built to repair and recover data from damaged or corrupted Excel file.

How to Repair Excel Document on a Flash Drive

Summary: Microsoft Excel files are stored on flash drives if they need to be transferred between systems or if they need to be backed up. But sometimes unforeseen issues can corrupt the Excel sheets stored on flash drives. When that happens, it can be an arduous task to repair Excel documents on a flash drive. Through this post let us try to understand the reasons why Excel sheets stored on flash drives can get corrupted and how users can resolve them easily.

In this digital age, we all work with computers, files, and documents. Flash drives or USBs are common ways of storing data in an external place. Be it for a meeting or for a party playlist, these devices come handy when one wants to transfer data or access the files stored elsewhere.

You may need to access your data from another location. That’s when a USB flash drive might come in handy. And, that’s exactly why Excel sheets too end up on flash drives; either that or for backup purposes. However, there are many instances where an Excel file stored in a USB gets corrupted when one tries to access the file. The error message you get while trying to open the Excel file would be a great clue for figuring out the exact reason behind corruption.

This blog will provide insights into what are the reasons for the corruption of a USB and how the users can repair Excel on flash drive that has been corrupted.

Reasons for USB inaccessibility

Sometimes flash drives or USBs can become unresponsive due to numerous reasons. There are two types of corruption – logical and physical. Physical corruptions occur due to broken stems and connectors, broken circuits, NAND gate, not recognised, RAW, need to format, not accessible, and dead drives (no power supply).

One of the main reasons behind such an error could be that the USB drive has been infected by some virus. This can affect any file – not only the ones which are there in the USB drive but also the ones which are there in the PC/Laptop where you connect the USB drive. It is recommended that you scan the USB drive with reliable antivirus software to detect viruses.

There can be various other reasons that may make your USB corrupt or unresponsive. But there are very slim chances that you will be able to recover a flash drive that has physical damage. However, you can try to run the check disk on the USB drive to fix the drive. We will be discussing this as you read on.

Recovery Methods for Corrupted Flash Drives

There are 3 tried and tested recovery methods. Try them and see which one works out for you.

Restoring Excel Files from Windows backup

To bring back your old Excel files, fixing up the corrupt file is your best option. Importantly note that this method would work only if your system’s Windows backup option has been enabled.

Step-by-step process for restoring your older Excel files:

Connect your USB drive
Go to “My Computer”->USB Drive->Check if the file exists
Right click on the excel file and click on the restore previous versions

You will now see a list of older versions which were created
Select one the backups and click on “restore”

Using Command Line to Recover Excel Files

In case you are looking to repair Excel on flash drive, you can also resolve it by using the command line. Just follow the below steps to see if you can recover the excel files.

Connect your USB Flash drive
Open “Run” (press Windows+R) and then open “cmd”

Type “attrib -h -r -s /s /d (USB Drive Letter):\*.*” where the (USB Drive Letter) is the drive letter you can find using “My Computer”
Once this has been completed, Windows will start repairing your files
After the process gets over, try accessing the excel file to see if the data has been recovered

Running a “Check Disk” on flash drives

Follow the below steps while the USB flash drive has been plugged into your computer:

Open “Run” and then open “cmd”
Type in “chkdsk /X /f (USB Drive Letter)” where the “(USB Drive Letter)” is the letter of the corrupted USB Drive. You can get this letter easily from the “My Computer”.

It will now check your disk to and correct any corrupted records.

What if none of these methods works?

In case none of the above methods works to repair Excel document on a flash drive, then you would need a professional Excel repair software such as Stellar Repair for Excel to restore your files. Such software not only help repair corrupted Excel files on flash drives but also help in recovering the data stored within them in their original format.

Stellar Repair for Excel resolves corruption problems in Excel files and recovers all formulas, charts, cell formatting, and more from them. It can repair multiple Excel files in one go. Equipped with a fully interactive GUI, working with this product is extremely easy.

To sum it up

Although flash drives are quite popularly used, they are not the most reliable of storage devices. These drives can fail anytime without warning. Thus, always back up your data on other more robust devices instead of flash drives. We hope that with the above tried and tested methods you will easily be able to repair Excel document on flash drive if need be. For any queries that you have, feel free to leave a comment below!

Easy Steps to Make Excel Hyperlinks Working

Summary: This blog discusses why hyperlinks won’t work in Excel and solutions to fix it. If nothing works, try using Stellar Repair for Excel software to recover your workbook with hyperlinks and all the data intact.

Hyperlinks in your Excel file could be references to a file’s location on the computer or a location within the same worksheet. Or, hyperlinks might be pointing to a URL. Sometimes, the hyperlinks won’t work and any of the following errors may pop up on your screen on clicking a hyperlink:

‘Cannot open the specified file.’

‘This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator.’

Causes of ‘hyperlinks not working in Excel’ problem, and solutions thereof

Here are some of the possible causes behind the ‘hyperlinks not working’ issue and solutions to fix it:

Cause 1 – Change in the name of the hyperlinked file

If the file name that appears in the hyperlink text is different than the actual file name, it will prevent the hyperlink from working.

Solution – Link to the renamed file

Ensure that the links in the Excel file are updated and points to the renamed file. For this, right-click the hyperlink and select ‘Edit the hyperlink’. Next, in the hyperlink address, replace the current filename with the renamed one in the hyperlink address.

Cause 2 – File name has a pound (#) sign

When you create a hyperlink for a file in Excel, you cannot use a pound character (#) in the file name that appears in the hyperlink. That is because the pound sign is not accepted in hyperlinks and may lead to the ‘Cannot open the specified file’ error.

Note: While you can use a pound character in a file name, it cannot be used in hyperlinks in an MS Office document.

Solution – Rename the file name and remove the pound sign

Open the file that contains the ‘#’ sign and rename it by following these steps.

Right-click the cell containing the hyperlink that is not working, and click Edit Hyperlink.
From the Address box, copy the address of the file you are linking to.
Go to the location where the file is stored, right-click on the file, and click Rename.
Remove the ‘#’ character from the name of the file.
Go back to the Excel file, right-click on the problematic hyperlink, and choose Edit Hyperlink. Next, browse and select the renamed file.
The renamed file without the pound sign will be added in the Address box.
Click OK.

Now try opening the hyperlink.

Cause 3 – Sudden system shutdown causes abrupt closing of Excel

There may be a discrepancy in the data in hyperlinks when a system shut down suddenly, without properly closing the Excel file. And so, when trying to open a link, it won’t open.

Solution – Enable the option to save hyperlinks

There is an inbuilt option in Excel to update hyperlinks every time the workbook is saved. Follow these steps to enable that option:

Note: The steps may vary based on the Excel version you are using.

For Excel 2013, 2016, or 2019:

Open Excel Workbook -> Go to File->Options->Advanced
Scroll down to find the General tab and click on Web Options
Web Options Window pops-up
In the Web Options Window, go to Files Tab and select the ‘Update Links on save‘ checkbox
Click on OK button and your option is saved

The steps are also explained in the image below:

For Excel 2007:

Click the Office button
Select Excel Options, then follow Step 1) to Step 5), as mentioned above and get the Excel Hyperlinks to work again.

Still unable to open hyperlinks in Excel?

If you fail to make Excel hyperlinks work using the above-discussed solutions, use an Excel repair tool to fix the hyperlinks issue. Download the Stellar Repair for Excel to repair an XLS/XLSX file and restore the hyperlinks.

See the working of the tool here:

The tool recovers all components of the Excel file including tables, charts, chart sheets, cell comments, images, formulas, and more. You can repair multiple worksheets and fix all dysfunctional Excel hyperlinks across multiple worksheets in a single workbook. Click on the workbook, select all worksheets and start repairing

Conclusion

Carefully read the possible causes behind the ‘Excel Hyperlinks not working’ issue to understand what resulted in the issue in the first place. If nothing helps, use Stellar Repair for Excel to restore the hyperlinks and save the result in a new Excel file, without interfering with worksheet properties and cell formatting.

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