As a professional content writer, I understand the importance of having a targeted audience when creating content. Today, we will be discussing different methods for repairing corrupted excel and word documents that can hamper productivity and make your workdays harder. These methods will not only fix the damaging files, but also increase the lifespan of them.
How to Repair Corrupted Excel Files
Excel is a widely used computer program in the business world, and it is common for Excel files to get damaged, corrupted, or simply stop working properly. A corrupt Excel file can be a major headache, especially when you are working on a large project with tight deadlines. Thankfully, repairing a corrupted Excel file is not as complicated as it seems. Here are three easy ways to repair your corrupt Excel files.
Method One: Open and Repair
Excel has a built-in “Open and Repair” tool that is designed to fix minor issues causing the file to be corrupted. To use this method, follow these steps:
- Open Excel, and click the “File” tab.
- Select “Open”.
- Browse to the location of your corrupted file.
- Click the drop-down arrow next to the “Open” button.
- Select “Open and Repair” from the options.
- Wait for the repair process to complete.
If the “Open and Repair” tool is unable to fix the corruption, you can move on to the next method.
Method Two: Save As
Another method to try when Excel files start to act funny is to save the file under a new name. Here are the steps to follow:
- Open Excel and click the “File” tab.
- Select “Save As”.
- Enter the file name in the “File Name” box.
- Select the file type from the “Save as Type” drop-down list.
- Select “Tools” from the “Save as Type” drop-down list.
- Select “General Options”.
- Clear the “Password to Open” check box to remove any passwords.
- Click “OK”.
- Save the new file.
If the corruption is significant, this method may not always work. In this case, we recommend trying method number three.
Method Three: Use Third-Party Software
There are many third-party software programs available that can repair corrupted Excel files. These programs can be useful if the previous two methods have failed. The following software is among the best:
- Stellar Repair for Excel: This software is well known for its ability to repair corrupt Excel files. It can recover cells, formatting, charts, and table data from the file.
- DataNumen Excel Repair: This software is capable of fixing corrupt Excel files on any local or removable device. It supports all versions of Excel, and can recover formulas, hyperlinks, merged cells, and borders.
- Kernel for Excel Repair: This software works smoothly with any version of Excel, and can recover tables, graphs, images, cells, formulas, and text formatting.
Using any of these software programs is an excellent choice for those who are not tech-savvy, or for those who can’t fix the file themselves.
Repairing Corrupted Word Files
Word documents are also susceptible to corruption over time. For instance, the formatting can be lost, characters can be replaced by random symbols, or the document might simply refuse to open. However, there are easy ways to repair corrupt word files.
Method One: Using the “Recover Text From Any File” Feature
Use this method if the text of the file is your prime concern. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Open Microsoft Word and click “File” to bring up the file menu.
- Click “Options” from the left-hand side of your screen.
- Select “Advanced” from the left-hand menu and scroll down until you see “General” options.
- Find “Confirm file format conversion on open” and tick it on to make sure your documents will be easily accessible in future.
- Click “OK”.
- Close down Word completely.
- Reopen Word and start a new, blank document.
- Click “File” followed by “Open”.
- Navigate to the corrupt file you want to rescue and select “Open”.
- A message then pops up to let you know Word has detected the file was corrupt. Click “OK”.
- The original file will then open in plain text format. You can now select this text with your mouse and paste it into a new Word file if you so wish.
- Save the file to your desired location.
This method is suitable for simple files that contain text and is useful when you do not need formatting or any other advanced characteristics.
Method Two: Use Microsoft Word’s “Open and Repair” feature
This method is used when you have files with advanced formatting, images, tables, and other features. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Open Microsoft Word and choose “File” from the menu.
- Click “Open” and navigate to the corrupt file you want to recover.
- Click the drop-down arrow beside “Open”.
- Select “Open and Repair”.
- Click “Repair” in the popup box.
- Wait for the repair process to complete.
If the corruption issue persists even after trying both methods, as is often the case with significant damage, we advise you try a third-party tool to repair the file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Does Microsoft Office have built-in repair tools to fix corrupt files?
A. Yes, Microsoft Office has built-in repair tools that can fix minor corruption issues in Excel and Word documents. You can use “Open and Repair” option under “File” menu or use the “Recover Text From Any File” feature and “Open and Repair” feature in Word.
Q. What should I do if the file is still corrupt after trying all the methods?
A. If the file remains corrupt even after trying all the methods mentioned above, the best course of action is to use third-party repair software for Excel or Word documents. These software programs will perform complex repairs and recover data that may be lost forever otherwise. But always backup your files before working with third party programs.
Now that you understand how to repair corrupted Excel and Word files, let me suggest that you apply these methods now to secure the longevity of all documents that you work with. Remember to always backup your files regularly, as it will save you the headache of losing all your hard work.
