Understanding XLS Issues
Frequent XLS Opening Issues
Microsoft Excel is Not Installed
When you double-click your XLS file, you may see a dialog box from your operating system stating that it "Cannot Open This File Type". Generally, this is experienced in %%os%% because Microsoft Excel isn't installed on your PC. This will prevent you from double-clicking to open the XLS file because the OS doesn’t know how to handle it.
Tip: If you know of another program that can open your XLS file, you can try opening it by selecting the application from the programs listed.
Microsoft Excel Requires Update
Your Microsoft Excel 97 To 2003 Spreadsheet file is incompatible with Microsoft Excel because you might have the wrong version installed. Visit the Microsoft Corporation website to download (or purchase) the latest version of Microsoft Excel. Your Microsoft Excel 97 To 2003 Spreadsheet file was probably created by a newer release of Microsoft Excel than what's currently installed your computer.
Tip: Sometimes you can get a clue about the version of XLS file you have by right clicking on the file, then clicking on "Properties" (Windows) or "Get Info" (Mac OSX).
Summary: Not having the right Microsoft Excel version on your computer can cause problems opening XLS files.
Additional XLS Opening Issues
Although you might already have Microsoft Excel or another XLS-associated software installed on your computer, you can still encounter problems opening Microsoft Excel 97 To 2003 Spreadsheet files. There can be external issues inside of %%os%% that are causing these errors when opening XLSs. Other contributing causes:
- File references in the Windows Registry for XLS are wrong
- Accidental deletion of the description of the XLS file in the Windows registry
- Microsoft Excel or another XLS application experienced a flawed installation
- Your XLS can't be loaded properly (file corruption)
- XLS file integrity has been compromised by malware
- Drivers associated with XLS software need to be updated
- Windows cannot load your Microsoft Excel 97 To 2003 Spreadsheet file due to insufficient resources (eg. RAM)
Quiz: Which image file type is the most popular format used on websites?
That's Correct!
PNGs are just slightly more popular than JPEG files (74.5% vs. 72.8% of websites using them) according to usage data from W3Techs.com.
Close, but not quite...
PNGs are just slightly more popular than JPEG files (74.5% vs. 72.8% of websites using them) according to usage data from W3Techs.com.
Poll: Where do you mostly deal with computer files?