Fixing the Formatting Error in Excel: Causes and Effective Solutions

Excel is always a leading tool in data management and performing complex calculations. However, sometimes users may encounter issues with Excel files such as format errors, inability to open or access worksheets. This error can occur suddenly and cause a lot of inconvenience. So what are the causes and how to fix Excel file format errors? Let’s find out the answers in the following article.

Causes of Excel file format errors

There are various different causes that can lead to Excel file format errors. Here are some of the most common reasons for this phenomenon:

• Format compatibility: Different versions of Microsoft Excel may use different file formats, which can result in errors when opening files in incompatible versions.
• Software bugs: Errors in Microsoft Excel software itself or in other office software can also cause file format errors, including errors caused by software updates.
• Damaged or corrupt disk: If the disk or operating system is experiencing issues, you may also encounter Excel file format errors.
• Virus or malware: Malicious programs or viruses can modify, damage or delete Excel files, causing format errors.
• Network errors: When accessing Excel files from the internet, network connectivity issues can cause format errors.
• User errors: Common errors caused by users like not saving the file correctly or not closing the file properly can also lead to format errors.
• Macro and Add-ins features: Incompatible or faulty Macro and Add-ins features can also cause format errors.
• Operations on open files: Performing operations such as moving, renaming, or deleting Excel files while they are open can result in errors.
• Insufficient memory or system resources: Insufficient memory or system resources can also cause errors when working with large Excel files.
• Impact from other software: Other applications or software running on the computer can cause conflicts and Excel file format errors.

Fixing Excel file format errors

During your work with Microsoft Excel, encountering file format errors is one of the common issues that many users often face. To help you solve the problem quickly and effectively, here is a detailed guide on 2 ways to fix Excel file format errors.

Method 1: Convert to a new format

When you have finished a spreadsheet after many hours of work, saving the data securely is extremely important. One of the simplest ways to ensure your data is not corrupted is to choose the correct file format when saving.

After you have entered and edited the data, before saving, choose either the Excel 97-2003 Workbook (.xls) format or Excel Workbook (.xlsx) format if your file does not contain Macros. This not only helps minimize the chances of errors, but also makes your file compatible with different versions of Excel.

Method 2: Run a VBA command

For users with programming skills, using the command line in Visual Basic for Applications can be an effective solution to fix format errors in Excel. The steps to perform this method are as follows:

Step 1: First, open the Excel file that has format errors. To access the VBA programming environment, press the Alt + F11 key combination.

Step 2: A new window will appear. Then, click on Insert > Module.

Step 3: In the Module editing window, copy the code snippet below and paste it there. After completing the copying and pasting process, click on the X sign at the top corner of the window to close the window.

Sub StyleKill()

Dim styT As Style

Dim intRet As Integer

On Error Resume Next

For Each styT In ActiveWorkbook.Styles

If Not styT.BuiltIn Then

If styT.Name <> “1” Then styT.Delete

End If

Next styT

End Sub

Step 4: After closing the window, press the Alt + F8 key combination to open the VBA Module manager. Select the StyleKill module you just created and click on the Run button to execute the command.

Wait for a moment until Visual Basic completes running the command, then you can close the Visual Basic for Applications and reopen the Excel file to check.

Method 3: Use the Open and Repair feature

Excel has a built-in powerful tool called Open and Repair to help users fix and recover data from problematic files. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use this feature.

Step 1: Launch the Microsoft Excel software from the Start menu or any quick icon you have created on your screen.

Step 2: After opening Excel, look at the top left corner of the screen and select Open > Browse. This action will open a new window that allows you to browse and select the Excel file you want to open.

Step 3: In the Open window, navigate to the folder that contains the Excel file you want to repair. Once you find the file, click on it to select.

Step 4: Instead of clicking the Open button as usual, look down to the bottom right corner of the window. Here, you will see a small arrow. Click on that arrow and from the dropdown menu, choose Open and Repair.

Step 5: After choosing Open and Repair, Excel will automatically perform the file repair process. This process may take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the size and extent of file damage. When the process is complete, the file will be opened and you can check if the data has been recovered as originally.

Conclusion

Encountering errors during your use of Excel can cause a lot of inconvenience and time loss. However, with understanding and proper application of the above methods, you can fully solve the problem quickly. Always remember that regular data backup is an important step to ensure the safety of your data.