Repair Office 2016 Files (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)on Windows

If you frequently work with Microsoft Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), and PowerPoint (.pptx) files, then issues like file inaccessibility or corruption won’t be new to you.

Let’s discuss some common scenarios which may lead to corrupt MS Office 2016 files:

Scenarios behind Microsoft Office Files Corruption

Scenario 1 – Disruption during Data Migration

You decide to move Office files from your hard drive to other removable media. However, when you try to access the data within the files post-migration, you may find Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files showing gibberish characters. Due to a power surge, sudden system shutdown, and internal mechanical failure, the files may have turned corrupt.

Figure 1- Microsoft Word file showing garbage characters

Scenario 2 – Office Files and Registry Entries Become Infected

When you open or use the Microsoft Office application, it crashes as soon as it opens. You assume that an add-in was causing the problem and restart the Office application without add-ins loaded, but the application still crashes. This may happen because of a virus infecting the Office files and registry values, thus leading to corrupt or damaged Office files.

Scenario 3 – Inaccessible or Lost Data

Suppose all your Office files are stored on a USB device, and you unplugged the device while it was still open in Windows. Now, when you attempt to open a Word or an Excel file, all the data is gone. Unsafe removal of USB or any other external storage device may corrupt the data inside your Office files or turn the file inaccessible.

How Can You Deal with Microsoft Office Files Corruption?

Here are a few solutions that can help you fix or repair Office 2016 Files Corruption:

Solution 1 – Use Microsoft in-built Repair Utility

Microsoft recommends using its in-built repair utility, ‘Open and Repair’, to fix corrupt Office files. Follow these steps to understand how you can use the utility to repair the corrupt Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files:

• Launch the MS Office application whose file you want to repair:

1. To repair corrupt Word (.doc, .docx) files, launch MS Word
2. To repair corrupt Excel files (.xls, .xlsx) files, launch MS Excel
3. To repair corrupt PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) files, launch MS PowerPoint

• Click File, and then click the Open tab.
• Click Navigate to the location or folder where the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file is stored.
• Select the corrupt file you want to repair by single-clicking on it, and then find the Open button and click on the drop-down menu next to it.

• From the drop-down menu, click the Open and Repair option and follow the subsequent instructions to repair Office 2016 files.

Solution 2 – Repair Office 2016 Installation

Try repairing the Office installation to fix the MS Office files. The steps to repair your Office installation may vary depending on the operating system you are using.

For Windows 7

• Open your PC’s control panel
• Click Programs

• Click Programs and Features, and then click Uninstall a program option

• Right-click on the Office application you want to repair, and then click Change

• Under Change your installation of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016, choose Repair and then click Continue.

For Windows 10

• Right-click the Start button, and type in Apps & Features (For Windows 10)

NOTE: This step will work for Windows 10/8/8.1/7 and Vista

• Click Programs from the window that opens, click on the MS Office product you want to repair, and then click on Modify

Note: Following the step will repair the entire Microsoft Office suite even if it contains only one application you want to repair such as an Excel or PowerPoint file. But, in case you have a standalone app installed, try to locate that application by name.

• Under Change your installation of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016, choose Repair, and then click Continue to initiate the repair process.

• Once the repair process completes, you’ll be prompted to restart your PC. Click Yes

Solution 3 – Use Stellar Toolkit for File Repair

Repair MS Office 2016 files by using Stellar Toolkit for File Repair . This software comprises four essential utilities that can help you repair corrupt MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, and PDF files.

The toolkit helps repair corrupt Office 2016 and other version documents and files while maintaining the original file format, which is less likely achievable with inbuilt methods. Follow these steps to repair MS Office 2016 documents by using the Office file repair tool:

• Download and install Stellar Toolkit for File Repair.

• Launch the software.
• From the software’s main interface, select the MS Office file you want to repair.

• From the window that pops up, select the corrupted file to be repaired.

Note: If you don’t know the exact location of corrupt office files or if they are large in number, you can locate the files by using the Find/Search option included in the software.

• After selecting the file, click the Scan button to initiate the repairing process.
• Once the scanning process is complete, all the recoverable information is displayed in the software’s left-hand panel. Click on any item to preview it before recovery.
• To save the repaired data, click the Save button, and enter a destination of your choice.
• Click OK.

Conclusion

This post outlined possible scenarios and their causes that may lead to corruption in MS Office 2016 files. It also emphasized how the inbuilt methods such as Open and Repair, and Repair Office Installation help to resolve the corruption issues. But these are not competent enough to resolve all the errors. With Stellar Toolkit for File Repair, you can resolve all sorts of corruption issues and recover data of Office 2016 files – Excel, Word, PPT, and PDF – in their original state.

How to Repair Corrupt Excel Workbook?

Summary: Corruption in an Excel workbook could lead to data loss. This blog outlines the possible reasons behind corrupted workbook and describes how to repair the workbook manually and using an Excel repair tool.

Is your Excel behaving differently, for instance, stops responding or freezes? Or have you encountered a warning or an error message indicating corruption in the Excel workbook?

Figure 1 - Corruption Warning in Excel: The corrupt workbook cannot be opened or repaired

Figure 2 - Excel File Corruption Message

In any of these situations, you won?t be able to open your Excel workbook.

TIP! If you?re unable to open an Excel workbook, it does not necessarily mean that the workbook is corrupt. Try a few workarounds to resolve the issue, like disabling the ?Protected View Settings?, disabling add-ins, or moving the workbook to another drive.

You will need to repair the corrupted Excel workbook to make it usable. Before discussing the repair methods, let?s first look at the possible reasons behind file corruption.

To jump to methods to repair the workbook, click here .

Possible Reasons behind Corrupted Excel Workbook

• Large size of a workbook: A workbook containing lots of information or objects like images, shaded cells, or other visual representations is prone to corruption.
• Unexpected system shutdown or power loss: If you haven?t saved your Excel file, abrupt system shutdown or power failure can corrupt the data and render the file inaccessible.
• Bad sectors on storage media: Accumulation of bad sectors on storage media on which Excel files are saved is another reason that may lead to Excel file corruption.

Other common reasons causing Excel file corruption are virus attack, network errors, etc.

Methods to Repair Corrupted Excel Workbook

Note: Repairing the corrupt workbook may result in data loss. And so, it?s recommended to back up the workbook before attempting to repair the file.

Method 1 ? Repair the Excel Workbook Manually

Use the Excel ?Open and Repair? feature to repair your corrupt workbook manually. Here?s how:

Step 1: In Excel, click the File tab and then click Open.

Step 2: Select the corrupt Excel file, click the arrow button next to the Open button and then select Open and Repair.

Figure 3 - Excel Open and Repair Feature

Step 3: In Microsoft Excel dialog box that opens, click Repair to begin repairing your corrupt workbook.

Figure 4 - Repair the Microsoft Excel File

Note: If the Excel repair process fails, repeat Steps 1 till 3 and click the ?Extract Data? button. This will help you extract values and formulas from the corrupted workbook.

Performing these steps will repair your Excel file. If the issue persists, skip to the next method.

Method 2 ? Use Excel File Repair Software

If the above method failed to fix corruption in the workbook, use Excel file repair software to repair your workbook quickly. This Excel repair tool is purpose-built to help users repair large-sized Excel files (.xlsx and .xls) in just a few clicks. Also, it helps recover all the data from the corrupted workbook while preserving the cell formatting and worksheet properties.

Steps to Repair Corrupt Excel File Using the Software

Step 1: Download, install, and open Stellar Repair for Excel software.

Free Download for windows ](https://tools.techidaily.com/stellardata-recovery/repaire-for-excel/ )

Step 2: Click Browse to select your corrupted .xlsx or .xls file. If you are not aware of the file location, click Search to locate and select the file.

Figure 5 - Select Corrupt Excel Workbook

Step 3: Once the file is selected, click Repair.

Step 4: A preview of recoverable workbook data gets displayed.

Figure 6 - Preview of Recoverable Excel Workbook Data

Note: You will need to activate the licensed version of Stellar Repair for Excel software for saving the repaired file. Once activated, proceed with the steps below to save the repaired file.

Step 5: Click Save File on the File menu. This will open a Save File dialog box with options to save the repaired .xlsx/.xls file at default or new location. After choosing the appropriate option, click OK.

Figure 7 - Save Repaired Excel File

The repaired file will get saved at the selected location.

Key Features of Stellar Repair for Excel Software

• Repairs severely corrupt Excel file and recovers pivots, pivot tables, conditional formatting rules, chart, chart sheets, etc.
• Can repair multiple Excel files in a batch simultaneously
• Can handle all types of Excel file corruption errors, like ?Excel found unreadable content in filename.xls?, ?Excel cannot open the file filename.xlsx?, etc.
• Supports repairing corrupt workbooks of Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2007, 2003, and lower versions.

End Note

If your Excel workbook has turned corrupt, try using the methods discussed in this blog to repair the workbook. Once it is repaired, you must follow preventive measures to avoid your Excel file from getting corrupt. Some of these measures are as follows:

• Reduce the size of your workbook by:

  • Removing unused data
  • Saving images at lower resolutions
  • Avoid saving pivot table cache

• Turn on the ?AutoRecover? and ?AutoSave? features in Excel

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.

Learn More

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 fix Microsoft Excel not responding error and save your data

Summary: This guide helps you resolve Excel not responding and frequent Excel freeze issues in Excel on Windows 10. It mentions some effective solutions to repair Excel and resolve Excel is not responding problem. These solutions will also help you fix Excel crashing problem while working on the spreadsheet.

Similar to any other program, you may experience problems with Microsoft Excel while opening or working on a document. Sometimes, it may not start at all or freeze and display an error message such as ‘Excel is not responding’. When it happens, you may want to wait for the program to respond.

‘Microsoft Excel is not responding’ problem

Tip: If you are experiencing Excel not responding problem with a particular Excel file, it’s quite possible that the file is corrupt or partially damaged. And thus, leading to an Excel freeze or crash problem. Use Stellar Repair for Excel software to quickly repair and restore Excel (.xls/.xlsx) file in its original, intact form. You can download the free trial version of the software from the below link.

But if Excel doesn’t respond after a while and remains stuck, you need to force close the program from “Task Manager”. Now, this could be disastrous if happens while you are working on an important Excel document that took you hours to prepare. Force closing Excel due to such error can damage the Excel document and it may fail to open next time.

Why Excel is Not Responding?

Excel may stop responding, freeze, or crash suddenly due to several reasons. It can happen while saving a spreadsheet or opening an Excel document. It may also occur while editing or inserting images, graphs, etc. But usually, it occurs when the system crashes or shuts down abruptly while you are working on a document. Here’s an instance,

Suppose, you worked overnight on a critical document which is to be presented at a meeting the next day. This Excel spreadsheet includes critical graphs and charts, and much more. When you are about to save it, there is a power failure, and your system shuts down without warning. When the power is up, you restarted the system to check your Excel. To your dismay, a message pops up – “Excel Crashed” or “Microsoft Excel not responding”.

This could be frustrating. However, there is no need to despair as there are solutions to not just overcome this error but other corresponding issues such as Excel freezing, hanging, crashing, etc. Below is an infographic that quickly briefs all the possible solutions to fix Excel not responding error.

Solutions to Fix ‘Microsoft Excel is not responding’ Error

Follow the solutions discussed below in the given order to fix Excel freezing and hanging issues.

Solution 1: Open Excel in Safe Mode

If Excel is not working as intended and frequently stops responding, you may try to start Excel in Safe Mode. It is a common DIY way to fix ‘Excel is not responding’ problem.

In Safe Mode, Excel starts with only essential services, bypasses certain functionalities and doesn’t load the add-ins, which might be the reason behind the error in MS Excel . To open and troubleshoot Excel in Safe Mode:

• Press Windows + R keys, type excel.exe /safe and press ‘Enter’ or click ‘OK’

MS Excel in Safe Mode

Open the Excel file and check if it still crashes. If not, the problem could be a faulty add-in or formatting and styling error.

Proceed to the next solution to check and fix the problem.

Solution 2: Check for Faulty and Unwanted Add-ins

In Microsoft Excel, there are two types of add-ins:

• COM add-ins
• Other Add-ins Installed as XLAM, XLA, or XLL File

Both types of add-ins can cause the freezing problem in Excel . Follow the steps below to disable unwanted and faulty add-ins:

• In Excel , click File and go to Options to open ‘Excel Options’ window
• Click Add-ins button to view and manage ‘Microsoft Office Add-ins’
• Uncheck required add-ins to disable them
• At this stage, you can also click the ‘Remove’ button to remove any unwanted add-ins

Disable COM Add-Ins

• Now enable an add-in and check the Excel performance. Observe Excel for not responding error or freezing problem

If Excel doesn’t freeze, enable subsequent add-in and then again use Excel to observe it. Repeat the steps until you find the faulty plugin, which is causing the problem.

Then remove it from Excel add-ins to resolve the problem.

Solution 3: Install the latest Windows and Office Updates

This problem may also occur if Windows and MS Office are not updated. Therefore, install the latest updates for both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.

You can set the installation and update option to ‘Automatic mode’ in Windows. This will download and install critical updates for MS Office, which might fix the Excel performance issue. The steps to enable automatic updates are as follows:

1. Go to Settings> Update & Security> Windows Update

Enable Automatic Windows updates

• Click Advanced options and enable all the toggle switches to automatically download and install updates for Windows and other Microsoft products

Update Microsoft Products

After update, restart Excel and check if the problem is resolved.

NOTE: From now on, MS Excel will also get the latest update consistently, without the need for manual intervention.

Solution 4:  Check and Disable Anti-virus

Antivirus is important for device safety. However, if your antivirus conflicts with MS Office apps such as Excel, it could lead to Excel freezing and not responding errors.

To check if the problem is due to anti-virus, disable it and reopen the Excel document. Check if Excel performs well or if it still hangs.

Example of Antivirus conflict with Microsoft Excel

If the problem is resolved, contact your antivirus software provider for help to keep antivirus running without affecting the system and other programs such as MS Excel.

Solution 5: Change the ‘Default Printer’

Although it may seem irrelevant, changing the default printer is another easy and effective solution to overcome the error. Reason being, Excel communicates with the printer to find supported margins when we open an Excel sheet.

If Excel doesn’t find the supported margin, it may stop responding or crash. The steps to change the default printer are as follows:

1. Open Control Panel on your Windows system
2. Click Printer and Devices
3. Right-click Microsoft XPS Document Writer to set it to the default printer

Change in Default Printer Setting

Reopen the Excel document to check whether the error occurs or not.

Solution 6: Repair Microsoft Office

A corrupt or damaged Microsoft Office can also cause the ‘Excel is not responding’ problem. You can resolve this by repairing the Microsoft Office files. The steps are as follows:

1. Close all running MS Office programs
2. Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
3. Click Programs and then Programs and Features
4. Select Microsoft Office and in the Microsoft Office window, click ‘Change’
5. Then select the ‘Repair’ option and click ‘Continue’

Repair MS Office

This may take a while. After the repair is done, check your Excel program and file for the error.

Solution 7: Remove and Reinstall Microsoft Office

Sometimes, repairing MS Office may not work. In such a case, removing and reinstalling Microsoft Office can resolve the ‘Excel is not responding’ problem. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Close all running MS Office programs
2. Go to Control Panel on your Windows system
3. Click Programs and then Programs and Features
4. Right-click on Microsoft Office and choose Uninstall

Uninstall MS Office

Then run the MS Office installation setup to re-install MS Office on your system.

Solution 8: Repair Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX) file

In several situations, a corrupt or partially damaged Excel (XLS/XLSX) file is the cause of this error. In such a case, you can download and install Stellar Repair for Excel to repair the corrupt or damaged Excel file. By repairing the Excel file, you can resolve the Excel freezing error quickly without applying much efforts.

The steps to use the software for Excel file repair are as follows:

1. Download, install and launch the Excel file repair software
2. Browse and select the corrupt Excel file

• Click ‘Repair’ to start repairing the damaged Excel file
• After file repair, it provides a preview. Check your file

• Then click the ‘Save File’ option in the main menu
• You can either choose default location or browse a new folder location to save the repaired Excel file

• After repair, open the file in Excel and continue with your work

And keep Stellar Repair for Excel installed on your system. You never know when you might need this handy tool.

You may also refer to Microsoft support for more details on Excel not responding, hangs, freezes or stops working issues.

Conclusion

Now that the methods for fixing the ‘Excel is not responding’ error are before you, try all these and see which one works for you. If the cause of this error is a damaged or corrupt Excel file, only repairing the XLS/XLSX file can resolve the issue.

For this purpose, it’s recommended to use a reliable software such as Stellar Repair for Excel as it offers an easy-to-use interface, thereby making Excel file repair process a seamless experience.

The software recovers table, chart, chart sheet, cell comment, number, text, shared formulas, image, formula, sort and filter, and other objects. It also preserves worksheet properties, layout, and cell formatting. It can repair multiple XLS/XLSX files simultaneously and fix all Excel file corruption errors.

All these features extend the software capabilities beyond just fixing the ‘Excel not responding’ error.

Fixed “Cannot Insert Object” Error in Excel | Step-by-Step Guide

Summary: The error “cannot insert object” in MS Excel can prevent you from modifying objects in the worksheet. This blog will discuss the primary reasons behind this error and the possible solutions to fix it. You will also learn about a professional Excel repair software that can help fix the error if it has occurred due to corruption in Excel file.

Many users have reported encountering the “cannot insert object” error while adding/embedding objects into the Excel file. It usually occurs when using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) to add content (PDF, Microsoft documents) from external applications to worksheet. The error can also occur when using ActiveX control in Excel. Below, we’ll explain why you cannot insert object into Excel sheet and how to troubleshoot the issue.

Why the “Cannot Insert Object” Error Occurs?

• Macro Settings can prevent the insertion of objects into a workbook.
• The Excel file in which you are trying to add an element is corrupted.
• The object (you are inserting into the workbook) is damaged.
• Object size limitations.
• System’s insufficient memory might prevent new objects’ addition.
• Incompatible Excel file format.
• Add-ins controls are disabled.
• Incompatible or faulty Add-ins.
• Issue with Security Settings.

Methods to Fix the “Cannot Insert Object” Error in Excel

You may encounter the “Cannot insert object” error when trying to add an element stored on a network. It can occur due to issues with the file link, such as incorrect file location. In such a case, you can check the link by selecting the link to file option from the Insert tab.

Sometimes, the error can occur if the file in which you are trying to insert the object is locked and password-protected. In this case, you can unprotect the Excel file . If the issue still persists, then you can follow the below methods.

Method 1: Check and Change Restricted Security Settings

Excel provides security settings to protect your workbook. Sometimes, these settings can prevent inserting objects in the file. You can change the security settings to allow Excel to insert objects. To do so, follow these steps:

• Open your Excel application.
• Locate the File and then click Options.
• In Excel Options, click Trust Center.

• Click Trust Center Settings.
• In the Trust Center Settings window, select Protected View from the left pane.

• Under Protected View, unselect the below three options:
• Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet.
• Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
• Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.

• Click OK.
• Once you’re done with this, click on Macro Settings in the Trust Center window.
• Under Macro Settings, make sure “Disable all macros without notification” is not selected. If it is selected, then unselect it. After that, click OK.

• Restart Excel to apply the changes.

Method 2: Uninstall Microsoft Office Updates

You can also encounter the “Cannot insert object” error in Excel after installing MS Office updates. It might be due to the issues with the installed updates. To fix this, you can uninstall the recently installed Office updates. To uninstall the Office updates, follow these steps:

• Go to the system’s Control Panel.
• Click Programs and then click Program and Features.
• Search for “View Installed Updates” and click on the desired Office updates.
• Right-click on it and then click Uninstall.
• Follow the uninstallation steps on the screen.
• Once the process is complete, restart the system.

Method 3: Check Memory Usage

The “Cannot insert object” issue can also occur if your system is low on memory. You can check and close unnecessary processes and applications running in the background to free up memory. To do so, follow these steps:

• Press CTRL + ALT + DEL on the keyboard and click Task Manager.
• Click on the Processes tab and search for any unnecessary processes.
• Right-click on the process and then select End Task.
• Restart Excel to see if the issue is fixed.

Method 4: Check Excel File Size

If your Excel file size exceeds the prescribed limit, it can also lead to the “Cannot insert Excel object” error. So, check the Excel file size. You can reduce the file size by removing unnecessary objects, such as formulas or images.

Method 5: Check and Change Excel ActiveX Settings

You can get the “Excel cannot insert object” error if your Excel file contains macros, controls, and other interactive buttons. It usually occurs if the ActiveX Controls option is disabled. You can check and change the ActiveX Settings to fix the issue. Here are the steps:

• Open your Excel application.
• Navigate to File and then click Options.
• In Excel Options, click the Trust Center tab.
• In the Trust Center Settings, click ActiveX Settings.
• Under ActiveX Settings, make sure the “Enable all controls without restrictions and without prompting” option is selected.

• If the option is not selected, then select it and click OK.
• Restart the Excel and check if the error is fixed or not.

Method 6: Repair the Excel Workbook

The “Cannot insert object” error can occur if the object you are trying to insert is corrupted or the file in which you are inserting the object is damaged. If the issue has occurred due to a corrupted Excel file, then you can repair the file using the Open and Repair utility in MS Excel. To use this Microsoft-inbuilt utility, follow these steps:

• In the Excel application, go to the File tab and then click Open.
• Click Browse to choose the affected file.
• The Open dialog box is displayed. Click on the corrupted file.
• Click on the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open and Repair.
• Click on Repair.

• After repair, a message will appear (as shown in the below figure).

• Click Close.

If the Open and Repair utility fails to fix the issue, then try a professional Excel Repair software, like Stellar Repair for Excel. It is designed to repair severely corrupted Excel files. It can restore all the Excel file objects, such as tables, charts, formulas, etc. It helps fix all types of corruption related errors. The software is compatible with all versions of Excel.

Conclusion

You might encounter the “Cannot insert object” error when embedding or inserting objects in Excel. In this post, we have discussed the possible solutions to fix this error. We have also mentioned an Excel repair software that can help to easily repair the corrupted Excel file and recover all the data. You can download the Stellar Repair for Excel’s free demo version to preview the recoverable objects of the corrupted Excel file.

[Fixed] Excel PivotTable Overlap Error | Troubleshooting Guide

In Excel, you need to refresh the pivot table data source after adding new data. However, sometimes, while refreshing the pivot table, you may experience an error “PivotTable Report cannot Overlap.” This issue usually appears when there are multiple pivot tables in a single worksheet. It often occurs when you try to place one pivot table on top of another or if you try to set a common cell range to multiple pivot tables. However, there are many other causes associated with the error.

Reasons for a pivot table report cannot overlap another pivot table report issue:

• Merged cells in a pivot table may cause the overlap issue
• Using the same range of cells for multiple pivot tables
• Hidden columns
• Preserve formatting option is enabled
• Modifying the pivot table using a macro that is corrupted
• Using the workbook.RefreshAll method incorrectly
• Number of pivot items goes beyond the number of cells available
• Excel file is corrupt
• Corrupted Pivot table
• Some columns are labeled with the same name

Methods to Fix Excel PivotTable Report Cannot Overlap Error

You can get the pivot table overlapping issue if the field in pivot table crossed the maximum items limit. According to the Microsoft guide, you can specify up to 1,048,576 items to return per field. Check the cell fields in your pivot table. Also, make sure each column’s label is unique. Sometimes, the hidden columns or hidden sheets can also prevent you from modifying the pivot tables. You can check for hidden columns in the Data view.

If the error still persists, then try the below-mentioned methods to fix the error.

1. Move the Pivot Table to a New Worksheet

The “PivotTable Report cannot Overlap” error can occur if there is an issue with the columns in the pivot table. In this case, you can try moving the pivot table to a new worksheet. Moving the pivot table to a different worksheet automatically resets the column width according to the new sheet and creates space that can help in preventing the overlapping issue. Here are the steps to do so:

2. Disable the Background Refresh Option

When the background refresh option is enabled, then Excel updates the pivot table in the background after every minor change. It may create issue if you have a large-sized Excel file with multiple pivot tables. You can try disabling the background refresh option. Here’s how:

• The Connection Properties dialog box is displayed. Unselect the “Enable background refresh” option and select the “Refresh data when opening the file”

• Click **OK.

  

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3. Disable Autofit Column Widths

When the Autofit column widths option is enabled, Excel automatically resizes the pivot table whenever you make changes to it. These automatic adjustments can sometimes add or remove fields which can result in the PivotTable Report cannot Overlap issue. To fix this, you can disable the “Autofit column widths on update” option. To do this, follow these steps:

• Right-click on any field on the pivot table.

• Select **PivotTable Options.

  

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• In the PivotTable Options window, unselect Autofit column widths on update.

  

• Click on the OK.

4. Check the Workbook.RefreshAll Method

Several users have reported experiencing the “Excel PivotTable Report cannot Overlap” error when using the Workbook.RefreshAll method. This method is used to refresh data ranges in the pivot report. Sometimes, the error can occur due to missing variable that is representing an object (workbook) in a query. So, make sure you’re using the Workbook.RefreshAll function correctly.

5. Repair your Excel File

You may also encounter the “A PivotTable Report cannot Overlap” error if the Excel file is corrupted. You can use the inbuilt utility in Excel - Open and Repair to repair the corrupt file. Here’s how:

• In your Excel application, click on the File tab and then click Open.
• Click Browse to select the desired file.
• In the Open dialog box, click on the corrupted file.
• Click on the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open and Repair.
• Click on the Repair
• In the displayed message, click Close.

If the “Open and Repair” utility fails to fix the issue, then it means there is high level of corruption in the Excel file. To tackle this, you can take the help of a professional Excel file repair tool, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. The tool can easily repair severely corrupted Excel file and recover all the objects of the file, such as pivot tables, macros, charts, etc. with 100% integrity. You can download the free trial version of the tool to check its functionality.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed the possible reasons behind the “PivotTable Report cannot overlap” error in Excel. You can follow the methods mentioned above to fix the issue. The error may also occur if the Excel file gets corrupted. In this case, you can try repairing the corrupted Excel file using the Open and Repair utility or consider using Stellar Repair for Excel . The tool makes the process of repairing the Excel file smooth and quick.

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