Quite often, many users of the Excel spreadsheet editor encounter a problem when, due to a system or application crash, the files created in it are not saved or get damaged so that they cannot be opened later. In principle, Excel can recover files in several ways. Let's consider each of them. Just note that there is nothing particularly complicated in such procedures, and each of the following methods is good in its own way. However, first things first.
Recover an unsaved Excel file
Let's start with the most banal situation, when the user simply did not save the data entered in the editor on time, and the system crashed. What if there was too much information and re-entering it simply did not have the time or opportunity?
To avoid such situations, it is worth giving a little advice: turn on the autosave function in advance. In the future (when you restart the program after a critical failure), the application itself will offer to restore the file to a specific point in time. Even provided that he was not given a name, what is done at the time of saving.
To further solve the problem of how to restore an unsaved Excel 2016 file, go to the options section in the file menu of an open program and go to the save line in the new window on the left. In the right part of the window there is an item for automatic saving. The default setting is ten minutes. We indicate our own value (for example, 1 min) and apply the changes made. In some cases, however, autosave can slow down the work of the editor, but in case of a failure it will be possible to recover most of the data. In general, you should not underestimate the possibilities of the automatic saving mode.
Recovery of damaged Excel files using standard table processor tools
Now let's look at damaged files that for some reason do not open in a standard way. In Excel, file recovery can be done with one trick, which few people know about.
So, we start the editor and from the main menu we call the standard file open command (it’s easier to do this by Ctrl + O). An object selection window will appear. We find what we need, and a little lower in the mode window we select the opening and recovery. The application will try to open the desired damaged file, while automatically fixing errors.
Using the Office Analog of OpenOffice Calc
It also happens that in Excel itself, file recovery does not work. What to do in this case? You can use the alternative program OpenOffice Calc, which is a complete analogue of Excel, although its direct competitor.
In principle, the steps to open the file you are looking for with its automatic recovery are completely identical, only in the file type you need to select the .xls extension. And this recovery option cannot be discounted.
Special Utilities
Now a few words about specialized applications that were originally designed to restore office documents when problems arise with them. One of the most powerful utilities is an Excel file recovery program called Recovery for Excel (it is included in the main OfficeRecovery package).
Here, too, everything is simple. We start the utility and click the Recover recovery button, after which we select the desired file from the list, and then we activate the recovery process using the same button from the top panel. Upon completion, the file can be opened in a spreadsheet editor.
Another interesting utility is Cimaware OfficeFIX. It works no worse than the previous one, and uses similar algorithms. After starting the application, you need to select the ExcelFIX toolkit, click the start button and go to the Recovery section. Here it remains, as in the previous case, to select the table file and start the recovery and error correction process. After that, the restored object can be viewed (the View button), and then, so to speak, “re-save” (Go To Save button).
Online recovery
But that is not all. For Excel, file recovery can be performed using special online resources, which today can be found on the Internet. As usual, it all comes down to the fact that the user, after entering the site, uses the recovery section and uploads his file. The only problem is that at the end of the process, a link to download the demo version of the restored object in free mode may appear. To download the full file, you have to pay. Thus, the use of such a method for many users is unacceptable.
Instead of a conclusion
We examined the basic methods for recovering tabular office documents. As a certain result, it can be noted that at first it is best to try the editor’s own tools or its alternatives, and only then, if all else fails, turn to special utilities for help. Also, remember to set up autosave. Indeed, in this case, you will not need to restore files in manual mode at all. Well, as for online resources, it seems that few people will use them only because of the payment process. However, as an option in extreme cases, when the source file is not restored by absolutely any of the above tools, and the information is very important, you can still use this method. What exactly to choose from everything described is up to you.