Linking to data in a damaged file (5.0 and later)

In Microsoft Excel version 5.0 and later versions, you can extract the values from a damaged file by using external references to link to the file.

To extract the values from a damaged file, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

1. On the File menu, click Open.
2. Browse from the current folder to the folder that contains the damaged file, and then click Cancel.
3. If you are using Microsoft Excel 7.0, Microsoft Excel 97, or Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, click New on the File menu, click Workbook, and then click OK.
   
   If you are using Microsoft Excel 5.0, click New on the File menu, and then click OK. If the New dialog box appears, click Workbook, and then click OK.
4. Type "=<File Name>!A1" (without the quotation marks) in cell A1 of the new workbook, where <File Name> is the name of the damaged workbook. If the Select Sheet dialog box appears, select the appropriate sheet, and then click OK.
5. Select cell A1, and then click Copy on the Edit menu.
6. Select an area that is approximately the same size as the range of cells that contain data in the damaged file, and then click Paste on the Edit menu.
7. With this range of cells still selected, click Copy on the Edit menu.
8. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special, click Values, and then click OK.

This step removes the links to the damaged file and leaves only the data.

Method 2

1. If you are using Microsoft Excel 7.0, Microsoft Excel 97, or Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition, click New on the File menu, click Workbook, and then click OK.
   
   If you are using Microsoft Excel 5.0, click New on the File menu, and then click OK.
2. Create a second new workbook by repeating step 1.
3. In the first workbook, select cell A1.
4. On the Edit menu, click Copy.
5. Click the second workbook and select cell A1.
6. oOn the Edit menu, click Paste Special, and then click Paste Link.
7. Select cell A1, and then remove the dollar signs from the formula.
   
   For example, if the formula bar displays the following text, remove the dollar signs:
   =[Book13]Sheet1!$A$1
   The formula bar should display the following text:
   =[Book13]Sheet1!A1
8. Select cell A1, and then click Copy on the Edit menu.
9. Select an area that is approximately the same size as the range of the cells that contain data in the damaged file (for example, select A1:H100), and then click Paste on the Edit menu.
10. On the Edit menu, click Links.
11. In the Links dialog box, select the file name of the first workbook, and then click Change Source. When the Change Links dialog box appears, select the damaged file, and then click OK. If the Select Sheet dialog box appears, click the appropriate sheet, and then click OK.
12. In the Links dialog box, click OK.
13. With the cell range still selected, click Copy on the Edit menu.
14. On the Edit menu, click Paste Special, click Values, and then click OK.

This removes the links to the damaged file and leaves only the data.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"Getting Results with Microsoft Excel for Windows 95," pages 45-46

Microsoft Excel User's Guide version 5.0, pages 159-164, 171-174, and 715-716