Methods for recovering data from damaged Excel 2000 workbooks

There are several methods that you can use to recover information from damaged or corrupted files. This article discusses those methods and points you to other Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that discuss the methods in greater detail.

Methods for recovering data in corrupted Microsoft Excel files

• Save the file in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) format.
• Use external references to link to the corrupted file.
• Use the Revert To Saved Document command.
• If a chart is linked to the corrupted file, use a macro to extract the data.
• Use the Microsoft Excel File Recovery Macro.
• Open the file in Microsoft Word.
• Open the file in Microsoft Excel Viewer.

Save the file in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) format

If you can open the corrupted Microsoft Excel file, you can "filter" it if you save it in HTML format, close the file, and then reopen it. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save as type list, click Web Page (*.htm, *.html).
2. Under Save, click Entire Workbook, and then click Save.
3. Close the file.
4. Open the file again in Excel.
5. On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save as type list, click Microsoft Excel Workbook. Change the name of the file to create a new "filtered" copy without replacing the original.

Note Some features may be lost when you save in HTML format.

Use external references to recover data

The most common method to recover information from a damaged file is to extract the values from the file by using external references to link to the file. The file structure must be complete; otherwise, Microsoft Excel cannot read the information.

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

Use the Revert To Saved Document command to recover data

If you are editing a Microsoft Excel worksheet and the file accidentally becomes corrupted before you have saved changes to the file, you can recover the original worksheet by doing the following:

1. On the File menu, click Open and select the name of the file that you are editing. Note that a dialog box appears with the message "Revert to Saved Document?"
2. Click OK.
   
   The file that you are editing reverts to the last saved version of the file.

Use a macro to extract the data in a chart

In Microsoft Excel versions 5.0 and later, data may be retrieved from a chart, even when the data is in an external worksheet or workbook. This behavior can be useful in situations where the chart was created from or linked to another file that is unavailable or has been damaged in some way.

When the source data to a chart is lost, you can still retrieve the data from the chart itself by using a Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro.

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

Use the Microsoft Excel File Recovery Macro to recover information

If you can open the workbook in Microsoft Excel, you can use the Microsoft Excel File Recovery Macro to re-create Excel worksheets, XLM macro sheets, and module sheets in a new workbook. This macro also creates a log file so that you can identify items that cause problems when you use the macro to transfer them to the new worksheet. If the Microsoft Excel File Recovery Macro fails, view the last entry in the log file to determine which item causes the problem, and then re-create the workbook without that item.

To find information about this macro, or to download this macro, go to the Office Resource Kit that is located at the following Microsoft Web site:

Open the file in Microsoft Word or WordPad

If you have the Microsoft Excel converter installed, you may be able to open your Microsoft Excel workbook in Microsoft Word. If the file does open in Microsoft Word, you will not be able to recover module sheets, dialog sheets, chart sheets, macro sheets, or any embedded charts. Also, you will not recover any cell formulas, just the results of those formulas that are currently in the cells.

You can also open your Microsoft Excel workbook in WordPad. If the file does open, you may be able to recover Visual Basic code in your modules and class modules. Search for the words "Sub" or "Function" to find your code.

Open the file in Microsoft Excel Viewer

If Microsoft Excel Viewer is installed, you may be able to open the Microsoft Excel workbook in Microsoft Excel Viewer, copy the cells, and paste the cells into a new workbook. However, you cannot recover module sheets, dialog sheets, chart sheets, or macro sheets. Also, you cannot recover any cell formulas; you can recover only the results of the formulas that are currently in the cells.

For more information about Microsoft Excel Viewer, visit the following Microsoft Web site: