How to Fix File Format and Extension Don’t Match Error on Excel

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When you open a file in Excel, you receive a message indicating that the filename extension does not match the actual file format. For example, the file has the extension.xlsx-Filename, but it is really a text file and should have the extension.txt-Filename.

“Excel cannot open the file ‘filename.xlsx’ because the file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file.”

Before clicking Yes to open the file, you must consider why the file may have an incorrect filename extension.

The file could have been:

If you or someone you know accidentally renamed the file with an incorrect filename extension, you can safely open the file. Then save the file in the file format with the appropriate file name extension.

If you or someone you know has deliberately renamed the file with a different extension to ensure that Excel recognizes the file name extension, you can open it. However, as a best practice, you should save the file with a file name extension that matches its actual file format.

Reasons for this Excel error:

This error message appears in the following scenarios:

• The file is not compatible with the Excel version.
• The file is corrupted or corrupted.

Manual modification of the extension

In most cases, the error message indicates the correct cause. If you see the error ‘File format and extension does not match’, the Excel file you are trying to open unsuccessfully is probably actually a different extension from the one currently wired.

Several concerned users who were also facing this problem reported that they had managed to solve the problem manually (by renaming) the extension to various popular Excel formats until they found the right one.

Use the ‘Open and Repair’ function in MS Excel

The’Open and Repair’ function is a function in MS Excel to repair damaged Excel files. To use it, follow these steps:

1. Open the MS Excel application
2. Go to File and select the Open option.
3. Select the damaged file and select Open and Repair.
4. Click Repair to start the repair.

Note – If the Excel repair process failed the last time you used the Open and Repair function, repeat steps (i) to (v). Then click on the Extract Data button to extract the values and formulas from the Excel file.

Unblocking the file

It turns out that the error’File Format and Extension of Don’t Match’ can also occur because it is blocked in the properties. This is a typical case for files downloaded from the Internet or received as a security option via email attachments.

If this scenario is applicable, you can easily solve the problem by accessing the File Properties screen that triggers the error message and unlocking it from the Security tab.

Open the Excel file in safe mode.

Step 1: Press the Windows+R key, type : excel.exe /safe and click OK.
Step 2: Save the file as.xlsx. It is sometimes useful to access your data if Excel cannot open the.xlsx file due to file corruption.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/28403642/how-to-fix-file-format-and-extension-dont-match

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