MS Excel is widely used for storing and managing data in both text and graphical forms. Being a part of MS Office suite, Excel is used in various companies, colleges and institutions, and at many other places for keeping data in organized form with the help of its inbuilt formulas, formatting techniques, filters, and other internal functions. One of the major features of MS Excel application is data portability, which makes your data accessible on any Windows based computer. However, you must keep at least one recent backup copy of every such file, aiming at data security, as these data files are prone to corruption due to random issues.

Corruption in Excel Files

Ignoring the security factor completely, you and many others forget to back up their crucial Excel files. Consequently, they have to endure the loss of their crucial data when a data disaster (such as power failure, virus/malware infections, and the like) strikes. In such scenarios, Excel file repair utility plays a significant role of data rescuer. However, since many similar tools are available on the Internet, how to make out which one of them is reliable? This, undoubtedly, is not a child’s play, but you can certainly practice the following Top 5 Excel file repair techniques.

Repairing Corrupt Excel Files

Repairing a corrupt Excel file is difficult when you are not aware of the recovery technique. Since this post of mine lists the Top 5 Excel files repair techniques, putting them into practice is not going to be difficult. So, begin with the following one in Excel 2007:

Method 1 - File Repair Technique

This technique is very common and often works in certain cases of corruption. Therefore, proceed with the following steps and see if it works for you:

• Go to Start menu, point the cursor to Programs and click Microsoft Office in the list, and then click Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
• Click the Office icon in the top left corner, and then click Open in the pop-up list.
• In the Open dialog box, locate the corrupt Excel file on your computer. 
• Select this Excel file, and then click the arrow next to Open button and choose Open and Repair.
• Excel will display a pop-up message. Click Repair option on the message box.
• If it fails to open the Excel file, repeat the steps 2 – 4, but click Extract Data.

Method 2 - HTML Technique

With the aforementioned technique, you oftentimes get your Excel file repaired. However, the corrupt file sometimes throws the same pop-up message every time you open it as we did above. Try the HTML technique for such files and get your data repaired:

• Open MS Excel 2007 and click the Office icon, and then click Open.
• Locate the corrupt Excel file in the Open dialog box and click the Open button.
• If you get this file opened anyhow, do the following:
•     Click Office icon and click the Save As option in the menu.
•     In the Save As dialog box, click Save as type drop down list and select Web Page.
•     Click the option Entire Workbook, and then click Save.
•     Click Yes to confirm saving it in HTML format.
• Now, close Excel and go to the location of the file saved in HTML format.
• Right-click the HTML document and point the cursor to Open with, and then choose Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
• Excel should open this file successfully. If it does, do the following:
•     Click Office icon and click the Save As option in the menu.
•     In the Save As dialog box, click Save as type drop down list and select Excel Workbook.
•     Click the option Entire Workbook, and then click Save.
•     Click Yes to confirm saving it in HTML format.
•     Type-in a different name for this Excel Workbook and click Save.
•     Click Yes if prompted.

Method 3 - Copy Data Technique

This technique is to move the contents of the corrupt Excel Workbook to a new Workbook. However, it requires the file opening. Follow these steps:

1. With the Excel file opened, right-click the first sheet and choose Select All Sheets.
2. Right-click the sheet again and choose Move or Copy option.
3. In the Move or Copy dialog, select new book in the To book menu and check the Create a copy check box, and then click OK.

Method 4 - XML Technique

This technique involves saving the corrupt Excel Workbook (if it is able to open) as an XML Spreadsheet, aiming for rescuing data. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Corrupt Excel file and go to the Office icon, and then click Save As in the list.
2. In the Save as type drop down list, choose XML Spreadsheet and click Save.
3. Now, close the Excel file and open MS Excel again.
4. Click Open followed by clicking the Office icon and locate the XML file, and then open it in Excel.
5. Go for Save As and choose Microsoft Excel 97-2003 or Excel Workbook as the Save as type.
6. Type-in a different file name, and then click Save.