Can't open Excel file as "too many different cell formats"

[Guest]

When trying to load an excel file it will not allow me to open it and shows
the message in a separate window " too many different cell formats".
I am led to believe (after a bit of investigation) that the file is now too
large and needs to be slimmed down. This is fine, but I need to be able to
open it first! Is there a way to open this file?
Please help. This spreadsheet is important to me. Thank you.

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

When trying to load an excel file it will not allow me to open it and shows
the message in a separate window " too many different cell formats".
I am led to believe (after a bit of investigation) that the file is now too
large and needs to be slimmed down. This is fine, but I need to be able to
open it first! Is there a way to open this file?

This page contains a list of thing you could try to get the information out of
that file:

http://www.jkp-ads.com/Articles/CorruptFiles.htm

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
Thank you for your advice. Much appreciated.
However, I have tried to open file. It still refuses to open! It keeps
coming up with "too many different cell formats". If I could just open this
file, I could then make ammedments.
Please help!
thank you.

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

However, I have tried to open file. It still refuses to open! It keeps
coming up with "too many different cell formats". If I could just open this
file, I could then make ammedments.
Please help!

Try opening the file with OpenOffice, then maybe from there save it in parts
to multiple files.

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
I have downloaded Open Office. Which seems fine. Whe I then try to open the
file in question,
it does not open fil (in top title bar, just says 'Not responding'.)
Regards

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

I have downloaded Open Office. Which seems fine. Whe I then try to open the
file in question,
it does not open fil (in top title bar, just says 'Not responding'.)

You can send it to me by email and I'll try to open it.

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
Sorry for the slow response. My son has been out today!
After downloading OpenOffice, the excel file seems to load fine from
OpenOffice. I cannot save as Excel 2000 though, so have opened a new Excel
worksheet and saved this, which seems to work. However, how do you retain the
formatting when copying from Open Office (which seems fine) to Excel 2000
(which then looses the formatting)?
Regards

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

I cannot save as Excel 2000 though, so have opened a new Excel
worksheet and saved this, which seems to work. However, how do you retain the
formatting when copying from Open Office (which seems fine) to Excel 2000
(which then looses the formatting)?

You should be able to save-as to Excel from OpenOffice.

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
It's taken me this long to see the problem!
Although the file can be saved in Open Office as Excel it is taking 5-7 mins
per save, plus all the titles/boxes at the top are different, etc.
Is this the only way?
I can't seem to be able to copy from the OpenOffice shhet to a new Excel
sheet without loosing all the formatting.
Regards

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

Is this the only way?

Mail it to me, I'll see what I can do.

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

Hi Jan,
It's very kind of you to offer.
However there is alot of sensitive, personal financial information in this
Excel spreadsheet. Really there is.
I really do appreciate your help on this. Is there a way we could
communicate easier?
My mobile number is 07788 108177.
If you rang this I could then give you my home number. Or I could ring you?
I do hope this is OK.
Regards

 

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi Richard,

It's very kind of you to offer.
However there is alot of sensitive, personal financial information in this
Excel spreadsheet. Really there is.

I understand your problem.

I really do appreciate your help on this. Is there a way we could
communicate easier?
My mobile number is 07788 108177.

I would *never* show my personal phone numbers in a place like this.

If you rang this I could then give you my home number. Or I could ring you?
I do hope this is OK.

Best to send me an email, use this address:

(e-mail address removed)

Regards,

Jan Karel Pieterse
Excel MVP
http://www.jkp-ads.com

 

[Guest]

When my correspondents have this difficulty and we can't sort some aspect
out, there is a way to protect the intellectual property of the workbook
owner. The problem is entirely concerned with formatting, so the rest can be
dumped. Do the following:

Save two copies of the workbook under two new names;

Open one of them, and in each worksheet in turn (including any hidden ones)
click the grey top-left marker which selects the whole sheet and then press
the Delete key;

Save the workbook, and email it to the person you don't want to see the
workbook. They will learn a great deal about your approach to formatting,
but every single formula and piece of data will have been deleted, so they
won't learn much else.

There is quite a lot of useful advice for those who have just seen the "too
many different cell formats" message and found their workbook is
unmanageable, on my web site www.quarrell.demon.co.uk/QAid/

It is a commercial web site, but you do not have to buy _anything_ to find
out how to deal with the first emergency and what is involved in avoiding a
recurrence. I won't ring Richard's mobile, but you can track me down from
the web site if you need to.