excel 2013 can't open old files

Anonymous
2013-03-04T04:59:35+00:00

I got windows office 2013 and installed it on my windows 7 laptop.  I have old office 2007 excel files that I can't open, and some that will only open when I go through the program and search for them. After loading some files I tried to save them in the new format. But even after that I can't open the file. I tried coping and pasting the info, again with no sucess. what can I do to fix this.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-11T20:25:30+00:00

    The weird thing is that if I open Excel and then browse to the file it opens but when I click on an Excel (both xls and xlsx) file Excel opens but not the file.   All very strange and annoying.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-04-12T01:17:10+00:00

    The weird thing is that if I open Excel and then browse to the file it opens but when I click on an Excel (both xls and xlsx) file Excel opens but not the file.   All very strange and annoying. 

    Hello Ira,

    If you’re able to open within the application, this might be an issue with the file association.

    Follow the steps mentioned below on how to create the file association for these files:

    1. Right click on any of the Excel file.
    2. Click on Open with > Choose default program.
    3. Now choose ‘Microsoft Excel 2013’.
    4. Ensure to have a check mark in the box reading ‘Always use the selected program for this kind of file’
    5. Click OK.

    Let us know the result to assist you further.

    Thank you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-04-24T10:38:04+00:00

    I am also having the same problem trying to open an Excel file created in a prior version (I believe it was 2007).  This particular file was password protected as well if that means anything or helps?  Was there ever a fix found for the initial question(s)?  Thanks in advance.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-04-24T11:46:00+00:00

    Same issues, folks.  VERY frustrating.  Been through this entire discussion with no success.  I even create files native to Excel, save them to my desktop, and then can't double-click to reopen them (I get a nice blank screen in Excel).  This is idiotic.

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-04-24T12:19:32+00:00

    Hello Peter and Jim,

    Provide us the detailed information what exactly happens when you try to open files in Excel 2013.

    Also let us know the result after following the suggestions provided in my previous post.

    Thank you.

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