Need to open .xls files with Excel 2016/Win10, default is now Adobe

Anonymous
2015-10-06T15:57:22+00:00
Please check out Office<br> documents don't open in the correct application <br>for the latest information on this topic.

Just installed Win10 and upgraded to Excel 2016. Find I can't open .xls files as default app to open them is now ...Adobe. Excel is not an available option in setting default apps to open .xls files. I got sent to the Store and the app I selected can be set as the default, but when I saved file as .xlsx, Excel balks about opening it. Somehow this doesn't make sense that Excel is not the default for .xls files. Any help here?

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Anonymous
2015-10-06T20:05:58+00:00

Hi Darrell - Windows 10 puts you in control of which of your apps act as the default for file types, so we don't automatically take over the association (I guess you could imagine how much we'd upset a confirmed OpenOffice user if we did :-))

Easiest way to fix this:

Press the Windows key/select the Windows Icon in the start bar

Type "Default" - and search should then suggest: "Default Programs", select it

Wait for the applet to start and then select the "Set your default programs" choice

Find Excel 2016 in the list, select it, and then select "->Set this program as default"

Then sit back and enjoy Excel opening your workbook files!

Apologies for the somewhat long set of instructions, I feel we should award some kind of "dedication above and beyond the expected calls of duty" :-)

Hope this helps...pc

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Anonymous
2017-04-11T20:45:08+00:00

Hello! We've created a "Fix It" tool that may further assist if you're continuing to experiencing problems with file associations. You can learn more and access the tool here: Double-clicking an Office file fails to open it

Freya

Office Newsroom

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T14:01:44+00:00

    This issue has been open since 2015.

    if Microsoft REALLY cared it would have been solved in 2015.

    I can only conclude that they dont give a damn.

    I JUST IGNORE IT.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T15:39:35+00:00

    It shouldn't have to be ignored; something so basic shouldn't even have gotten past testing when they first released it. The best part of this whole thing was a popup appeared asking me if I'd recommend Windows 10 to a friend while I was in the middle of trying to figure out what to do about this. 

    At any rate, after much fiddling around, I've managed to fix it, though I cannot say which of the things I did actually did it for me, but if anyone else wants to try it, feel free :

    I uninstalled the previous version of Office, for one thing. I was using the 2016 Home and Student edition, the one that doesn't need a subscription. 

    I also reset all defaults to Microsoft's recommended.

    Then I restarted, which you have to do after uninstalling anyways.

    When I got back on, Excel still said it wasn't the default program for spreadsheets, and my xls files were still showing Acrobat as the default. BUT - this time, when I went down the list of file types to .xls and clicked on the + to change the default app for that file type, it actually showed me Excel this time. So I changed it, and now everything appears to be doing what it should be doing. 

    Hopefully that helps someone.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T21:03:58+00:00

    Thanks everyone for your feedback and suggestions.  I actually found a workaround myself, by which I can recover the xls files one at a time.  I have a second computer that I use as a backup.  It also has Windows 10 and an up-to-date Office 365 subscription, which gives me Excel 2016, the same as my primary computer.  But I didn't update the Excel on the backup computer.  I have both computers synced to a Dropbox account so any file produced on one computer automatically transfers to the other one.  The workaround is to open the.xls file on the computer with the non-updated Excel 2016, then save it as an .xlsx format file.  This then transfers to the new computer where I can open it without any trouble with the updated Excel.  Not a perfect solution, of course, because I don't particularly want to have to go back and update every single .xls file one by one.  But for the ones that matter for me, it has solved my problem.

    I agree with those who say that this should never have been a problem in the first place - why ever would you NOT want to be able to open old files with an updated version of a major software app?  I wonder, does anyone from Microsoft ever read these kinds of strings and try to do something about problems that are obviously affecting significant numbers of their customers?

    Comments, Microsoft?

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