Unable to open one excel document.

Question

Unable to open one excel document.

Shubhraj, Shubhraj (AGD) 0

Hi, I work for Government of South Australia. The suite of Microsoft Office is purchased & managed centrally. I have problem in opening one of the excel files. Initially it asks for the options to update/ do not update the external links of the file and after that it remains as blank document. Need help to rectify the problem & make the file accessible.

Thanks.

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Answer 1

Jade Ng 15,490 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear,

I understand how frustrating this can be, especially if the workbook contains important data.

To better understand the issue, could you please let me know:

Are you the only user experiencing this issue, or do other users encounter the same behavior when opening the file?
Can the workbook be opened successfully on another device?
Which version of Excel are you using?
Is the file stored locally or OneDrive/SharePoint?

In the meantime, please try the following troubleshooting steps:

Open Excel first without opening the workbook.
Go to File > Open > Browse.
Select the affected workbook, click the arrow next to Open, and choose Open and Repair.

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If the workbook still opens as a blank window, launch Excel in Safe Mode by pressing Windows + R, typing excel /safe, and then opening the file again.

Since Excel is prompting to update external links, the workbook may contain references to other files. The prompt appears when links exist in formulas, named ranges, charts, pivot tables, queries, or hidden objects.

You may also wish to check the following:

Search the workbook formulas for [ which often indicates an external workbook reference.
Review Formulas > In the Defined Names section, click Name Manager and remove any named ranges that reference external workbooks.
Check charts, PivotTables, and Data > Queries & Connections for connections to external files.
Save the workbook as a new file name and test again.
Run File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document to identify and remove unwanted external references.

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If none of the above solutions work, please let me know, and I will be happy to guide you through the next steps.

I appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your update.

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Jade Ng 15,490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-15T23:25:36.7366667+00:00

Dear,

I hope this message finds you well!

I just wanted to check in and see if you have any updates or additional information you’d like to share regarding your situation.

Looking forward to your response!
Shubhraj, Shubhraj (AGD) 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T01:10:30.7933333+00:00

Hi Jade,

I replied yesterday but it appears my response got lost somewhere in Microsoft world.

I tried first two options & it did not work. For the third option "info, Save, Save As etc" are all greyed out & does not allow me to proceed further.

As far as your four questions are concerned Q1 - All users are facing the same problem. Q2 - No. Q3 - Version 2607 (Build 20228.201888 Click-to-Run). Q4 - File is stored on our organisation's network drive & on my desktop as well.

Thanks.
Jade Ng 15,490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-16T04:29:18.6166667+00:00

Dear Shubhraj,

Thank you for getting back to me.

Could you please try opening the affected Excel file directly from OneDrive and let me know whether it opens successfully or still appears as a blank workbook?

Additionally, may I also check how urgent or business-critical this Excel file is for your organization?

Since the same file is currently affected for all users, if the file contains important or time-sensitive business data, I recommend contacting your organization’s IT administrator and asking them to raise a support ticket through Microsoft 365 Admin Center>Support>Help & Support. You can raise support ticket from: https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?#/support/requests

The support team over there has higher permission than us to investigate the issue from background, they have more resource and correct escalation channel in handling this kind of issues. This would be a more efficient way in handling the case for you.

For reference:  Get support | Microsoft Docs

I appreciate your patience, and I am here to help. Looking forward to your update!
Shubhraj, Shubhraj (AGD) 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T05:35:40.68+00:00

Hi Jade,

I replied yesterday but it appears my response got lost somewhere in Microsoft world.

I tried first two options & it did not work. For the third option "info, Save, Save As etc" are all greyed out & does not allow me to proceed further.

As far as your four questions are concerned Q1 - All users are facing the same problem. Q2 - No. Q3 - Version 2607 (Build 20228.201888 Click-to-Run). Q4 - File is stored on our organisation's network drive & on my desktop as well.

Thanks.
Shubhraj, Shubhraj (AGD) 0 Reputation points

2026-09-16T05:36:39.1666667+00:00

Hi Jade,

It did not work. There is some very unique problem with this file.
Jade Ng 15,490 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-16T06:49:25.63+00:00

Dear Shubhraj,

Thank you for confirming.

Since the same problem occurs with this specific workbook for multiple users and the troubleshooting steps have not resolved it, I recommend contacting your organization’s IT administrator and asking them to raise a Microsoft support ticket for further investigation.

Thank you very much for your valuable time and your cooperation.