How to recover a excel file shared by a owner who left the company.

Macdonald, Colleen 0 Reputation points
2026-09-16T18:13:18.8166667+00:00

I can see it in my excel, but when i click on it I get a message saying that i no longer have access or it opens a blank file.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

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  1. Ryan-N 15,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-16T19:06:34.07+00:00

    Hi Colleen,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    To recover an Excel file that was shared by a user who has left the tenant, you can follow the steps below:

    Note: The following steps require an account with administrator permissions for the tenant. If you do not have administrator permissions, please contact your organization's IT department and ask them to perform these steps.

    You can refer to the following documentation for instructions on how to find your tenant administrator:

    How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? | Microsoft Support

    1. Restore the owner's account to regain access to their OneDrive

    Note: If the user's account has not been deleted, you can skip Steps 1 and 2 below.

    Step 1: Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center at admin.microsoft.com.

    Step 2: Select Users > Deleted users, then locate and restore the account of the file owner.

    Step 3: Select Users > Active users, locate the restored user, and then select the OneDrive tab.

    Step 4: Under Get access to files, select Create link to files to create a link that allows you to access the user's OneDrive.

    User's image

    Step 5: Once you have successfully accessed the user's OneDrive, locate the Excel file that you want to recover.

    1. Move the Excel file to your OneDrive

    After accessing the user's OneDrive and locating the Excel file you want to recover, follow these steps:

    Step 1: Select the Excel file > Download to download the file to your computer.

    Step 2: Upload the downloaded Excel file to your OneDrive.

    Once completed, the Excel file will be stored in your OneDrive, and you can continue to manage or share it as needed.

    I hope this information is helpful.

    If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

    I look forward to continuing the conversation.

     If the answer is helpful, please click "Yes" and kindly upvote it.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-16T18:13:32.4133333+00:00

    If the file was shared and now shows you no longer have access, the most likely cause is that the sharing permissions changed after the owner left. Only files explicitly shared remain available, and if access is removed, the file can still appear in the shared list but won’t open. In that case, access must be granted again.

    Try these steps:

    1. Open the file from the original sharing link in a browser instead of from the Excel shared list.
    2. If the message says access is denied, ask the current file owner or the site administrator to re-share the file or explicitly grant permission again through Manage Access.
    3. If the file was shared using an organization-only setting, confirm that the account being used is still the correct work account that originally received access.
    4. If Excel opens a blank window instead of the workbook, in Excel go to View > Unhide. If the workbook is listed, select it and choose OK.
    5. If it still opens blank, minimize Excel and then maximize it again. This can refresh the workbook window.
    6. If the file type is opening incorrectly, reset the file association in Windows:
      • Right-click the file
      • Select Properties
      • Next to Opens with, select Change
      • Choose Excel and confirm

    If the workbook was previously saved and a recoverable version exists, open Excel and check:

    • File > Info
    • Under Manage Workbook, look for a version labeled (when I closed without saving)
    • Select Restore if available

    If the workbook was not saved, check:

    • File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Workbooks

    If the file truly belongs to a departed employee’s OneDrive or SharePoint location and permissions were removed, recovery depends on someone with access re-sharing it or restoring access. Self-service recovery is not available from Excel alone.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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