Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Accessing a Problem Shared Workbook.

Accessing a Problem Shared Workbook

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 23, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007 and 2010


2

Kim has an Excel workbook that she later set up as a shared workbook. The workbook worked just fine for a while, then all of a sudden users get the error message "Excel.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows" when they try to open the workbook. Kim is wondering how she can get the workbook open.

Unfortunately, Kim, it sounds like the workbook has become corrupted in some way. This doesn't always happen with shared workbooks, but there have been reports that corruption is more likely in such workbooks than in non-shared workbooks.

When a workbook is corrupted, your options are very limited. In a perfect world, you could simply ignore the corrupted one and use your backup copy of the workbook, instead. If you don't have a backup (meaning, you don't live in a perfect world), then you may need to resort to more drastic measures. The following link, at the Microsoft Knowledge Base, can help you:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/820741

The article indicates that it is for Excel 2002 and Excel 2003, but in our experience it applies to later versions of Excel, as well.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (727) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Accessing a Problem Shared Workbook.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is two more than 3?

2024-10-23 09:07:50

Beepee

Just so you know:
from the above tip:

The following link, at the Microsoft Knowledge Base, can help you:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/820741
The article indicates that it is for Excel 2002 and Excel 2003, but in our experience it applies to later versions of Excel, as well.

Oct 2024 clicked on the link:

Repair a corrupted workbook
Excel for Microsoft 365 Excel 2024 Excel 2021 Excel 2019 Excel 2016
(Now appears to exclude earlier - but it probably dosn't)
Beepee


2017-01-23 18:21:41

Me Testing comments

That's cool. Thanks.


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