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Fix Corrupt Excel Files

Microsoft frequently updates Microsoft Excel to enhance its features. However, these updates can sometimes impact the way Excel interacts with macros, leading to file corruption. This is a common issue that affects not just our Excel Wonders templates, but any macro-enabled Excel file. Rest assured, there are ways to address and resolve this problem, and we'll go over them in this page.

First of all: Opt-out from Preview Channel

To minimize the risk of file corruption, especially for those using macro-enabled Excel files, we strongly recommend opting out of the Microsoft 365 Preview Channel.

This channel provides early access to experimental features from Microsoft, which, although exciting, can sometimes carry bugs. This is why it's called Preview Build, as it's released for users to test and provide feedback before it's officially launched to all users. This can result in file corruption.

Sticking with the stable releases ensures your templates from Excel Wonders perform as expected, without the unwanted surprises.

Method 1: Open & Repair

If you find yourself with a corrupted Excel file, the "Open & Repair" feature can be your first line of defense. This built-in Excel tool is specifically designed to fix various issues, including corruption. Follow these steps to utilize it:

Open a blank Excel window.
Click on the "File" tab, in the top-left corner.
Select "Open" and navigate to the corrupted file.
Click on the arrow next to the "Open" button and select "Open and Repair."
Choose "Repair" to fix the file.

Method 2: Extract vbProject.bin (Recommended)

Another highly effective method involves using a fresh copy of your Excel file, converting it into a ZIP file, and then replacing the corrupted vbProject, from the fresh file to the corrupted one. This is our recommended method because, even though may seem more complicated, it will have the highest level of effectiveness with zero risk of file damange. Here's how to do it:

Get a fresh copy of the original Excel template you used to create the currently corrupted Excel file. You can do this right here on our website.
Change the file extension of both files (the fresh copy and the corrupted file) from .xlsm to .zip.
Open both zip files.
In the zip file corresponding to the fresh copy, navigate to the xl folder.
Extract the vbProject.bin file.
In the corrupted excel file, navigate to the xl folder.
Replace the vbProject.bin file in this zip folder, with the one you extracted from the freshly downloaded file.
Change the file extension of the corrupted file back from .zip to .xlsm. You can also delete the fresh copy of the Excel template.
Open the corrupted file in Excel and check if it's still corrupted (it should be fixed!).

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