Unable to Open Excel Files by Clicking on Their Icons Directly [Resolved]

Have you tried opening an Excel file by double-clicking its icon, only to fail? Don't worry, you're not alone! However, the issue of not being able to open an Excel file by clicking on its icon directly can be frustrating, as it hampers your ability to access or view the contents of the file. The problem of an "unopenable Excel file" is quite common, but it can be resolved with some simple solutions. Let's get started!

Solution 1: Repair Corrupted Excel Files with Fixo Document Repair Tool

The annoying error message “The Excel file is corrupted and cannot be opened” mainly appears when users try to open an Excel file built with an older version in the latest edition of MS Excel, like attempting to open a file created in Excel 2013/2010/2007, or earlier. Many users encounter this issue after upgrading their MS Office applications and seek help online.

This error occurs due to a corrupt file, and you cannot fix the damaged file on your computer by changing settings. Instead, if you want to access the file successfully, you will need to use advanced software, such as the Fixo Document Repair Tool, to repair the corrupted Excel file.

As one of the most powerful file repair utilities, capable of effectively fixing corrupted PDF and MS Office files, the software's main highlights include:

• Repair Corrupted Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files. Fixo Document Repair is an excellent tool for restoring office documents.
• It aids in repairing damaged files within a preview group, addressing issues like garbled text, unreadability, and inability to open files.
• Resolves common Excel issues such as non-functional Excel hyperlinks, Excel crashing frequently, or Excel getting stuck at Opening file 0%.

Here are the detailed steps to repair a corrupted Excel file using the Fixo Document Repair tool: 1. **下载并安装Fixo Document Repair**: 首先，访问Fixo Document Repair的官方网站，下载适用于您操作系统的软件版本。确保您的系统满足软件的最低要求。 2. **启动应用程序**: 安装完成后，双击应用程序图标以启动Fixo Document Repair工具。 3. **选择损坏的Excel文件**: 在程序主界面，您将看到一个选项来选择要修复的Excel文件。浏览并找到损坏的文件，然后点击“打开”或类似按钮将其选中。 4. **开始扫描**: 选择文件后，点击“扫描”或“开始修复”按钮。该工具将开始对损坏的Excel文件进行全面检查和分析。 5. **扫描过程**: 扫描可能需要一些时间，具体取决于文件大小和损坏程度。请耐心等待，不要中断进程。 6. **预览修复结果**: 扫描完成后，Fixo Document Repair通常会显示一个预览窗口，展示已修复的文件内容。检查文件是否已恢复到可读状态。 7. **保存修复的文件**: 如果您满意修复结果，选择一个安全的位置保存修复后的文件。避免覆盖原始损坏文件，以防万一还需要进一步尝试其他修复方法。 8. **验证修复的文件**: 打开保存的修复文件，确保所有数据和格式都已正确恢复。如果一切正常，您可以删除原始损坏的文件。 请注意，不同的修复工具可能具有略微不同的用户界面和流程，但基本步骤相似。始终建议在尝试修复前备份重要文件，以防止不可逆的数据丢失。

✨Step 1. Download, install, and launch the Fixo Document Repair tool

You can download this repair tool via our provided download button or any other official source. After installation, double-click the Fixo icon to launch it. Click "File Repair" > "Add Files" to select and fix corrupted Word, Excel, PDF, and other documents.

✨ Step 2: Repair the corrupted document now

After adding the documents, click “Repair” to fix that specific document, or select “Repair All” to fix all the files in the list at once.

✨Step 3: Preview and Save the Repaired Document

Now that the document is ready, you can save it. You can also click the “eye” icon to preview the document. After clicking “Save All,” look for the repaired files in the pop-up window by selecting “Show Repair.”

Download this powerful document repair tool now! If this utility has been helpful to you, please share it with your friends on social media.

Solution 2: Fix Excel won't open by unchecking the DDE option

Dynamic Data Exchange, or DDE, extends the way Windows applications can share data and communicate with each other. Thus, the best fix for Excel not opening is to uncheck the DDE option. Here's how:

Step 1. Click the _File_ tab.

Step 2. Select "Options."

Step 3: Now, click on "Advanced."

Step 4. Clear the Check for other applications using DDE check box.

Solution 3: Fix Cannot Open Excel Issue by Disabling Excel Add-ins

This “can't open Excel files by clicking on their icons directly” error is also due to Excel and COM add-ins. These are two main types of add-ins located in different folders. Now, you need to close and isolate the conflict by testing each add-in by disabling them one by one. This method may also come in handy when Excel runs slow.

Please follow these steps to disable the Excel add-in:

Step 1: Click “File,” then “Options,” and then “Add-Ins.”

Step 2: At the bottom of the Manage list, select COM Add-ins, and then click Go.

Step 3: Clear the check box of an add-in, and then click OK.

Step 4: Try launching an Excel spreadsheet by double-clicking its icon or the name of the file you want to open.

If your Excel is loading slowly, an add-in you have unloaded might be the culprit. In that case, you can usually check for an updated version on the vendor's website.

If there's no update coming soon, or if the add-in isn't necessary, you can disable it. However, if you've disabled the add-in and still can't open your Excel files, you may have other problems to solve.

Solution 4: Repair Microsoft Excel to Fix the Issue of Not Opening

This solution involves repairing Microsoft Office or Excel by following these steps:

Step 1: Select the "Search" option from the Taskbar.

Step 2: Search for "Control Panel" and select it.

Step 3: From All Control Panel Items, choose Programs and Features.

Step 4: Choose Microsoft 365.

Step 5: Click the "Change" button.

Step 6: Select “Online Repair,” and then click “Repair” again.

Select Online Repair, and then click the Repair button:

If you are experiencing the issue of Excel opening a blank document, give this a try.

If this post, and especially this solution, was helpful to you, we encourage you to share it on forums like Reddit:

Solution 5: Disable hardware graphics acceleration

You need to disable hardware acceleration until your graphics card manufacturer releases a fix. Therefore, make sure to check for the latest updates to your graphics card driver. Here's how to turn off hardware graphics acceleration:

Step 1: Launch any Office 2013 program.

Step 2: Click Options under the File tab.

Step 3: Click Advanced in the Options dialog box.

Step 4. Next, select the checkbox for Disable hardware graphics acceleration.

Step 5: Click "OK".

Solution 6: Change the file extension

You can set MS Excel as the default application to open these files with a simple click on their icon. Here's how:

Step 1: Select Search from the Taskbar.

Step 2: Search for "Default apps" and select it.

Step 3: Select “Choose default apps by file type.”

<b>Step 4:</b> Choose "File Extension" and pick Excel.

This method may also work for an Excel file that won't open with the error message, “The file format or extension is not valid.”

Solution 7: Modify the Registry

By resetting the Windows Registry to its default settings, you can easily fix the issue with opening an “Excel file.” Here are the steps to modify the registry:

Step 1. Click the “Search” option on the taskbar.

Step 2: Search for "Run" and select it.

3. Type excel.exe /regserver in the Run box.

Step 4: Click "OK".

Once you've done this, you can open an Excel file by clicking its icon.

Solution 8: Reset file associations

Reset file associations by following these steps:

Step 1. You need to right-click the "Start" button.

Step 2: Select "Control Panel."

Step 3: Click on "Programs" and then select "Default Programs".

Step 4: Under Default Programs, click on Set Default Programs. Your computer will search for your default programs.

Step 5: Select “Excel” from the Default Programs list.

<Step 6> Click "Set this program as default."

Step 7: On the Set Program Associations screen, select All.

Click on "Select All"

Step 8: Select “Save” to begin the saving process, and finally “OK.”

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Please refer to the following FAQ for a better understanding of the subject:

1. Why can't I open an Excel file directly?

If a double-click doesn't open your Excel file, make sure you're using the Excel application to open it. Usually, if you have multiple spreadsheet programs installed on your device, one of them might be set as the default to open your files instead of Excel. In this case, right-click the file > select “Open with” > and then choose “Excel.”

2. Why won't Excel open when I click on it?

This might happen due to a corrupted or outdated version of MS Office. In this case, Excel fails to open because it lacks some essential components required to launch the file.

Why can't I open an Excel file by double-clicking on it?

When you try to open an Excel file, your system is unable to determine which program should open it due to corrupted file associations. This can also be easily fixed by resetting the file associations. Many users encounter this issue after updating their computer's operating system or their version of Excel.

Last Words

We've exerted efforts to address the issue of not being able to open Excel files by clicking on their icons directly, and have streamlined the file recovery process in this article. Try the suggested fixes to swiftly and easily resolve the annoyance of not being able to access Excel files immediately by clicking on their icons. If your Excel file is corrupted, causing this error, it's recommended to use a file repair tool like Fixo Document Repair or explore other reliable file repair software options.