Recover Permanently Deleted or Erased Excel 2010 Files for Free | Stellar

Recover Permanently Deleted or Erased Excel 2010 Files for Free | Stellar

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How to Repair Multiple Excel Files by Using Stellar

With Stellar Repair for Excel, it is quite easy and simple to repair multiple MS Excel (XLS and XLSX) files that are damaged. This is because the software has a self-explanatory interface and hence is a Do-it-yourself software. Nonetheless, when using this software to repair multiple Excel files, you would have to add all of the files into the software by following a few pre-defined steps. Follow the steps mentioned below:

Select file option

  • Click Browse and select corrupt Excel files. Select the checkbox to repair multiple files.

Search file

  • Click Repair
  • The software provides the preview facility. You can check the it on left pane.

Preview of file

  • Save the repired filr ether Default location or Select New Folder radio button.

select destination

Stellar Repair for Excel Stellar Repair for Excel is the best choice for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files. This Excel recovery software restores everything from corrupt file to a new blank Excel file.

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How to repair corrupt Excel file

Stellar Repair for Excel is an excellent tool to repair corrupt or damaged MS Excel files. Mentioned below are the steps to perform Excel repair with this tool:

  • Download & Run the Stellar Repair for Excel.

free download

  • A dialog box appears on your screen, click ‘OK’ to proceed.

Stellar Repair for Excel - Main Interface

  • To select your corrupt .XLS or .XLSX file, click ‘Browse’ button. However, if you do not know the location of your .XLS or .XLSX file, the software provides you the option ‘Search’ to search for your corrupt Excel files.

Select excel file

  • Select the checkboxes against the files that you want to repair and click ‘Repair’. This starts the scanning process.

repair process

  • The list of all the files that the software has scanned is displayed in the tree-view in the left pane. Click on a file from this tree-view to see its preview in the middle pane. From this list, you can select the file that you want to recover.

Preview

  • You can either select the ‘Default location of file’ or ‘Select New Folder’ in the ‘Save Document’ dialog box to save the repaired files.

Save file

Stellar Repair for Excel Stellar Repair for Excel is the best choice for repairing corrupt or damaged Excel (.XLS/.XLSX) files. This Excel recovery software restores everything from corrupt file to a new blank Excel file.

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How to Fix Excel Formulas Not Working Properly | Step-by-Step Guide

Summary: Excel formulas sometimes fail to function correctly and even return an error. This article explains what you might be doing wrong that prevents Excel formulas from working properly and solutions to resolve the issue. If your formulas have disappeared from the Excel spreadsheet and you are having trouble recovering them, you can use an Excel repair tool to recover the formulas.

Free Download for Windows

When working with Excel formulas, situations may arise when the formula doesn’t calculate or update automatically. Or, you may receive errors by clicking on a formula.

Problems Causing the ‘Excel Formulas not Working Properly’ Issue and Solutions

Let’s check out the possible reasons that cause Excel formulas to work properly and solutions to resolve the issue.

Problem 1 – Switching Automatic to Manual Calculation Mode

Automatic and manual are the two modes of calculation in Microsoft Excel.

By default, Excel is set to automatic calculation mode. Everything is recalculated automatically when any changes are made in a worksheet in this mode. You may switch from automatic to manual mode to disable the recalculation of formulas, particularly when working with a large Excel file with too many formulas.

Excel will not calculate automatically when set to manual calculation mode. And this may make you think that the Excel formula is not working properly.

Solution – Change Calculation Mode from Manual to Automatic

To do so, perform these steps:

  • Click on the column with problematic formulas.
  • Go to the Formulas tab, click the Calculation Options drop-down, and select Automatic.

Automatic to Manual Calculation Mode

Problem 2 – Missing or Mismatched Parentheses

It’s easy to miss or incorrectly place parentheses or include extra parentheses in a complex formula. If a parenthesis is missing or mismatched and you click Enter after entering a formula, Excel displays a message window suggesting to fix the issue (refer to the screenshot below).

Missing or Mismatched Parentheses

Clicking ‘Yes’ might help fix the issue. But Excel might not fix the parentheses properly, as it tends to add the missing parentheses at the end of a formula which won’t always be the case.

Solution – Check for Visual Cues When Typing or Editing a Formula with Parentheses

When typing a formula or editing one, Excel provides visual cues to determine if there’s an issue with the parentheses inserted in a formula. Checking for these visual cues can help you fix missing/mismatched parentheses.

  • Excel helps identify parenthesis pairs by highlighting them in different colors. For instance, the pair of parenthesis outside is black.
  • Excel does not make the opening parentheses bold. So, if you’ve inserted the last closing parentheses in a formula, you can determine if your parentheses are mismatched.
  • Excel helps identify parentheses pairs by highlighting and formatting them with the same color once you cross over them.

Problem 3 – Formatting Cells in an Excel Formula

When adding a number in an Excel formula, don’t add any decimal separator or special characters like $ or €. You may use a comma to separate a function’s argument in an Excel formula or use a currency sign like $ or € as part of cell references. Formatting the numbers may prevent the formula from functioning correctly.

Solution – Use Format Cells Option for Formatting

Use Format Cells instead of using a comma or currency signs for formatting a number in the formula. For instance, rather than entering a value of $10,000 in your formula, insert 10000, and click the ‘Ctrl+1’ keys together to open the Format Cells dialog box.

Format Cells Option

Problem 4 – Formatting Numbers as Text

Numbers are displayed as left-aligned in a sheet in a worksheet, and text formatted numbers are right-aligned in cells. Excel considers numbers formatted as text to be text strings. Thus, it leaves those numbers out of calculations. As a result, a formula won’t work as intended. For example, in the following screenshot, you can see that the SUM formula works correctly for normal numbers. But, when the SUM formula is applied to numbers formatted as text, the formula doesn’t return the correct value.

Cells Formatted as Text

Sometimes, you may also see an apostrophe in the cells or green triangles in the top-left corner of all the cells when numbers in those cells are formatted as Text.

Solution – Do Not Format Numbers as Text

To fix the issue, do the following:

  • Select the cells with numbers stored as text, right-click on them, and click Format Cells.
  • From the Format Cells window, click on Number and then press OK.

Format Cells in Excel

Problem 5 – Double Quotes to Enclose Numbers

Avoid enclosing numbers in a formula in double-quotes, as the numbers are interpreted as a string value.

Meaning if you enter a formula like =IF(A1>B1, “1”), Excel will consider the output one as a string and not a number. So, you won’t be able to use 1’s in calculations.

Solution – Don’t Enclose Numbers in Double Quotes

Remove any double quotes around a number in your formula unless you want that number to be treated as text. For example, you can write the formula mentioned above as “1” =IF(A1>B1, 1).

Problem 6 – Extra Space at Beginning of the Formula

When entering a formula, you may end up adding an extra space before the equal (=) sign. You may also add an apostrophe (‘) in the formula at times. As a result, the calculation won’t be performed and may return an error. This usually happens when you use a formula copied from the web.

Solution – Remove Extra Space from the Formula

The fix to this issue is pretty simple. You need to look for extra space before the equal sign and remove it. Also, ensure there is an additional apostrophe added in the formula.

Other Things to Consider to Fix the ‘Excel Formulas not Working Properly’ Issue

  • If your Excel formula is not showing the result as intended, see this blog .
  • When you refer to other worksheets with spaces or any non-alphabetical character in their names, enclose the names in ‘single quotation marks’. For example, an external 5reference to cell A2 in a sheet named Data enclose the name in single quotes: ‘Data’!A1.
  • You may see the formula instead of the result if you have accidentally clicked the ‘Show Formulas’ option. So, click on the problematic cell, click on the Formula tab, and then click Show Formulas.
  • If you’re getting an error “Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet”, find solutions to fix the error here .

Conclusion

This blog discussed some problems you might make causing an Excel formula to stop working properly. Read about these common problems and solutions to fix them. If a problem doesn’t apply in your case, move to the next one. If you cannot retrieve formulas in your Excel sheet, using an Excel file repair tool like Stellar Repair for Excel can help you restore all the formulas. It does so by repairing the Excel file (XLS/XLSX) and recovering all the components, including formulas.

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How to Fix Excel Run Time Error 1004

Summary: Run-time errors are windows-specific issues that occur while the program is running. This blog will teach you how to fix Excel run-time error 1004. In addition, you’ll learn about an Excel repair tool that can help fix the error 1004 if it occurs due to corruption in Excel files.

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VBA (Microsoft Visual Basic for Application) is an internal programming language in Microsoft Excel. Sometimes, when users try to run VBA or generate a Macro in Excel, the Run-time error 1004 may occur. This error may occur due to the presence of more legend entries in the chart, file conflict, incorrect Macro name, and corrupt Excel files. In this blog, we have discussed the reasons and shared some solutions to resolve run-time error 1004.

Why This Error Occurs?

The run time error 1004 usually occurs when you run a VBA macro with the Legend Entries method to modify the legend entries in the MS Excel chart. It happens when the chart contains more legend entries than the available space, macro name conflicts, corrupt Excel files, or data-types mismatch in the VBA code.

Ways to Fix Excel Run-Time Error 1004?

Try the below workarounds to fix Excel run-time error 1004:

Create a Macro to Reduce Chart Legend Font Size

Sometimes, Excel throws the run-time error when you try to run VBA macro to change the legend entries in a Microsoft Excel chart. This error usually occurs when Microsoft Excel truncates the legend entries because of the more legend entries and less space availability. To fix this, try to create a macro that shrinks/minimize the font size of the Excel chart legend text before the VBA macro, and then restore the font size of the chart legend. Here is the macro code:

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VBCopy
Sub ResizeLegendEntries()

With Worksheets("Sheet1").ChartObjects(1).Activate
' Store the current font size
fntSZ = ActiveChart.Legend.Font.Size

'Temporarily change the font size.
ActiveChart.Legend.Font.Size = 2

'Place your LegendEntries macro code here to make
'the changes that you want to the chart legend.

' Restore the font size.
ActiveChart.Legend.Font.Size = fntSZ
End With

End Sub
Note: Make sure you have an Excel chart to run the code on the worksheet.

Uninstall Microsoft Work

You may encounter a run-time error 1004 in Excel version 2009 or older versions due to conflicts between Microsoft works and Microsoft Excel. This error usually occurs if your system has both Microsoft Office and Microsoft Works. Uninstalling one of them will fix the issue. Try the below steps to uninstall Microsoft Work:

  • First, open the Task Manager using the shortcut CTRL + ALT + DEL altogether
  • The Task Manager window is displayed.

Task Manager Window

  • Click the Process tab, right-click on each program you want to close, and then click End Task.
  • Stop all the running programs.
  • Open the Run window and type appwiz.cpl to open the Programs and Feature window.

Program and Features of Control Panel

  • Search for Microsoft Works and click Uninstall.

Try Deleting GWXL97.Xla File

The Add-ins files with .xla extension in MS-EXCEL is used to provide additional functionality to Excel spreadsheets. Sometimes, deleting the GWXL97.XLA file fixes the run-time error. Here are the steps to delete this file:

  • Make sure you have an Admins rights, open the Windows Explorer
  • Follow the Path C:\Programs Files\MSOffice\Office\XLSTART.
  • Find and right-click on the GWXL97.XLA file
  • Click Delete.

Change Trust Center Settings

Sometimes, run-time errors might arise because of incorrect security settings. The Trust Center settings help you find the Privacy and security settings for Microsoft Excel. Follow the below steps to change the Trust center settings:

  • Open Microsoft Excel.
  • Go to File > Options.
  • The Excel options window is displayed.
  • Choose Trust Center, and click Trust Center Settings.
  • Tap on the Macro Settings tab, and select Trust access to the VBA project object model.

Macro Settings in Microsoft Excel

  • Click OK.

Run Open and Repair Tool

The Runtime error also arises when MS Excel detects a corrupted worksheet. It automatically begins the File recovery mode and starts repairing it. However, if the Recovery mode fails to start, use the Open and Repair tool with the below steps:

  • Click File > Open.
  • Click the location and folder with a corrupted workbook.
  • In the Open dialog box, choose the corrupted workbook.
  • Click the arrow next to the Open tab, and go to the Open and Repair tab.
  • Click Repair.

You can also opt for Stellar Repair for Excel if the Microsoft Excel’s built-in tool cannot fix the error.

Use Stellar Repair for Excel

Stellar Repair for Excel is a professional software for repairing damage. xls, .xlsx, .xltm, .xltx, and .xlsm files and recovering all its objects. Here are the steps to fix the error using this tool:

  • First, download, install, and run Stellar Repair for Excel.
  • Click the Browse tab on the interface window to choose the corrupted Excel file you need to repair.
  • Click Scan. You will see the scan progress in the scanning window.
  • Click OK.
  • The tool can let you preview all the recoverable Excel file components including tables, pivot tables, charts, formulas, etc.
  • Click Save to save the repaired file.
  • Save File dialog box will appear with the below two options:
  • Default location
  • New location
  • Choose a suitable option.
  • Click the Save option to repair the Excel file that you have chosen.
  • Once the repair is complete, it will display a message “File repaired successfully.”
  • Click OK.

Conclusion

Now you know the Excel run-time error 1004, its cause, and solutions. Follow the workarounds discussed in the blog to rectify the error quickly. However, Stellar Repair for Excel makes your task of removing run-time errors easy. It’s a powerful software to fix all the issues with Excel files. Also, it helps in extracting data from the damaged file and saves it to a new Excel workbook.

Simple ways to Open Corrupt Excel file Without any Backup

Summary: The blog describes simple ways to open corrupt Excel file without any backup. It explains some manual workarounds that you can try to open the file. Also, it mentions about an Excel file repair tool that can quickly fix the corrupt file and recover data from it.

Free Download for Windows

Do you have an Excel file that does not open because of corruption issue? And every time you try to open it, an error message ‘the file is corrupt and cannot be opened’ pops-up?

Excel file is corrupt and cannot be opened message

Excel File Corruption Message

Also, you don’t have a healthy backup of the Excel file to restore the data? If so, you can try repairing the corrupt file by using a few simple yet effective manual workarounds mentioned below.

How to Open a Corrupt Excel File without Backup?

Following are some manual methods that can help you open a corrupt Excel file:

Method 1: Repair Corrupt Excel File

When attempting to open a corrupt file, Excel automatically starts ‘File Recovery’ mode to repair the file. But, if the recovery mode doesn’t start, try Microsoft Excel’s built-in ‘Open and Repair’ feature to manually repair the file.

To use this feature, perform the following steps:

Step 1: Open a Blank workbook in Excel, and then click File > Open.

Step 2: In the Open window, browse and select the corrupt file.

Step 3: Click the arrow that is beside the Open tab, and select Open and Repair.

Open a blank workbook in Excel, navigate to File > Open, choose the corrupt file, and, in the Open window, click the arrow beside the Open tab, selecting Open and Repair for file recovery.

Open and Repair Option

Step 4: Implement one of the following:

  • Click the Repair button. (This is to recover as much data as possible.)
  • Click the Extract Data button. (This is to recover values and formulas from the Excel file if the repair process fails to recover the entire data.)

Initiate file recovery by selecting the Repair tab, and if necessary, retrieve values and formulas using the Extract Data tab in Excel.

Excel Built-in Repair Options

If using Open and Repair does not work , move to the next method.

Method 2: Disable the Protected View Feature

Some Excel users have reported that turning off the ‘protected view’ feature in Excel helped them open the corrupt file. You can also try to disable this feature and open the file. To do so, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open a blank Excel file, click on File > Options.

Step 2: In the Excel Options window, select Trust Center, and then click Trust Center Settings.

In the Trust Center tab, click on Trust Center Settings...

Excel Trust Center Settings

Step 3: Click OK.

Now check if you can open the corrupt file. If not, try implementing the next method.

Method 3: Look For Automatically Recovered Excel File

If you have Excel’s AutoRecover feature enabled, you’ll have access to a copy of the Excel file corrupted or lost due to application crash, power outage, or accidental deletion.

The ‘AutoRecover’ feature saves Excel worksheets at a temporary location after a certain time interval. It saves the worksheets automatically and is turned on by default to reduce the chance of data loss.

Check if you can recover corrupted Excel file by following these steps:

Step 1: In Excel, open a Blank workbook.

Step 2: Go to File and click Options.

Open a new Excel workbook, then access additional settings by navigating to File and selecting Options.

Figure 5 – Excel Options

Step 3: In the Excel Options dialog box, click Save, and then copy the ‘AutoRecover file location’.

Copy the 'AutoRecover file location' for configuration or backup purposes.

Excel Options Window

Step 4: Open File Explorer window and paste the copied AutoRecover file location, and press Enter.

Step 5: A list of saved Excel files will be displayed. Choose the file you want to recover.

TIP: Use Excel’s AutoBackup feature to reduce chances of data loss, by saving a previous version of your spreadsheet automatically.

Use an Excel File Repair Software

If the above manual methods fail, repair the corrupt Excel file by using a third-party software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel**.** The software helps repair Excel (XLS and XLSX) files easily and effectively.

Free Download for windows

Read this: How to repair corrupt Excel file using Stellar Repair for Excel?

Some key features of Excel Repair software are as follows:

  • Fixes all errors in the MS Excel file.
  • Repairs multiple damaged Excel files in a go.
  • Recovers chart, chart sheet, table, cell comment, image, formula, and sort & filter.
  • Preserves properties and cell formatting of Excel worksheets.
  • Previews recoverable Excel file data before saving.
  • Recovers all data components from the corrupt files and saves them in a new blank Excel file.
  • Compatible with Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and lower versions.

Conclusion

You can try the workarounds discussed in the blog to open a corrupt Excel file without a backup. Disabling the protected view feature can help you open the file. If the issue persists then try repairing the corrupted Excel file using the Open and Repair utility. Although, it may not be able to fix a severely corrupted workbook. In such a case you can use Stellar Repair for Excel . It is an advanced tool that can help you repair a corrupted Excel file with 100% integrity.

Fixed “Cannot Insert Object” Error in Excel | Step-by-Step Guide

Summary: The error “cannot insert object” in MS Excel can prevent you from modifying objects in the worksheet. This blog will discuss the primary reasons behind this error and the possible solutions to fix it. You will also learn about a professional Excel repair software that can help fix the error if it has occurred due to corruption in Excel file.

Free Download for Windows

Many users have reported encountering the “cannot insert object” error while adding/embedding objects into the Excel file. It usually occurs when using Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) to add content (PDF, Microsoft documents) from external applications to worksheet. The error can also occur when using ActiveX control in Excel. Below, we’ll explain why you cannot insert object into Excel sheet and how to troubleshoot the issue.

Why the “Cannot Insert Object” Error Occurs?

  • Macro Settings can prevent the insertion of objects into a workbook.
  • The Excel file in which you are trying to add an element is corrupted.
  • The object (you are inserting into the workbook) is damaged.
  • Object size limitations.
  • System’s insufficient memory might prevent new objects’ addition.
  • Incompatible Excel file format.
  • Add-ins controls are disabled.
  • Incompatible or faulty Add-ins.
  • Issue with Security Settings.

Methods to Fix the “Cannot Insert Object” Error in Excel

You may encounter the “Cannot insert object” error when trying to add an element stored on a network. It can occur due to issues with the file link, such as incorrect file location. In such a case, you can check the link by selecting the link to file option from the Insert tab.

Sometimes, the error can occur if the file in which you are trying to insert the object is locked and password-protected. In this case, you can unprotect the Excel file . If the issue still persists, then you can follow the below methods.

Method 1: Check and Change Restricted Security Settings

Excel provides security settings to protect your workbook. Sometimes, these settings can prevent inserting objects in the file. You can change the security settings to allow Excel to insert objects. To do so, follow these steps:

  • Open your Excel application.
  • Locate the File and then click Options.
  • In Excel Options, click Trust Center.

Trust Center In Excel Options

  • Click Trust Center Settings.
  • In the Trust Center Settings window, select Protected View from the left pane.

Click Protected View In Trust Center

  • Under Protected View, unselect the below three options:
  • Enable Protected View for files originating from the internet.
  • Enable Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations.
  • Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments.

Select All Options Under Protected View

  • Click OK.
  • Once you’re done with this, click on Macro Settings in the Trust Center window.
  • Under Macro Settings, make sure “Disable all macros without notification” is not selected. If it is selected, then unselect it. After that, click OK.

Click Macro Settings And Disable Macros Without Notifications

  • Restart Excel to apply the changes.

Method 2: Uninstall Microsoft Office Updates

You can also encounter the “Cannot insert object” error in Excel after installing MS Office updates. It might be due to the issues with the installed updates. To fix this, you can uninstall the recently installed Office updates. To uninstall the Office updates, follow these steps:

  • Go to the system’s Control Panel.
  • Click Programs and then click Program and Features.
  • Search for “View Installed Updates” and click on the desired Office updates.
  • Right-click on it and then click Uninstall.
  • Follow the uninstallation steps on the screen.
  • Once the process is complete, restart the system.

Method 3: Check Memory Usage

The “Cannot insert object” issue can also occur if your system is low on memory. You can check and close unnecessary processes and applications running in the background to free up memory. To do so, follow these steps:

  • Press CTRL + ALT + DEL on the keyboard and click Task Manager.
  • Click on the Processes tab and search for any unnecessary processes.
  • Right-click on the process and then select End Task.
  • Restart Excel to see if the issue is fixed.

Method 4: Check Excel File Size

If your Excel file size exceeds the prescribed limit, it can also lead to the “Cannot insert Excel object” error. So, check the Excel file size. You can reduce the file size by removing unnecessary objects, such as formulas or images.

Method 5: Check and Change Excel ActiveX Settings

You can get the “Excel cannot insert object” error if your Excel file contains macros, controls, and other interactive buttons. It usually occurs if the ActiveX Controls option is disabled. You can check and change the ActiveX Settings to fix the issue. Here are the steps:

  • Open your Excel application.
  • Navigate to File and then click Options.
  • In Excel Options, click the Trust Center tab.
  • In the Trust Center Settings, click ActiveX Settings.
  • Under ActiveX Settings, make sure the “Enable all controls without restrictions and without prompting” option is selected.

select enable all controls without restrictions under activexsettings

  • If the option is not selected, then select it and click OK.
  • Restart the Excel and check if the error is fixed or not.

Method 6: Repair the Excel Workbook

The “Cannot insert object” error can occur if the object you are trying to insert is corrupted or the file in which you are inserting the object is damaged. If the issue has occurred due to a corrupted Excel file, then you can repair the file using the Open and Repair utility in MS Excel. To use this Microsoft-inbuilt utility, follow these steps:

  • In the Excel application, go to the File tab and then click Open.
  • Click Browse to choose the affected file.
  • The Open dialog box is displayed. Click on the corrupted file.
  • Click on the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open and Repair.
  • Click on Repair.

Click On Repair Option

  • After repair, a message will appear (as shown in the below figure).

Click Close Option In Repair Message

  • Click Close.

If the Open and Repair utility fails to fix the issue, then try a professional Excel Repair software, like Stellar Repair for Excel. It is designed to repair severely corrupted Excel files. It can restore all the Excel file objects, such as tables, charts, formulas, etc. It helps fix all types of corruption related errors. The software is compatible with all versions of Excel.

Conclusion

You might encounter the “Cannot insert object” error when embedding or inserting objects in Excel. In this post, we have discussed the possible solutions to fix this error. We have also mentioned an Excel repair software that can help to easily repair the corrupted Excel file and recover all the data. You can download the Stellar Repair for Excel’s free demo version to preview the recoverable objects of the corrupted Excel file.

[Fixed] Excel Found a Problem with One or more Formula

Summary: The error ‘Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet’ may appear while saving the Excel workbook. It occurs when Excel found a problem with the formula used in the sheet. However, it may also occur when the Excel workbook gets damaged or corrupt. In this guide, we’ve explained the reasons that may lead to this Excel error and methods to resolve the error, by using various Excel options and a third-party Excel file repair software.

Free Download for Windows

If you are experiencing the ‘Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet’ error message in the Excel workbook, it indicates that the Excel file is corrupt or partially damaged. However, it may also occur due to incorrect reference to a wrong cell or object linking, which is not working. The complete error message says,

‘Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet. Check that the cell references, range names, defined names, and links to other workbooks in your formulas are all correct.’

Excel found a problem with one or more formula references

In any case, resolving the error is critical as it doesn’t let you save the file and may result in loss of information from the Excel workbook.

Reasons for Excel Formula References Error

A few reasons that may lead to such error are as follows,

  • Wrong formula or reference cell
  • Incorrect object linking or link embedding OLE
  • Empty or no values in named or range cells
  • Multiple Excel files (not common)

Methods to Resolve ‘Excel Found a Problem with One or More Formula References in this Worksheet’ Error

Following are a few methods that you can follow to fix Excel file that can’t be saved due to problems with one or more formula references in the worksheet.

Method 1: Check Formulas

If the problem has occurred in a large Excel workbook with multiple sheets, it’s quite hard to pinpoint the problem cell. In such cases, you can use the Error Checking option that runs a scan and checks for a problem with formulas used in the worksheet.

To run Error Checking in the Excel sheet, follow these steps,

  • Go to Formulas and click on the ‘Error Checking’ button

Error Checking

  • This runs a scan on the sheet and displays the issues, if any. If no issue is found, it displays the following message,

The error check is completed for the entire sheet.

In such a case, you can try saving the Excel file again. If the error message persists, proceed to the next method.

Method 2: Check Individual Sheet

The problem may also occur due to an issue with one of the sheets in the workbook. To find the faulty sheet and fix the problem, you can copy each sheet content in a new Excel file and then try to save the Excel file.

This will help you find the faulty sheet from the workbook that you can review. This method makes the entire process of troubleshooting Excel formula reference error quite easy and convenient.

In case the error is not fixed, you can back up the faulty sheet content and remove it from the workbook to save the Excel file.

When the Excel file contains external links with errors, MS Excel may display such error messages. To check and confirm if external links are causing the error, follow these steps,

  • Navigate to Data Tab > Queries & Connections > Edit Links
  • Check the links. If you find any faulty link, remove it and then save the sheet

Method 4: Review Charts

You can review the charts to check if they are causing the formula reference error in Excel. It may take a while based on the size of the Excel file. Sometimes, it’s not practically possible to track down which Excel chart object is causing the error. Thus, you need to check specific locations, such as:

  1. Check horizontal axis formula inside Select Data Source dialog box
  2. Check Secondary Axis
  3. Check linked Data Labels, Axis Labels, or Chart Title

Method 5: Check Pivot Tables

To check Pivot Tables, follow these steps,

  • Navigate to PivotTable Tools > Analyze > Change Data Source > Change Data Source…

Edit links

  • Check if any of the formula used is problematic. Sometimes small typo, such as misplaced comma, can lead to such problems in Excel. Thus, check each formula thoroughly and correct the formulas wherever needed.

Method 6: Use Excel Repair Software

When none of the methods resolve the error, then you can rely on advanced Excel repair software , such as Stellar Repair for Excel. It’s a powerful tool that is recommended by several MVPs and IT administrators for resolving common Excel errors, such as ‘Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet.’

Stellar Repair for Excel

It repairs corrupt or damaged Excel (.xls/.xlsx) files, recovers Pivot tables, charts, etc., and save them in a new Excel worksheet. It helps Excel users, facing formula reference error, restore their Excel file without any risk of data loss, while preserving the sheet properties and formatting with 100% precision.

Conclusion

Although the error ‘Excel found a problem with one or more formula references in this worksheet’ can be resolved by using various options in MS Excel, it may lead to a partial loss of information. Thus, you must perform these operations after taking a backup of the Excel worksheet. Also, if the MS Excel options fail to resolve the problem, you can use an Excel file repair software, such as Stellar Repair for Excel. The software helps fix Excel file corruption and restores the information and data from corrupt or damaged Excel files (.xls/.xlsx) to a new worksheet.


  • Title: Recover Permanently Deleted or Erased Excel 2010 Files for Free | Stellar
  • Author: Vivienne
  • Created at : 2024-03-12 23:29:27
  • Updated at : 2024-03-14 12:30:58
  • Link: https://review-topics.techidaily.com/recover-permanently-deleted-or-erased-excel-2010-files-for-free-stellar-by-stellar-guide/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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Recover Permanently Deleted or Erased Excel 2010 Files for Free | Stellar