You receive an error message when you try to open multiple documents in Excel (258781)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft Excel 2000
This article was previously published under Q258781
For a Microsoft Excel 98 version of this article, see 177193 .

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Excel, Excel attempts to open multiple documents and you may receive one or more of the following error messages:
This file is not in a recognizable format.
  • If you know the file is from another program which is incompatible with Microsoft Excel, click Cancel, then open this file in its original application. If you want to open the file later in Microsoft Excel, save it in a format that is compatible, such as text format.
  • If you suspect the file is damaged, click Help for more information about solving the problem.
  • If you still want to see what text is contained in the file, click OK. Then click Finish in the Text Import Wizard.
Filename: File format not valid.
SYLK: File format not valid.
File not loaded completely.
Note that these error messages may appear more than once.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if the following conditions are true:
  • You click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the General tab.
  • The folder that you specify in the Alternate startup file location box is a folder that contains files that Microsoft Excel cannot open, for example:

    C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office 2000\Office

    C:\Windows\Desktop

If you specify either of these folders in the Alternate startup file location box, Microsoft Excel attempts to open all of the files in the folder, including program files. Because Microsoft Excel cannot open all of these files, you receive one or more of the error messages in the "Symptoms" section.

Note You may have to restart your computer to stop receiving the error messages.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Start Excel, and then quickly hold down the SHIFT key.

    Holding down the SHIFT key prevents Microsoft Excel from opening any of the files in the alternate startup file location.
  2. After Microsoft Excel has started, release the SHIFT key.

    Note If you have add-ins that load when you start Excel, you may receive the following error message:
    Cannot open Microsoft Excel Add-In for editing. Please edit the source document instead.
    This error appears once for each add-in that loads with Excel. Click OK for each one that appears.
  3. On the Tools menu, click Options and then click the General tab.
  4. Click to clear the Alternate startup file location box, and then click OK.
  5. Quit and then restart Microsoft Excel.

    When you do this, the problem does not occur.

MORE INFORMATION

In Microsoft Excel, you can set an alternate startup file location. When you do this, all of the files in the specified folder (except for Excel templates) are automatically opened when you start Microsoft Excel. To set the alternate startup file location, follow these steps:
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options. Click the General tab.
  2. In the Alternate startup file location box, type the path to the folder that contains the files that you want to open when you start Microsoft Excel, for example:

    C:\My Documents\My Data Files\Excel Files\

  3. Click OK.
Note The alternate startup folder is not the same as the default file location (default working folder).

An alternate startup folder is a folder in addition to the Xlstart folder that contains workbooks or other files that you want opened automatically when you start Microsoft Excel. The alternate startup folder can be a location on a shared network drive. Templates placed in this folder are available in the New dialog box (click New on the File menu).

The default file location (default working folder) is the folder that appears in the Open and Save As dialog boxes.

REFERENCES

For more information about the alternate startup folder, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type specify an additional startup folder in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.
For more information about the default file location (default working folder), click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type set the default working folder in the save as dialog box in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.
For more information about controlling how Microsoft Excel starts, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type control how Microsoft Excel starts in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic. When the topic appears, click Not sure which choice you want? to view the About controlling how Excel starts topic.

For additional information about errors or multiple workbooks opening when you start Excel, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

323626 XL: "SYLK: File format is not valid" error message when you open file

224134 XL2000: Error message: File format is not valid

211919 You receive a "file format not valid" error messge when you view an e-mail that contains a routed workbook in Excel 2000

242417 XL2000: New workbooks open repeatedly starting Excel

240150 How to use the Excel startup folders in Excel 2000

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/6/2004
Keywords:kbstartprogram kberrmsg kbAddIn kbprb KB258781
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