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User profile for user: The cragrat
The cragrat Author
User level: Level 1
18 points

.xls files now exec on osx 10.14

I went to look at some information on a spreadsheet that was created on Microsoft Excel for Mac 97-2004 workbook I currently use Excel for Mac 2008. These files are now black squares with exec. On Get info and in the finder they have no extension attached. What concerns me the most is that I have a lot of data on files like this that if I lose could be problematic eg financial stuff , new climbs records etc etc.

Any idea how to access them or stop it happening again. I have yet to go back to check back ups to see if they have been munted too.

Posted on Apr 19, 2019 12:33 PM

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
Community+ 2024
User level: Level 10
111,653 points

Posted on Apr 19, 2019 12:58 PM

Using Get Info on an example .xls file, under Name & Extension, is hide extension checked? If it is, uncheck that. If it isn't, what removed the extension on that .xls file? In macOS, the file extension tells the operating system what icon to display for the document, and what the default opening application is to be. Without that .xls extension, the operating system doesn't know what to open it with, and by default assigns it this icon:

Once you have the .xls extension revealed/replaced on the file, can you open it with Excel for Mac 2008? If not, this may be a task for the free LibreOffice 6.*, which can open Microsoft documents that Microsoft software refuses to open. Then save as a .xls, or .xlsx format.


It can also be an incompatibility of these documents and Office for Mac 2008 on Mojave, an operating system that Microsoft has never tested, or provides further updates for this retired Office suite.

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User profile for user: VikingOSX
VikingOSX
Community+ 2024
User level: Level 10
111,653 points

Apr 19, 2019 12:58 PM in response to The cragrat

Using Get Info on an example .xls file, under Name & Extension, is hide extension checked? If it is, uncheck that. If it isn't, what removed the extension on that .xls file? In macOS, the file extension tells the operating system what icon to display for the document, and what the default opening application is to be. Without that .xls extension, the operating system doesn't know what to open it with, and by default assigns it this icon:

Once you have the .xls extension revealed/replaced on the file, can you open it with Excel for Mac 2008? If not, this may be a task for the free LibreOffice 6.*, which can open Microsoft documents that Microsoft software refuses to open. Then save as a .xls, or .xlsx format.


It can also be an incompatibility of these documents and Office for Mac 2008 on Mojave, an operating system that Microsoft has never tested, or provides further updates for this retired Office suite.

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User profile for user: The cragrat
The cragrat Author
User level: Level 1
18 points

Apr 20, 2019 2:02 PM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks. Hide extension is not ticked. I have had something similar before but because they have not been items I want I have trashed them so I can't say it's specifically Mojave since some were before that. Anyway I have been able to open via the finder ( not direct thru Excel) then "save as" and when I do that I can choose to show the extension.

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.xls files now exec on osx 10.14

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