Recovering a corrupted Numbers file

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8 points

Recovering a corrupted Numbers file

Is it possible to open a Numbers file after it has somehow become corrupted?

I opened a numbers file this evening to show my daughter how to create charts in numbers. When I went to close the file I chose "revert changes", the file seemed to close suddenly and now I can't do anything with the file. I tried opening older versions of it and all versions say "unable to open version". I am currently running Catalina 10.15.7 and numbers version 10.3.9. This is the message I get when I try to open it.

After trying to open older versions I get this message:

Unfortunately, I haven't backed up my computer in awhile and I don't have any other copies of this file. I just wish I understood what happened. In all my years of using my Mac and numbers this has NEVER happened before.

Any help you could provide would be appreciated!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 10, 2021 6:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Belwoodgirl Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 27, 2021 7:16 PM in response to MVegas21

I called Apple Support. Apparently there was a bug in Catalina 10.15.7 which caused this corruption error to happen in Numbers. They were able to fix it in the latest version of Big Sur which, unfortunately, I can't use because my Mac is too old. So essentially I just need to avoid using the "REVERT CHANGES" button at all times because as soon as I click it the file will be corrupted and lost forever. If you haven't updated your OS yet and are still using Catalina, I suggest you update soon. If you are stuck with Catalina then don't ever touch the "REVERT CHANGES" button when using Numbers!!!!

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Answer 2

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Mar 12, 2021 10:32 AM in response to Belwoodgirl

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, Belwoodgirl.

It appears that you're unable to open a Numbers file without receiving an error message, so let's see what we can do to get this figured out. Does this happen when if you Start up your Mac in safe mode? Safe mode prevents your Mac from loading certain software as it starts up, including login items, system extensions not required by macOS, and fonts not installed by macOS. It also does a basic check of your startup disk, similar to using First Aid in Disk Utility. And it deletes some system caches, including font caches and the kernel cache, which are automatically created again as needed. If the issue doesn't continue while in safe mode, leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally. Then test for the issue again.

Reply to this message and let us know what happens. Also let us if you notice this behavior when you attempt to open any other Numbers files.

Take care.

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Answer 3

MVegas21

Community Specialist

Mar 14, 2021 1:54 PM in response to Belwoodgirl

Belwoodgirl,

Are you able to open other Numbers files successfully? If so, are you able to obtain another copy of this corrupted file, or create a new version of it?

It may also be helpful to check for versions of this file saved elsewhere on your Mac, following these steps: Find a spreadsheet in Numbers on Mac

Have a good one!

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Answer 4

Belwoodgirl Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 27, 2021 5:59 PM in response to MVegas21

So the file I was trying to recover is not found anyone else, was not backed-up (as it should have been), and seems to be completed gone forever.

This same thing just happened to another file which tells me that there's something messed up with Numbers. I opened a tax file from 2019 and instead of duplicating it started entering 2020 information on top of it. When I realized that this was the case, I duplicated the file, and renamed it 2020. When I went back to the 2019 tax file I asked it to revert it (since I'd inadvertently changed the information) and the whole file became corrupt, can't be opened, or read, and no previous versions are available. My best guess is that because Numbers has updated the doc to a new version (i.e. before the update), then rather than saving this new file you ask Numbers to revert to the previous version (this is one of the 3 options that are available) it somehow corrupts the file and you lose it forever.

This sequence of events- opening a file, forgetting to duplicate it before I edit it, then duplicating it afterwards- renaming the new file, then asking the original file to revert back, is something that I've always been able to do in both pages and numbers. Apparently, continuing to do this is a very bad idea...

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Answer 5

Belwoodgirl Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2021 2:29 PM in response to jdo_apple

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried what you suggested and confirmed that my computer was in safe mode and I still couldn't open the file. I also still couldn't open any older version of it. Do you have any other suggestions?

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Recovering a corrupted Numbers file

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