Error message states filename or path has an invalid character. Internet indicates this was a problem several years ago but that Apple fixed it. Now I have it and cannot open any excel file which till now had no problems.
iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), macOS Sierra (10.12)
Microsoft Excel for Mac 2011 (been using it for 5 years without a problem), version 14.7.7. Mac OS is High Sierra version 10.13.6. Word has the same problem but Powerpoint works normally.
And that is likely the problem. Office 2011 is not fully compatible with High Sierra. While many users aren't seeing major problems, others find it to be almost completely unusable under HS, and other varying results in between.
MS halted all future development for Office 2011 in October of 2017. High Sierra has gotten a fair number of OS updates since then. The more there are, the more the chance a stagnant app will start glitching. On top of that, Office 2011 was never fully updated for High Sierra. MS released an Office 2011 patch for High Sierra's early days that was basically the bare minimum to allow it to work, but none since.
Time to leave what is now almost 8 year old software behind. Either that, or use it on an older Mac, or the Mac you have with an older OS on another partition.
Office 2016 is the current perpetual license of Office. But, Office 2019 is due to be released later this year. MS doesn't have upgrade pricing for Office, so there's no sense purchasing Office 2016 only to spend the full price on Office 2019 in two or three months.
I did get rid of MacKeeper and never did install it. Webroot didn't let me install it and warned me it was a threat. When I purchased my imac they threw in Webroot and I've used it ever since. It warns me of trying to download a threat and inserts my user ids and passwords on all websites I enter. It has been very helpful these past few years.
There isn't much more we can tell you if you won't follow our advice. Best Buy gets compensated for including third party apps in the computers they sell. We are only looking after your best interest, we do not get compensated for advising you what to delete.
I can't open it so how can I move it?
Stanley Star wrote:
I can't open it so how can I move it?
Using Finder...
I was hoping you had another way. I tried finder before I sent the question in. Same error message through finder.
I can't rename the file because I can't open it in Excel or via Finder. I have used and updated this file for years, including a week or so ago. All my excel files have the same problem.
I’m not sure what I am replying to. I didn’t see any comments from you. Maybe you were referring me to Microsoft. I already posted this issue on Microsoft but haven’t received anything back yet.
I didn’t try that. Nothing that was suggested worked and I didn’t want to risk more problems. So I decided to switch to Numbers and Pages and give up on Excel and Word.
I was able to rename the file as you indicated, but Excel still didn't open it and got the same error message. By right clicking on it I was able to open it in Numbers and I was able to edit and print it, and save it in Numbers but not in Excel.
Bob, with the help of others I did check version compatability. I know I have Excel 2011 and that it is now incompatible with High Sierra. And no updates to come. 2016 is compatible but it is being replaced shortly with Excel 2019 which I might consider. The point for me is I am a retiree with very little need for spreadsheets and word documents. I have a precious few that I update as the need arises and I share them with no one. When I retired I bought Excel and Word because I used them at work. But now, with the solution being an added cost, Numbers, Word (and Libre) can work for me and I will think about Excel again when the 2019 version comes out. No sense spending money on the 2016 version to possibly replace it before long. I did post the problem on Microsoft but got nothing back, unlike all the great people in this thread who are trying to help me, yourself among them.
Bob a couple of people suggested that also. I did get rid of Mackeeper and never installed it. Webroot warned me it was a threat and quarantined it. I thought it was already deleted. When I bought my iMac, Best Buy threw in webroot and it has been helpful without much problem. It warns me of download threats and inserts my user ids and passwords on the websites I visit.
password management licensed from LastPass,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webroot
Webroot looks like a legitimate company from the Wiki profile. It's USA based. However, what usually happens is these people port there code from Windows. They end up protecting you from windows viruses that happen to be passing through your email. This helps out your windows friends but not you.
You could turn off virus scanning.
R
Excel Will not open file due to incorrect path or filename
