repair error when opening excel file, all screenshots in the excel file are removed

Question

Hello,

When opening an excel file, the following error comes up:

"Removed Part: /xl/metadata.xml part with XML error. (Metadata) Catastrophic failure Line 2, column 426.

Removed Feature: Worksheet properties from /xl/workbook.xml part (Workbook)

Repaired Records: Cell information from /xl/worksheets/sheet11.xml part"

• there is no option to avoid this error occurring, to open the file without it, as a result once the file opens all screenshots get removed, which is exactly what I don't want

Any advice how to open it without losing the screenshots?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi @MP

Maybe, the Excel file's XML structure is corrupted.

Please back up the file first, then try the "Open and Repair" feature.

• If "Repair" doesn't work, you can choose to extract data, which will preserve as much content as possible.

Besides, you may go to File Explorer > View > check the box of "File name extensions".

• Change the file extension from .xlsx to .zip, then unzip the file using an unzip tool.
• Enter the unzipped folder and navigate to the path xl/media, where all embedded images and screenshot files are stored. Save these files separately somewhere else.
• Open xl/metadata.xml that prompted with XML error, and look for the corrupted line.
• Use a text editor such as Notepad++ to edit and fix errors. Common actions include removing excess whitespace, special characters, or fixing XML tags that were not closed properly.

After repairing the XML file, recompress the file into ZIP format. Change the extension back to .xlsx and try opening the file for a check.

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