4.1.6 Cannot open .xls

[harolda3]

MacBook Air (early 2013), OS 10.10.5; Just installed AOo 4.1.6.
a) Now cannot open any .ods file previously saved as a Microsoft Excel 97/2000/XP (.xls) file nor can I open any Microsoft Excel file saved as .xls or .xls: Read-Error. Internal import error. (I can open old .ods files.)
b) Nor can I now save any new AOo workbook as an Excel 97/2000/XP (.xls) file: Error saving the document Untitled: Read-Error. Internal import error. - -even though I gave it a different title.

[John_Ha]

All work fine for me with 4.1.6 on W7.

Upload some example files showing the problems so they can be analysed. Use the Upload attachment tab below where you type (128 kB max); or use a file share site, Dropbox or Google Drive for larger files.

Edit: Much more is now known about this problem so many posts in this thread are incorrect or misleading. Jump straight to the last post in this thread by clicking here for a full explanation. There appears to be a problem with AOO 4.1.6.

[John_Ha]

harolda3 sent me these three test files. I could open all of them, and I could save as .xls files.

This therefore appears to be a problem with 4.1.6 on Mac.

See [Tutorial] Differences between Writer and MS Word files for why you should always work in and save Writer files as .odt. Similarly, spreadsheet files should always be saved as .ods and not as .xls.

Spreadsheet Test AOo.ods

A .ods file

(9.48 KiB) Downloaded 111 times

Spreadsheet Test XL.xls

A .xls file

(25 KiB) Downloaded 155 times

Spreadsheet Test XL.xlsx

A .xlsx file

(8.41 KiB) Downloaded 125 times

[John_Ha]

Try resetting the user profile - it often fixes random problems.

[harolda3]

Try resetting the user profile - it often fixes random problems.

I created a new AOo user profile folder and entered my name, had no other prompt, but did not do any other entry into profile. Still cannot save a new file as .xls. [I frequently work with others that do not have OpenOffice and I do not have Excel on my working computer, so need to save spreadsheets as universal .xls files. The others have PCs and others have Macs with Excel. Have not had a problem until now.]

I can open or save old and new Writer files as .doc; but cannot open or save old or new .xls files with AOo 4.1.6, even with the new profile folder.
What do you suggest next?
Thanks for your concern, Harold A

[RoryOF]

If you need to get work done, reinstall OO 4,1.5, or whatever version last worked for you.

[harolda3]

Oh - I had updated the OpenOffice and OS version yesterday. I thought this was saved in the AOo user profile folder, but as you can see after I had just sent the previous message, the updated version is still there, even though I did not update the profile after deleting the old. Guess this info not stored in the profile folder?

[John_Ha]

It looks like a bug in 4.1.6 as it works OK on Windows and Ubuntu. I suggest you report it.

Edit: The files work on another Mac so it is a problem with your PC.

You have two workarounds:

1 re-install 4.1.5 - you won't lose much as 4.1.6 is just a few bug fixes.

2 Save as .ods - which you should be doing in any case.

[lgusaas]

Your test files all open on my Mac. Have no problems saving files as .xls.

[harolda3]

Must be a problem with macOS Ver.10.10.5. I already have two OSs on my WORKHORSE small laptop (Yosemite & Snow Leopard) so that I can run apps daily that have not ever been updated for later OSs. Do not think I can segment drive into three parts since I hear later OSs are much more bloated, so have no disk room for three segments.
[I even had to buy another laptop with OS 10.12.6 just to run 2017 & 2018 TurboTax since it will not run on above OSs. Unfortunately its disk is not any larger.]
Harold
--
Whenever an OS or App is updated, the computer becomes less and less useful and more and more painful. hma

[RoryOF]

Hasve you renamed the OO User Profile? This must be done explicitly - reinstalling OO does not do it.

[harolda3]

Yes, I closed AOo, gave user folder an 'old' name, reopened AOo (new user folder was created), but got same problems.

[John_Ha]

1. Try a power OFF/ON reboot.

2. Try a boot into Safe Mode.

[harolda3]

1. I shutdown my computer at least twice daily, so that is not causing the problem.
2. I tried Safe Mode. (It says Safe Boot in upper right corner).
[Never tried Safe Mode before - I would expect it to faster, but start up and shutdown take much longer!]
I still cannot SAVE AS .xls, or open an old .xls document with AOo 4.1.6 in Safe Mode. I can SAVE AS .ods and reopen old or new .ods files.
Will have to go back to AOo 4.1.5. [Read recently that Time Machine does not back up apps, but I seem to have found it on my Time Machine. Hope I do not have a problem reinstalling from TM.]
H

[harolda3]

I copied AOo 4.1.5 from my Time Machine; renamed my AOo user folder [there was not AOo user folder on TM]; then opened AOo 4.1.5.
I can again SAVE AS new files as .xls and open old and and new .xls files again.
[The curious thing is the default AOo 4.1.6 SAVE AS is .xls format whereas the default AOo 4.1.5 SAVE AS is .ods format.]

[John_Ha]

[The curious thing is the default AOo 4.1.6 SAVE AS is .xls format whereas the default AOo 4.1.5 SAVE AS is .ods format.]

Set it in Tools > Options (Preferences?) > Load/Save.

Showing that a problem has been solved helps others searching so, if your problem is now solved, please view your first post in this thread and click the Edit button (top right in the post) and add [Solved] in front of the subject.

[John_Ha]

Edit: There appears to be a problem with AOO 4.1.6 which cannot open some .docx or .xlsx (and presumably .pptx) files. There are different effects of different operating systems and Windows seems to be able to open more files than Linux or MacOS. It seems to depend on the content of the file because, while I can open all the .docx files on my PC, I have now been sent a .docx file which I cannot open. AOO on a Mac seems particularly bad. Development is aware of the problem. The workaround is: 1. Uninstall AOO 4.1.6 2. Go to http://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html and load a previous version of AOO - AOO 4.1.5 does not have the problem. 3. Install AOO 4.1.5. LO apparently does not have the problem. There are known problems where AOO does not support rsid tags which are used in .docx etc files when two files are merged and this could be part of the problem. LO handles rsid tags OK.