[Solved] Can't open file after outage

[BronsonGG]

Greetings.

Today I was using the Calc program and the power went out. When I restarted the computer the spreadsheet I was using was not recovered, and now when I click on it the attached image appears and the sheet is empty.
If I open a NEW spreadsheet and from there go to File > recent documents and click on the file it asks me for ASCII filter options and then a TEXT document opens up filled with HASHTAGS. I know there is information on the sheet because the size of it (872 KB) but can't open it.

How con I dot it?
Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks

[robleyd]

The bad news first; your file is totally corrupted and contains no useful data. First, try the suggestions in [Tutorial] How to find and un-delete AOO temporary files and you may be able to recover something, If nothing is recoverable, as soon as possible do the following:

Download Recuva (Windows only) or PhotoRec for Win, MacOS, Linux and other OSes (only one needed) and let it do an in-depth recovery of deleted files on your computer. You may get a file containing some or all of your data (or not). Do this as a first priority; other use of the computer may overwrite any existing but deleted files and prevent their recovery. There is no guarantee that you will recover anything useful.

[BronsonGG]

Hi there, thanks for the answer.

Downloaded a recovery program that found an earlier copy of the sheet, one dated December. When I tried opening it it said:

Document file xxxxx is locked for editing by:
Unknown user.
Open Document read-only or open a copy of the document for editing.

(see attachment)

When I tried opening it, nothing happened, just a blank page. BUT then, I found an even earlier copy of the sheet, dated August in my DropBox. When I open this new sheet inside DropBox I can open it no problem, when I open it in another computer I can open it no problem, but when I download the file into MY computer the system tells me it is locked again, the same image as the attachment. That file works, but not in my computer!

Edit: hold on. It works as long as the file is inside a folder, if it is on the desktop the attached image shows up, but not when I move it into any folder on my computer.

[FJCC]

The warning about the file being locked is a result of the original crash. When OpenOffice opens a file it writes a small temporary with a name starting with .~lock. That file is normally deleted when you close the file but a crash may prevent that. To fix that, open the folder that the file is in and select the menu View. Select the checkbox for Hidden Items. Look for a file whose name starts with .~lock and continues with the name of your file and delete it. You should then be able to open your file.

[BronsonGG]

That sorted it. Thanks.