Excel found unreadable content

**Andy Swain** · 08-21-2017, 10:58 AM

Hi

I've just come across this problem in a bib way - I can't open the file without accepting the repair and it trashes so much of the spreadsheet - even my column headings have gone so I'm struggling to rebuild from the previous version that I have

Any suggestions as to how to get into it without Excel doing its worst?

**AliGW** · 08-21-2017, 11:34 AM

A couple of suggestions: firstly, can you attach it here? Someone else may be able to open it without issue. Secondly, if all else fails, you can use the last back-up you made of the file. You do have a regular back-up regime, don't you?

**Andy Swain** · 08-22-2017, 03:50 AM

Thanks Ali - we have a nightly backup for our NASdrive and (I thought) my desktop on which I've been developing this workbook.

I had transferred a version a couple of weeks ago to the NAS so I could run it on a colleague's PC - so I had something - but the 'repaired' version was so trashed I couldn't even see column headers.

However, I found a suggestion online that I try the Excel 'open' options and there I found a previous version from just before the problem occurred - this seems to be just about complete - I've been very lucky.

I've now made sure that my desktop is included in the nightly backup.

One thing though - you can get through an awful lot of coding in a day so even nightly backups will potentially lose lots of work.

Is there anything out there that can regularly backup saved versions during a day - I wrote something that will run a save as (using a new file name that includes the date/time) and then re save as the correct name. seems a bit clumsy and also crashed a couple of times yesterday so I'm not feeling very confident about it?

**AliGW** · 08-22-2017, 03:57 AM

I think adding this to your workflow yourself is the safest method: set a timer on your desktop and save as every hour or so to an incremental version of the file. I use dates and times in my file names, e.g. Project A 22 August 2017 Revision 1.1.xlsm

Maybe you could write a macro to do this?

**Andy Swain** · 08-22-2017, 04:34 AM

Thanks Ali - not sure how to save an incremental version - if I use save-as then it changes the name of my file and the links to other workbooks are lost?

As I mentioned - I have a macro that will save-as the version name and then re save-as the correct name - that works up to a point

Is there something that will make a saved version without having to go around the loop I'm currently using?

**AliGW** · 08-22-2017, 05:20 AM

There may be - but I don't know of anything myself, sorry. I think you mean links FROM other workbooks, don't you?

**Andy Swain** · 08-22-2017, 05:39 AM

Thanks Ali - I'll mark this as resolved

**AliGW** · 08-22-2017, 05:42 AM

If you find anything that does it, do please come back and post the details here.

**Stormin'** · 08-22-2017, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by Andy Swain

if I use save-as then it changes the name of my file

You can use SaveAsCopy to do this. Something like this?

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