*HELP NEEDED* Corrupt excel files on mac and how to fix it?

was doing some routine maintenance on my mac and tried to delete some redundant files to free up some space on my hard drive, however in the process it appears that when i emptied the trash i deleted some important excel files that i needed which i was unaware were in the trash.

I think because there was a lot of files deleted at once this is why it was not picked up.

I've managed to recover one of the xlsx excel files i needed with 3rd party data recovery software however the file will not open in excel and i get the following error message:

"The file format or file extension is not valid. Verify that the file has not been corrupted and that the file extension matches the format of the file"

If i make a .zip version of the file i can see the contents of the file that was present when it was a working workbook but in .bin files, i.e. sheet numbers, media etc. I've tried to use stellar phoenix's excel file repair software but this didn't work. Not sure if it was because it's a trial version or the file cannot be reparied.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how the excel file could be repaired back to it's original state. Can there be some form of programming or editing in order to uncorrupt the file?

Many thanks

Scottiex,

I can private message you the file. It's not highly confiential but would prefer not to share with everyone if possible.

Do you have some ideas on how this could be fixed?

The file size i have is 17.MB which is 0.7MB above the maximum file allowed for the website , therefore would have to send the file to your email to be able to look at this.

I think I can say that:

If that takes care of your original question, & to say Thanks, please click on Add Reputtion (bottom left corner of the post of the person(s) who helped you)
then select Thread Tools from the menu (top right corner of your thread) and mark this thread as SOLVED.
If you did it already - ignore it.
Thank you.