6 Best Solutions to Fix Excel Opening a Blank Workbook

It is a frustrating experience to encounter a blank workbook when you heavily rely on Excel for information management. This powerful tool is used for creating and managing complex data and calculations. Therefore, being unable to open them poses several issues, like disruption in the workflow. The problem can arise due to different reasons, like corrupted files, outdated software, and more.

In addition, this article will look into some of the main reasons you have a blank Excel workbook. Furthermore, we will go through some of the top fixes and effective solutions that can help you resolve this issue.

Part 1: What Are the Hidden Problems Behind Excel Blank Workbook?

When you are faced with a blank workbook in Excel, it might be due to various reasons, which we briefly looked at in the introduction. Let’s have a glance at some of the main reasons why you experience technical difficulties like this on your Excel:

1. Hidden Worksheet: Sometimes, the reason why you have a blank workbook spreadsheet is because the file is hidden through the settings in Excel.  
2. Enabled Hardware Graphics: If you allow the hardware acceleration, it might cause compatibility issues caused by GPU overload or hardware configuration, leaving you with a blank spreadsheet.
3. Corrupted Excel Files: In various cases, the Excel file itself is corrupted, caused by improper shutdowns or certain conflicts, leading to a blank document.
4. Broken Association: There are times when the software cannot decipher where to open the spreadsheet file, which can be fixed by resetting the file association settings.
5. Incompatible Software: Outdated software or MS Office can be another reason you are facing a blank Excel workbook.

Part 2: Top 6 Fixes to Resolve the Excel Blank Workbook Problem

Moving forward, we have gathered some of the best and most effective solutions that can help you resolve the problem of a blank workbook:

Fix 1: Repair and Open the Excel Workbook

Sometimes, the Excel file might be facing a minor glitch or loading issues. In this case, simply closing and reopening the file on your Excel Sheet can resolve the issue. However, if the worksheet isn’t opening, you can turn to its built-in repair feature, which seamlessly repairs any of these minor problems and easily opens the file. Hence, follow the given steps to learn how to repair and reopen the spreadsheet file:

Step 1. Open MS Excel on your desktop and head to the “Open” tab on the left panel to access the recent files. From here, click the “Browse” options under the “Other Locations” section to open a dialogue box. Now, choose the desired file facing, and in the “Open” drop-down menu, select the “Open and Repair…” option.

Step 2. After that, a small “Microsoft Excel” dialogue box will appear, where you need to hit the “Repair” button to execute direct Excel Repair.

Fix 2: Fix Corrupted or Damaged Excel Files in a Single-Click

One of the most effective solutions to repair the blank Excel workbook problem is using the Repairit. This repair software is capable of handling any type of file corruption scenario, like incompatible file format, unreadable files, and more. Moreover, it can quickly and safely repair XLSX files in a single process while maintaining its integrity and contents.

Repairit can handle any type of data, from simple to complex, on any version of Microsoft Excel, from 2007 to Office 365. The advanced repair technology of this tool scoops through the damaged files and looks for the data structure and corrupted segments. Doing so provides you with a refined and repaired spreadsheet file without ruining the format or contents.

Key Features

1. Multiple File Repair: This software not only repairs XLSX files but can handle Word, PowerPoint, and other files, like Adobe and Archive files, easily.
2. Batch Repair: Repairit saves you time by repairing batches of Excel files with excellent restoration instead of individually repairing them.
3. Seamless ZIP File Repair: Users can easily repair Excel ZIP files, and it automatically decompresses files to repair them.    
4. Preview Option: When the file is repaired, this software allows you to preview the Excel sheet to ensure the contents of the file before downloading it.

Wondershare Repairit - File Repair

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• Repair damaged Excel files with all levels of corruption, including blank files, files not opening, unrecognizable format, unreadable content, files layout changed, etc.

• Repairs all kinds of data stored in damaged Excel files such as tables, charts, formulas, comments, images, etc.

• Support all formats of Excel files: XLSX/XLSM/XLTX/XLTM/XLS

• Perfectly repair corrupted files with a very high success rate, without modifying the original file.

• No limit to the number and size of the repairable files.

• Support Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, and macOS 10.12~macOS 13.

• Except for Excel, Repairit also supports all formats of PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ZIP, and Adobe files.

Walkthrough Guide on How to Repair Corrupted and Damaged Excel Files

The following step-by-step guide will provide information on how to fix corrupted spreadsheet files and resolve the blank workbook issue:

Step 1. Launch Wondershare Repairit and Open File Repair Feature

After installing the repair software on your device, access the “Corrupted File Repair” section in the “More Types Repair” tab. Under the opened section, click the “File Repair” option to head to the new window screen.

Step 2. Import the Damaged Excel File

In the “Unrepaired Files” tab, press the “+ Add” button to open the File Explorer dialogue box. Next, choose the suitable files from the folder and click the “Open” button to import these selected spreadsheet files.

Step 3. Start the Repair Process on Repairit

When the files are added, hit the “Repair” button at the bottom right corner of the screen to start the repair process, which will take a few seconds.

Step 4. Preview and Download the Repaired Files

Once the files are repaired, head to the “Repaired Results” tab and click the “Preview” button to check the contents of the file. When you are satisfied with the results, hit the “Save All” button to download them on your device.

Fix 3: Unhide the Excel Sheet

We learned that the Excel file might appear hidden due to some configuration settings issue, causing the blank workbook situation to occur. These settings mainly happen if you make changes to them due to safety or organizational matters. However, this issue can easily be addressed by restoring the workbook visibility and regaining access to your data. To unhide the sheet, we have provided you with the following comprehensive steps:

Instructions. Access the blank workbook file on the MS Excel software and navigate to the “View” tab in the above toolbar. Afterward, in the “Windows” section, click the “Unhide” option to view the file.

Fix 4: Turn Off Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration is responsible for handling the complex graphics of your Excel files, which can sometimes lead to compatibility issues. The incompatibility is usually due to outdated versions of the hardware and driver. To eliminate these graphical glitches and resolve the blank workbook problem, you can try turning it off. We have provided you with the easiest steps in the following to learn how to do that:

Step 1. Launch the spreadsheet tool on your computer, and from the left panel, click the “Options” tab to access a dialogue box.

Step 2. Go to the “Advanced” tab and scroll down to find the “Display” section. From here, check the “Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration” option and hit the “OK” button.

Fix 5: Disable Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)

A DDE allows Excel to communicate with other applications while exchanging data in real time. However, this communication can occasionally interfere with the file’s performance and opening. Therefore, we recommend disabling this exchange to remove such interferences and ensure that your file opens directly without any issues. Learn how to do that by using the following steps, which will guide you through the process:

Step 1. From the left-side panel of Excel, choose the “Options” tab to enter the “Excel Options” dialog box on this tool.

Step 2. Moving forward, access the “Advanced” tab and go under the “General” section. From here, uncheck the “Ignore Other Applications that use Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)” option and click the “OK” button.

Fix 6: Update Your Microsoft Office

Outdated versions of Microsoft Office mostly contained bugs and lacked compatibility with newer systems or file formats, leading to blank workbooks. In this case, updating Office ensures that the software has all the latest features and no compatibility problems. Let’s dive into the following steps and learn how to update the Office:

Instructions. To update Microsoft Office, open the “Account” tab on the main Excel interface. Now, click the “Update Options” option and choose “Update Now” from the drop-down menu.

Conclusion

To conclude this article, we learned that there are various reasons why you would face a blank workbook issue. We looked at some of the major reasons and, keeping them in mind, explored the best 6 solutions to fix them. Most of these solutions explained how built-in tools can help you resolve the issue.

However, if none of them work, users can turn their attention to Wondershare Repairit, which has advanced repair technology. With its seamless repair functionality, you can fix any corrupted or damaged files without losing their integrity and contents.