# Problem opening a file

**URL:** <https://forum.openrefine.org/t/problem-opening-a-file/240>\
**Category:** Support and Helpdesk\
**Created:** [December 7, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/problem-opening-a-file/240 "2022-12-07T11:53:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![David\_Roth](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/david_roth/32/131_2.png) [@David\_Roth](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/David_Roth)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 11:53am UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/problem-opening-a-file/240/1 "2022-12-07T11:53:32Z")

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I am trying to upload an Excel file that works fine in Excel, but OpenRefine tells me to “please check the file format”. Any ideas as to what’s happening or what I need to do? Thanks.

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**Author:** ![ostephens](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/ostephens/32/8_2.png) [@ostephens](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/ostephens)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/problem-opening-a-file/240/2 "2022-12-07T12:12:31Z")

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A quick fix might be to export from Excel in a different format (e.g. tsv or csv) and see if OpenRefine can open that.

Diagnosing this kind of problem without the original file tends to be tricky - are you able to share the file that is causing the problem? Or can you recreate the problem with a different file that you can share?

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**Author:** ![David\_Roth](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/david_roth/32/131_2.png) [@David\_Roth](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/David_Roth)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/problem-opening-a-file/240/3 "2022-12-07T13:02:51Z")

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Thanks for the suggestions. I was able to resolve the problem.