Recovery Toolbox for Excel
The Recovery Toolbox for Excel is a third-party add-on rather than a built-in feature of Excel. Its focus is on recovering information in damaged or corrupt files through software that operates as a standalone application, rather than a fully integrated part of Excel. A free trial version of the software allows you to download, install and evaluate the program to see if it meets your needs.
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The Facts
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An error message telling you that Excel cannot open or read a file or an error message flashing across your computer screen just before Excel crashes signals a need for assistance from the Excel Recovery Toolbox. Whether a computer virus, a system failure, a file transfer error or something as simple as exiting a previous Excel session incorrectly causes the error, Recovery Toolbox software can recover and prevent the loss of important data.
Features
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Recovery Toolbox software has options for recovering most Excel files in Excel 97 through 2007 to 2010. In addition to XLS and .XLSX files, this also includes Excel files with XLT, XLSM, XLTM, XLTX and XLAM extensions. Within these file types, Recovery Toolbar software has the ability to recover most Excel defined actions including table styles, number formats, fonts, formulas, worksheets and worksheet formatting, workbooks and the cell data in workbooks.
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Limitations
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Recovery Toolbox for Excel does not guarantee it can recover every bit of information in every Excel file. Limitations include an inability to repair many custom and user defined functions such as pint settings, conditional formatting, data validity, protections, hyperlinks, calculation and sorting settings. In addition, the software most often cannot repair merged cells, comments, objects and custom VBA macros. It also cannot recover forgotten password information.
Process
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To use the Recovery Toolbox for Excel you must have a full version of the software installed on your computer. Download, install and use Recovery Toolbox software directly from your computer. When a problem occurs, open the Recovery Toolbox and identify the location of the offending source file. The software will access and proceed to scan the file, extract the information it can fix and present this information in the form of a new spreadsheet. You then have the option to save the results and replace the damaged file by exporting the new spreadsheet into Excel or exit the recovery process.
Considerations
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The license you receive when first purchasing the software is good for only one year. After your initial license expires, you will need to purchase a renewal license, at a cost of about $12 per year as of November 2011, to continue using the product.
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References
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