Inaccessible File

Charles Bronson 0 Reputation points
2025-11-23T22:05:41.49+00:00

I worked on an Excel file for hours. Now, Microsoft says I deleted it or it is not currently avaialable.

"This workbook is either deleted or not currently accessible."

What the Heck????????????????????????????????????????????????

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | MacOS
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-11-23T22:06:47.3333333+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    It sounds like you are encountering an issue where Excel is indicating that your workbook is either deleted or not accessible. This can happen for several reasons:

    1. File Deletion: If the file was deleted, it may have gone to your OneDrive or SharePoint recycle bin. You can check there to see if you can restore it.
    2. File Accessibility: If the file is stored on a network drive or external drive, ensure that the connection is stable. If the drive is not accessible, Excel may not be able to open the file.
    3. File Corruption: If the file was corrupted, Excel might not be able to access it properly.

    To troubleshoot, you can try the following steps:

    • Check your OneDrive or SharePoint recycle bin to see if the file is there and restore it if possible.
    • Ensure that you have the correct permissions to access the file, especially if it is shared or stored on a network drive.
    • If you suspect file corruption, try opening a backup version of the file if available.

    If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may need to contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.

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  2. Hani-Ng 5,790 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-24T00:42:19.61+00:00

    Hi Charles Bronson

    Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A Forum regarding the error message: “This workbook is either deleted or not currently accessible.”

    This issue typically occurs when the file has been moved, deleted, or the storage location (such as OneDrive or SharePoint) is temporarily unavailable. I would like to share some recommended solutions you can try:

    Force Quit All Applications (Or Restart Your Mac): Sometime, one application opens a file, other applications are prevented from accessing it. This safeguard ensures the file’s data is not corrupted by conflicting operations from multiple programs. So, please try to close any other applications that might be using the file (except backup or cloud services). You can click on the Apple button > Force Quit…

    Check Recent Files in Excel: Open Excel > File > Open Recent > More... If the file appears, select Open a Copy to access it.

    Verify OneDrive or SharePoint Sync: Please ensure you are signed in to OneDrive and that it is syncing correctly and if the file was stored in a shared library > check via OneDrive or SharePoint online.

    Clearing Excel Preferences (Secure Bookmarks):

    • Quit all Office apps you opened.
    • In Finder, COMMAND +Shift+G, enter ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel/Data/Library/Preferences
    • Find the file name com.microsoft.Word.securebookmarks.plist > Moving it out of the Preferences folder forces Excel to recreate a fresh version (ex: you can move it to Desktop).
    • Moving it out of the Preferences folder forces Excel to recreate a fresh version, which is a common troubleshooting step for corrupted preference files.
    • Then reopen the Excel app, the Recent list should be reset and empty. After that you can open your document on your Mac, which the Recent file list will record the file you opened from now on and open the file from Recent list.

    I hope this helps. If these steps do not resolve your issue, to better understand your situation, could you please let me know where the file was originally saved (local Mac folder, OneDrive, or SharePoint, Dropbox...)?


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