Here are the solution steps: • Go to ~ Library Application Support Microsoft Office Office 2011 AutoRecovery in Finder (on OSX10.7+ this may first require making the Library directory visible using one of the methods described or ) • Change the Extension of the Excel autorecover files of interest from.xlsx to.xlsb • Open the files with Excel (either double click or using Excel's File>Open menu) • Enjoy! Discussion: As described in, if you are lucky, a newer auto-recovery version can often be found in ~ Library Application Support Microsoft Office Office 2011 AutoRecovery. Files in this directory often have somewhat munged/cryptic names, but you can always open them up to find the best one. However, in the current version of Excel for Mac 2011 (14.3.1, maybe others) there is a bug that prevents easily opening these backup files.

The first time I searched the Microsoft site for 'office 2011 mac updates' the 14.5.8 was the newest version it showed and I tried that installation. It failed probably because it was the same version I had installed.

Specifically, the filenames are listed with an.xlsx extension (corresponding to Excel XML format), but are actually in a different format. Quicken 2016 for mac doesn't memorize transactions. As a result attempting to open them in Finder or through the Open menu fails, claiming the files are corrupt.

The exact error is Microsoft cannot open this file 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. Changing the file extension to.xlsb (Excel binary format) or.xlk (older Excel backup) will allow Excel to open the file. My file system structure turned out to be a little different than that suggested in Bryan P's excellent answer (no Microsoft in Application Support), and I couldn't search for file name since search doesn't work for hidden files. Luckily, there is a tool called. It does not use a database but instead uses the file system driver's fast search operations, where available I was able to use the program to search my whole HD for a word in the title of my lost Excel file, and I found a suitably up-to-date version of the file.

I highly recommend using the app to find what OS X deosn't want to show you.

KB Articles: Security bulletins: • This update fixes critical issues and also helps to improve security. It includes fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. For more information about this update, please visit the. Applies to: Office 2011, Office 2011 Home and Business Edition, Word 2011, Excel 2011, PowerPoint 2011, Outlook 2011, Office for Mac Standard 2011 Edition, Microsoft Office for Mac Home & Student 2011, and Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011. Supported Operating System Apple Macintosh, Mac OS X • • Operating System Versions: Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or a later version of Mac OS Note To verify that your computer meets these minimum requirements, on the Apple menu, click About This Mac. • Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (14.1.0): You can download this update for free from the.

Note To verify that you have installed this update, you can open any Microsoft Office 2011 application to check the version number. For example, open Word, and then on the Word menu, click About Word. In the dialog box, compare the version number next to Latest Installed Update. • To install this update • Print this page if you want to use it as a reference when you are offline. • Quit any applications that are running, including all Office applications, Microsoft Messenger, and Office Notifications, because they might interfere with the installation.