#Requires -Version 5.1 <# JbTecWiz Support Centre -- read-only diagnostic Fault : A document will not open -- Protected View, "file format is not valid", or a corrupt file Source: https://jbtecwiz.com/support/win-office-file-wont-open This script CHANGES NOTHING. It runs only the inspection commands from the write-up -- the Get-, Test- and Resolve- calls that establish which cause is in play -- and prints what each returned. Anything that writes, deletes, starts or stops is excluded by construction, not by judgement. Read the output alongside the write-up, then pick the fix that matches. Each fix has its own script on the same page. #> [CmdletBinding()] param([switch]$Transcript) $ErrorActionPreference = 'Continue' if ($Transcript) { $log = Join-Path $env:USERPROFILE ("jbtecwiz-win-office-file-wont-open-" + (Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss) + ".txt") Start-Transcript -Path $log | Out-Null Write-Host (' Saving a transcript to ' + $log) } function Write-Rule { param([string]$Text) Write-Host '' Write-Host ('-' * 70) -ForegroundColor DarkGray if ($Text) { Write-Host $Text -ForegroundColor Cyan } } function Probe { param([string]$Label, [string]$Fix, [scriptblock]$Command) Write-Rule (" " + $Label) Write-Host (" from: " + $Fix) -ForegroundColor DarkGray Write-Host '' foreach ($l in ($Command.ToString().Trim() -split "`n")) { Write-Host (" " + $l.Trim()) -ForegroundColor DarkGreen } Write-Host '' try { $out = & $Command 2>&1 | Out-String if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($out)) { Write-Host ' (returned nothing)' -ForegroundColor DarkGray } else { foreach ($l in ($out.TrimEnd() -split "`n")) { Write-Host (" " + $l.TrimEnd()) } } } catch { Write-Host (" could not run: " + $_.Exception.Message) -ForegroundColor Yellow } } Write-Rule Write-Host ' A document will not open -- Protected View, "file format is not valid", or a corrupt file' -ForegroundColor White Write-Host ' Read-only diagnostic -- nothing is changed.' -ForegroundColor Green Write-Rule Probe -Label 'Read the current File Block settings for the application.' -Fix 'Check the File Block policy' -Command { Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\FileBlock' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } Probe -Label 'Also check the policy hive, which overrides the user one and cannot be changed by the user.' -Fix 'Check the File Block policy' -Command { Get-ItemProperty 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\FileBlock' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue } Probe -Label 'Look for an AutoRecover copy and for previous versions, both of which are frequently faster than any repair.' -Fix 'Recover a file that is genuinely damaged' -Command { Get-ChildItem "$env:APPDATA\Microsoft\Excel" -Recurse -Include *.xlsb,*.xlsx -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending | Select-Object -First 10 FullName, LastWriteTime } Write-Rule Write-Host ' Diagnostic finished. Nothing was changed.' -ForegroundColor Green Write-Host '' Write-Host ' Compare the output above with the write-up, then run the' Write-Host ' script for the fix that matches:' Write-Host ' https://jbtecwiz.com/support/win-office-file-wont-open' Write-Rule if ($Transcript) { Stop-Transcript | Out-Null }