'Does not appear to be a Report Writer file' error

Problem

The user receives a message that states the following: “This does not appear to be a Report Writer file.”

In most cases, this error is transitory. Simply fully closing Excel and reopening the file will usually get it back in working order.

In others, special characters in the file like name can cause this, like ō or ā. You may want to close the file and rename it, ensuring no special characters are used. Just re-typing the name may do the trick.

In some cases, this issue arises when a large number of necessary worksheets or named ranges have been deleted If this is the case, a new file may be needed, or one might be able to reinsert missing worksheets from a template using the Merge Workbooks tool.  Another potential cause is if a worksheet is duplicated, and the original is lost.

Solution

Solution 1: If the file name has special characters like those mentioned above, renaming the file may also correct it.

Solution 2: Save, close, and reopen the Excel file.

If neither of these works, please contact Report Writer support.