After Windows 10 upgrade attempting to use an Excel .xlsx file crashes ArcMap

[RichardDaniels]

We are seeing an issue that is occurring after an employee’s Operating System is upgraded to Windows 10.

PROBLEM:

After a computer is upgraded to Windows 10 and Office 2016 users are unable to use EXCEL .xlsx files in ArcGIS Desktop 10.3.1. Attempting to use an Excel file .xlsx file can cause ArcMap to crash.

REASON:

During the upgrade Office 2016 is installed and all previous versions of Office removed. This removes the Office 2007 connectors that allowed 32 bit applications (like ArcGIS Desktop) to read.xlsx files. These are required if you have an .xlsx file you want to use in ArcGIS but do not have Excel 2007 installed. The 2007 Office System Driver can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center. If you have Microsoft Excel 2010 and higher or no version of Microsoft Excel installed, you STILL must install the 2007 driver before you can use .xls AND .xlsx files.

FIX:

Install the Office 2007 data connectivity components from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23734.

Hope this helps someone!

Rich Daniels

[DuncanHornby]

All - The IT department of the University role out a modified version of Office 2016. I was unable to turn off any auto updates and even though I am an Administrator on my machine this did not afford me protection from any auto-updates when opening Access. The solution was to get in one of the IT guys and role back to Office 2013. Now everything is working fine.

So my advice is don't upgrade to 2016! All that glitters is not gold! 

[RichardDaniels]

Good news! with ArcGIS Desktop 10.5.1 and Windows 10 Build 1703 .xlsx file now work without issue. On the downside Microsoft just released a new KB, KB4041676 (OS Build 15063.674), patch on October 10th, 2017 that breaks connects to .xls file 😞

More at information on this at

http://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000016969

[RichardDaniels]

Note - Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 is now the preferred option to address this issue. The bitness you install should match the version of Office you have loaded (i.e., if you have 32 bit Microsoft Office use 32 bit engine; if you have 64 bit Office, use 64 bit engine).