From the Trust Center Settings dialog box, select the Protected View tab.From the Options dialog box, go to Trust Center and click on Trust Center Settings.Open the Excel file throwing the error, go to File and click the Options tab.

Note: Before disabling the protected view settings, ensure you have a reliable antivirus software installed on your computer to safeguard files against malware or virus attacks. Here are some workarounds to fix the error: Workaround 1 – Disable the Protected View Settings How to Fix the Excel File Couldn’t Open in Protected View Error? But this process can take a significant amount of time as you need to close and re-open the Excel application and the file continuously. You may be able to resolve the issue by closing all the open Excel files, closing the Excel application, and then re-opening the problematic file. Also, opening an Excel file may return an error message ‘file couldn’t open in protected view’. However, the Protected View feature sometimes prevents an Excel file from opening even if it is from a safe location. In that case, your Excel application won’t let you open the file to protect it against malware or virus attacks.

For example, the file may be opened from an insecure Internet location or downloaded as an Outlook attachment from suspicious senders. An Excel file opens in Protected View if the file is from an unsafe location. Protected View is a feature in Microsoft Excel that opens a file in read-only mode while disabling the editing functions.

How to Fix the Excel File Couldn’t Open in Protected View Error?.

View an excel file online