Excel 2013 cannot open simple text file with .acc extension

[gacuxz]

Inside .acc file is a simple text, but the mighty Excel tries to open it like some kind of database. It is asking for accounts, sources, passwords etc. and finally it cannot open it at all. It can open this file if I change extension to something else like .txt or .xls. How can I turn off this useless function of Excel 2013? The Excel of 2003 just opens it without any question.

 

[Ranger4]

Hi gacuxz, welcome to Windows Seven Forums.

MS changed Office file extensions from version 2007. This website might it explain it for you.

Microsoft Office file extensions list

When you have opened the file in question, by the method you mention, have you tried saving it, using the Save As option, with a file extension listed in the Save As options list.

 

[gacuxz]

Hey Ranger4, thanks for reply. Unfortunately, site you gave me says nothing about .acc extension. After Save As procedure the new file can be opened without problems. Unfortunately our workers get dozens of .acc files a day so procedure Rename --> Save As --> Reopen --> Delete original file for each of them is just ridiculous. I'm looking forward to somehow disable this dumb automatic detection function by file extension or file header reading.

 

[Ranger4]

Thanks for getting back. I suggested that website to explain when MS changed the file extensions. I did notice that it did not mention .acc files.
I cannot offer you any more help with this problem. Perhaps someone else my come in that is more knowledgeable & suggest a solution.

 

[gacuxz]

Well, thanks for trying Ranger4. Awesome. Damn Microsoft makes one more stupid function and no one even knows how to turn it off. I bet no one even knows what kind of problem I have. Feels like real MS teamwork. Wonder when the salvation will come and Microsoft will go for something like excrements alteration or something. Maybe there they would be better at something.

 

[Ranger4]

Hi gacuxz, what types of files use the .acc extension. Have a read through the attached website link about .acc files. It appears that you may need some software for these files to open properly. There is a link for some software for that with in the text, but I have no idea of it's validity, you may need to do more research on it.

.acc File Extension - What is a .acc File Type? | ReviverSoft

 

[strollin]

Well, thanks for trying Ranger4. Awesome. Damn Microsoft makes one more stupid function and no one even knows how to turn it off. I bet no one even knows what kind of problem I have. Feels like real MS teamwork. Wonder when the salvation will come and Microsoft will go for something like excrements alteration or something. Maybe there they would be better at something.

Since you have no idea why the change was made, how can you make remarks about MS? My guess is that the change was made to not blindly open any old file you ask it to in order to protect you from accidentally running a rogue macro or some other security hole.

Do you think they made the change simply to make life more difficult for you? Why not contact the source of these .acc files and ask that they be saved in a different format with a different extension?

 

[gacuxz]

Since you have no idea why the change was made, how can you make remarks about MS? My guess is that the change was made to not blindly open any old file you ask it to in order to protect you from accidentally running a rogue macro or some other security hole.

Do you think they made the change simply to make life more difficult for you? Why not contact the source of these .acc fies and ask that they be saved in a different format with a different extension?

MS often changes something to push people to do something that MS need. Not the user. We are getting .acc files from bank as reviews. We have many users using them. Bank has many customers, who uses them. And now because Microsoft suddenly decided it may be a security hole we have to reinvent all system once again?
Bank recommends us to use Office 2003. MS is recommending to use Office 2013. This pisses of users and MS started it! Why just not to make an option in Office 2013 to turn this off? But no! Once again - MS knows better how we need to live.
As to strollin, I think MS's politics is as like as to prevent killing of pedestrians is to deny driving cars cause they built too many pedestrian crossings.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Do you have a sample ACC file that you could upload? I spent a while looking for a sample and could not find one.

What Is an ACC File Extension? | eHow

Using an XP virtual machine, I downloaded/installed software from CNET* made by FKJ Software that creates financial data/charts and saves them in the ACC file format. Office 2003's Excel would not open the file. Perhaps your bank is not using software by FKJ Software.

*Don't download software from CNET. It is often times full of other unwanted apps.


As for why MS stopped opening ACC files, perhaps MS is no longer willing to pay the licensee fee to do so.

 

[bawldiggle]

More than one way to skin a cat ...

As a suggestion ...

An Excel template with a sheet/ribbon button to identify the ACC file and copy (using Excel macros) the ACC contents to populate the active Worksheet. By using Excel code (my expertise is with VBA) any quirks on the ACC data could be "corrected" before populating the Excel worksheet. (eg, date formats, each record's fields delimiter.
I am assuming the ACC file is a simple fields(columns) X records(rows) "text" file structure

Using code also opens up a world of flexibility eg, to import or hide fields with just the click of a custom control
- and by using late bound classes it would (I think) might be usable in Excel 2003 and Excel 2013

Don't underestimate the power of Excel, The majority of users are only accessing about 20% of its potential.
-----
If the ACC file is copy pasted onto an Excel spreadsheet do you get the results you seek ?
- I am just trying to understand the structure of the database ... (comma delimited, tab delimited ... etc)
- personally I find the Excel importing feature too complex, so I choose to write templates to import regularly used data base text.

 

[gacuxz]

You can easily replicate:
1. In Excel fill several cells with random information.
2. Save it in csv (MS DOS)
3. Try to open this file in Excel through Open dialog.

It's much more simpler just to rename file's extension to .txt or .csv and then open it. But it's not so simple when you have to rename hundreds of these per moth. Think of how many people are working with it too!

New MS Office decides to open .acc files differently while old MS Office handled it perfectly. No one knows why, no one knows what for. Typical MS behavior.