Why do I receive errors when reading certain Excel files into MATLAB?

Why do I receive errors when reading certain Excel files into MATLAB?

Using the following code with my Excel file, 'test.xls':

[a b] = xlsfinfo('test.xls')

I receive the following error:

 Unreadable XLS file: Error using ==> D:\MATLAB6p1\toolbox\matlab\iofun\private\biffread

 Unable to read XLS file test.xls.  File is not in recognized format.

However, if I copy the contents of the file and paste it into a new file, it works.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

This bug has been fixed for Release 14 (R14). For previous releases, please read below for any possible workarounds:

This bug has been fixed for Release 14 SP1 (R14SP1). For previous releases, please read below for any possible workarounds:

This problem appears when an .XLS file is created with an unsupported version of Microsoft Excel for a particular version of MATLAB, such as Excel XP with MATLAB 6.1 (R12.1). Even if you save the file in different formats, such as Excel 2000 or Excel 97, the file still is not recognized. This may be due to different header information in files created with different versions of Excel.

The only workaround is to copy the contents of the file and paste it into a Excel sheet created using a supported Excel version and save that file.