Excel 97 - corrupted files

[Elisha]

I've had problems with files where, if you look in the named ranges (Insert->Name->Define), there are these mysterious names "1boxboxEF" (box is the character that looks like a box or square). I have two of them - one as listed previously and one with a "_". The range of both is #REF. It won't let me delete them, rename the range or anything. I found out that if I (accidentally) copy a sheet from one file (that has it) to another, the new file is corrupted (i.e. has those evil named ranges). I this "corruption" can cause links to not refresh properly for one. Anyone heard of this? How to clean the file? I've been spending a couple of days creating some templates and then accidentally copied a couple of sheets (which I subsequently altered) and would rather not throw away a day's work.

[Dr T Non-Fan]

I don't know, which makes me scared of them. I smell some kind of virus, but I'm a bit paranoid about those things.
Try copying the contents of the sheets to a new file. Use the "corner box" to highlight the whole sheet, then copy and paste to a sheet in a new file. You might have to update the links once finished. You could try moving them as well (this will preserve the links better), but make a backup file first.

[cubedbee]

Download NameManager.Zip from this webpage (http://www.bmsltd.co.uk/MVP/MVPPage.asp). Unzip, install, and run it. It will list all the names in your workbook...find the offending ones and select delete. It will then tell you that the files are corrupted and ask if you want to fix them. You say yes, and are prompted to rename. At this point, the names are fixed, and you can delete them as normal or through the NameManager utility.

Its kind of a pain to uninstall, but it's the only way I've been able to find to remove these things

[Elisha]

Download NameManager.Zip from this webpage (http://www.bmsltd.co.uk/MVP/MVPPage.asp). Unzip, install, and run it. It will list all the names in your workbook...find the offending ones and select delete. It will then tell you that the files are corrupted and ask if you want to fix them. You say yes, and are prompted to rename. At this point, the names are fixed, and you can delete them as normal or through the NameManager utility.

Its kind of a pain to uninstall, but it's the only way I've been able to find to remove these things

Thanks cubedbee. I'm still having problems though. When I try to delete the offending names, it fails to delete and then says to click the 'Fix' button if it is corrupt (which it is of course). I don't see any 'Fix' button or 'rename' as it says in the Word document. Any more ideas?

[Elisha]

I found the problem. There's a button called R1C1, which allows you to rename, and then delete it. Thanks again.