Can't search within xlsx

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Mason DeMone

1 discussion post

Hello,

For some reason only on xlsx files I get a "no file handler for this file"... if I resave a file as an XLS it works fine and searches within. I've verified that it's pointing to the proper DLL as well on my machine. Any suggestions?

Thanks

Jan 31, 2012 • #1

Strange! A few questions for you:

Which version of Microsoft Office do you have installed?
Which version of Windows are you using?
Does the .xlsx extension show up in the File Handlers list in the FileSeek Settings?

Thanks!

Feb 1, 2012 • #2

Austin _

9 discussion posts

I am experiencing the same issue, so let me answer the same questions... (unless you would rather me start another topic...)

Excel version: 14.0.6112.5000 (32-bit) (Office 2010)
Windows Version: Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit
FileSeek Version: 2.1.3
offfilt.dll Version: 2010.1400.6019.1000

.xlsx is listed in the file handlers section of Settings - pointing to Program Files/Common Files/Microsoft Shared/Filters/odffilt.dll

I have converted the file to .xls and searched with success, though that is pointing to a different version of odffilt.dll in system32 - version 2008.0.7600.16385

Mar 1, 2012 (modified Mar 1, 2012) • #3

The Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack should bring all of the filters/file handlers up to date. Could you give it a try from the link below and let me know how it works out?

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17062

Thanks!

Mar 1, 2012 • #4

Austin _

9 discussion posts

I have run the 64-bit version of that executable. This seems to have changed the file handler for .xls (and many other extensions) to a version 2010.1400.4746.1000 OFFFILT.DLL that is now in Program Files/Common Files/Microsoft Shared/Filters/ . However, the file handler for .xlsx is still the same as I mentioned in the last post (offfilt.dll Version: 2010.1400.6019.1000).

After running that executable, the situation is unchanged and .xls works while .xlsx still gives the "No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method." error and does not find a match.

Mar 1, 2012 • #5

Ok, just to double-check, do you receive this error for all .xlsx files, or only certain ones?

Mar 2, 2012 • #6

Austin _

9 discussion posts

Well, I can't honestly say *all* .xlsx files, but I haven't run into one in our environment yet that has been able to be scanned without this error.

Mar 4, 2012 • #7

Ok, just wanted to check whether it might be an issue with the specific files, or system wide. It definitely sounds like all XLSX files system wide are having the issue.

I have the same setup as you, except that I'm on Windows 7, so perhaps it's an issue in Server 2008 R2. I'll test this out and post an update as soon as I have one.

Thanks!

Mar 5, 2012 • #8

Just tested in Server 2008 R2 x64 and it seems to work fine for me there too. Could you try running a repair of the Office 2010 installation? You can do this by clicking the "Change" button after selecting Microsoft Office 2010 in the Programs and Features list.

Thanks!

Mar 5, 2012 • #9

Austin _

9 discussion posts

I performed a repair of Office 2010 and restarted my system. From what I can see, there was no change in the File Handlers list or in the .dll versions.

After this, I still get the "No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method." error.

I have uploaded one of the .xlsx files I am having issues with (a test file) here: http://squisch.net/dumptruck/Book1.xlsx . I am attempting to test this regular expression on it:
\b4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?\b

This works fine once I use Excel to save this file as a .xls file instead.

Mar 8, 2012 • #10

Thanks for posting the example, I'll test this out and let you know the results!

Mar 9, 2012 • #11

Just a quick question: If you do a search for dfdfd (use the Match Full String Search Mode), do you still get the same error? I'm just curious if the issue is limited to using Regular Expressions on XLSX files.

Thanks!

Mar 12, 2012 • #12

Austin _

9 discussion posts

Yes - I still get the same error - "No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method."

Is there anything else I can provide to help you diagnose the bug?

Mar 14, 2012 • #13

At the moment I'm not sure what else to check. The file handlers are kind of a mystery, as we just ask Windows to load them, we don't do anything special.

I'm going to see if I can find another app that uses the XLSX file handlers that you can try, to see if it's an issue with the .dll itself.

I'll keep you posted!

Mar 15, 2012 • #14

kevinp

31 discussion posts

Hi,

I thought I would give this a try here. I downloaded the Excel file.

Windows 7 64-bit Version: 6.1 (Build 7601: Service Pack 1)
Excel version: 14.0.6112.5000 (32-bit) (Office 2010)
FileSeek Version: 2.1.3
offfilt.dll (.xls) Version: 2008.0.7600.16385
offfiltx.dll (.xlsx) Version: 2010.1400.6019.1000

Include Files: *.*
Query: \b4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?\b
Search Mode: Treat Query as a Regular Expression
Process file contents ...: checked
Show Filenames that match the Query Text

I am not getting the "No File Handler" for the .xlsx file, but I am also not getting a match.

When I save the file to .xls, I get two matches.

Additional info:

Include Files: *.*
Query: sdfsd
Search Mode: Match Full String
Process file contents ...: checked
Show Filenames that match the Query Text

Matches found in the .xls and .xlsx and .xlsm (I made one of these) files. Match not found in the .xlsb (I made one of these) file, but didn't get the "No File Handler". What is interesting (or maybe not) is you see the individual entries in the .xls matches (each entry has a match and the Line contains the cell contents). However, in the .xlsx match you see only one match and all the cell contents are one long string in Line.

Mar 15, 2012 (modified Mar 15, 2012) • #15

@kevinp: That's the same behaviour I'm seeing as well. The XLSX file must store the text a bit differently. If I remove the \b from the start and end of the regex, then it pulls up the results (although still mashed onto one big line). We'll have to check that out as well, but it's still weird that @Austin is getting the "No File Handler" error.

@Austin: Are you able to search for some text in the XLSX files using the Windows 7 search? Just curious to see if it works or not, as I'm assuming it will use the same file handler. See the attachment for an example.

• Attachment: Windows XLSX Search.jpg [83,597 bytes]

Windows XLSX Search.jpg

Mar 16, 2012 • #16

kevinp

31 discussion posts

I know you asked @Austin, but I tried your example here and it found it in every file: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, and .xlsb.

Mar 16, 2012 • #17

Austin _

9 discussion posts

Odd - I tried using the windows search and it did not find any results (in either the .xls OR the .xlsx) whether I search on the desktop or off the share.

Again, this is on Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit, so there may be some difference. Indexing is turned off, but I would imagine that shouldn't make that much of a difference anywhere except for speed.

To make sure I followed the same process as you both did, I navigated to the location containing the files, typed my string into the search box in the upper-right corner (I tried 2 strings contained in the files), and then clicked "file contents" under the "Search again in:" options.

I tested on my Windows 7 workstation, and it did find results in both the .xls and the .xlsx files, so it certainly seems like something is wrong with the Win2008 box's configuration...

Do you think I should try deleting the .dll files and THEN install the filter pack and/or repair the Office installation again?

Mar 16, 2012 • #18

You could try that. I would try the following:

Unregister the DLL with the following command "regsvr32 -u path\file.dll"
Rename the DLL to file.old (just in case you need to restore it)
Re-install the Office 2010 Filter Pack

Mar 20, 2012 • #19

Austin _

9 discussion posts

Hrm - well, that changed things, at least. Here was the process I followed along with the results:

Closed FileSeek
Performed a regsvr32 -u operation on odffilt.dll, OFFILT.DLL, and offfiltx.dll (I did all three, as only doing the process with offiltx.dll did not produce any benefit)
Renamed .dll files to <name>.dll.old
Ran FilterPack64bit
Re-registered the .dll files with regsvr32 (otherwise, FileSeek didn't even seem to see that there were any .xls/.xlsx files in the directory)

OFFILT.DLL re-registered just fine
odffilt.dll gave me: "The module "path/file" was loaded but the entry-point DllRegisterServer was not found."
offfiltx.dll gave me: "The module "path/file" was loaded but the call to DllRegisterServer failed with error code 0x80040201."

I now opened up FileSeek and queried for "dfdfd" using the Match Any Words mode. I get the following results:

Code
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FilePathLine #File SizeDate ModifiedLine
Book1.xls    C:\Users\user\Desktop    --28,672    2/29/2012 17:14    No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method.
Book1.xls    C:\Users\user\Desktop    11628,672    2/29/2012 17:14    <Total�M��Total�%O���O����=Warning Text�?��Warning Text���%�X��TableStyleMedium2PivotStyleLight16`��.Sheet1�ESheet2��FSheet3��������8�xdfgfdgfrddsfdsfsdsdfdsfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfdsdfdfdsdfsd46315884302548204755981883841570�.q.icc��B�����
Book1.xlsx    C:\Users\user\Desktop    --9,939    2/29/2012 16:39    dfgfdgfrddsfdsfsdsdfdsfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfdsdfdfdsdfsd46315884302548204755981883841570

Mar 20, 2012 (modified Mar 20, 2012) • #20

I got those same errors if I unregistered and tried to re-register the DLLs, but reinstalling the Filter Pack fixed it up for me. I've just found that there's a service pack for the filter pack as well (crazy, I know

), but it's worth a try!

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2460041

Mar 21, 2012 • #21

Austin _

9 discussion posts

Sorry for the absence here - I was away on vacation.

You mention that "reinstalling the filter pack" fixed those errors up for you, right? Did you mean doing something other than double-clicking on "FilterPack64bit.exe" again? As that produced no changes for me.

I attempted to install that Service Pack, however I got the following message: "The update is already installed on the system."

Apr 5, 2012 • #22

Yep, all I did was just run the Office 2010 filter pack installer again. Just as a test, can you try searching some .docx files to see if you get the same error?

Apr 9, 2012 • #23

Austin _

9 discussion posts

I created both a .doc file and a .docx file with similar contents. It seems like the .docx files are not detected at all. Here are my results for searching for dfdfd (under "Match Any Words") in a folder that has test files for .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, and .txt in it:

Code
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FilePathLine #File SizeDate ModifiedLine
Book1.xls   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --28,672   Feb 29, 2012 17:14   No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method.
Book1.xls   C:\Users\user\Desktop   11628,672   Feb 29, 2012 17:14   <Total�M��Total�%O���O����=Warning Text�?��Warning Text���%�X��TableStyleMedium2PivotStyleLight16`��.Sheet1�ESheet2��FSheet3��������8�xdfgfdgfrddsfdsfsdsdfdsfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfdsdfdfdsdfsd46315884302548204755981883841570�.q.icc��B�����
Book1.xlsx   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --9,939   Feb 29, 2012 16:39   dfgfdgfrddsfdsfsdsdfdsfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfdsdfdfdsdfsd46315884302548204755981883841570
doctest.doc   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --22,016   Apr 09, 2012 14:29   No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method.
doctest.doc   C:\Users\user\Desktop   522,016   Apr 09, 2012 14:29   dfdfd
txttest.txt   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --100   Apr 09, 2012 14:36   dfdfd

For searching \b4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?\b as "treat query as regular expression":

Code
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Select All

FilePathLine #File SizeDate ModifiedLine
Book1.xls   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --28,672   Feb 29, 2012 17:14   No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method.
Book1.xls   C:\Users\user\Desktop   11628,672   Feb 29, 2012 17:14   <Total�M��Total�%O���O����=Warning Text�?��Warning Text���%�X��TableStyleMedium2PivotStyleLight16`��.Sheet1�ESheet2��FSheet3��������8�xdfgfdgfrddsfdsfsdsdfdsfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfsdfdsdfdfdsdfsd46315884302548204755981883841570�.q.icc��B�����
doctest.doc   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --22,016   Apr 09, 2012 14:29   No File Handler for this file, searching using standard method.
doctest.doc   C:\Users\user\Desktop   622,016   Apr 09, 2012 14:29   4755981883841570
doctest.doc   C:\Users\user\Desktop   822,016   Apr 09, 2012 14:29   4631588430254820
txttest.txt   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --100   Apr 09, 2012 14:36   4755981883841570
txttest.txt   C:\Users\user\Desktop   --100   Apr 09, 2012 14:36   4631588430254820

Apr 9, 2012 (modified Apr 9, 2012) • #24

I'm officially out of ideas on this one

It seems like the file handlers for the Office 2007/2010 file types just don't work right in Server 2008 R2.

I tried installing the File Server role, with the Windows Search Service (see the screenshot) role service. After doing that, I started getting the "no file handler" errors on the .xlsx files, but .docx files worked fine.

After that, I uninstalled and reinstalled the Office 2010 64-bit Filter Pack, and then I was able to search the .xlsx files, but the .docx files couldn't be searched any more

If I can think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know, but for now, I'm completely stumped on this one.

• Attachment: Windows Search Service.png [39,629 bytes]

Windows Search Service.png

Apr 13, 2012 • #25

kevinp

31 discussion posts

Based on my tests, I think Windows 7 64-bit, Office 2007/2010 file types, and some RegEx may not work as expected.

When I tried "Query: \b4[0-9]{12}(?:[0-9]{3})?\b" on Windows 7, my result was "I am not getting the "No File Handler" for the .xlsx file, but I am also not getting a match."

Keith wrote (I believe this was based on Server 2008 ) : "If I remove the \b from the start and end of the regex, then it pulls up the results".

I removed the \b from the start and end of the regex and got the matches I expected.

Whether one gets "No File Handler" or no results, when there should be results, the bottom line is the same.

Apr 14, 2012 (modified Apr 14, 2012) • #26

Sorry for the delay between posts! We were finally able to find a filter pack that works correctly on Server 2008. Could you give this one a try? You may need to uninstall the existing Office 2010 filter pack first.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20109

Thanks!

Feb 1, 2013 • #27