How to view an excel spreadsheet on an email that is a year old.

Dear Thomas,

As a forum moderator, I genuinely wish I could directly check your mailbox to see what happened to the attachment and fix this for you. Unfortunately, my role here is limited to providing general guidance and steps you can apply from your side. The age of an email doesn't usually affect its attachments, so the first step is to find out whether the spreadsheet was attached to the email or shared as a link. You can check these things:

• Check the full thread: Expand every message in the conversation, because the file may be attached to an earlier message rather than the latest reply.
• Try Outlook on the web: Sign in at outlook.cloud.microsoft and open the same email. If the attachment shows there but not in the desktop app, download it from the web.
• Search for attachments: In the search box, type the sender's name or the file name together with hasattachments:yes to find the original message.
• Check for a link: If the email contains a OneDrive or SharePoint link instead of an attachment, the file may have been moved or your access removed. In that case, ask the sender to share it again or send a new copy.

If the attachment is missing everywhere and this is a work or school account, your Microsoft 365 administrator may be able to check archive or retention options. Otherwise, the sender is the best source for another copy.

I hope this helps. Looking forward to your reply.

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