Power App linked to excel table broken because comments have been added to cells.

[jason_c_wyatt]

Hi,

Why does adding comments to a cell in an excel table stop my PowerApp from reading the data? I get a 'File may be corrupted' message.

I had a perfectly functioning PowerApp that stopped working because someone added a comment to the spreadsheet. I'm now worried about advising clients to build PowerApps based on Excel data.

[timl]

Hi @jason_c_wyatt 

Unfortunately, of all the available/popular data sources that are available, Excel is the most limiting and most fragile. When other users modify Excel files that are used by an app, they can easily 'lock' the file or corrupt the file.

If possible, I would recommend that you and your clients use SharePoint instead (if this is a viable choice). SharePoint provides a more robust data store, and it is cost-effective because it is included in most of the Microsoft 365 plans. Otherwise, it is best to recommend that users do not modify the Excel file outside of Power Apps.