Error messages in the UI to Excel Services aren’t always the most helpful, take for example:
Excel Services is unable to open the file for an unknown reason.
Wait a few minutes and try to open the file again. If the problem persists, contact your administrator.
However, I am often finding that a quick check of the Windows application event log reveals the underlying problem, without the need to revert to the SharePoint log files.
In my particular case, the cause of the problem is revealed in the application log pretty clearly. The service account used to run Excel Services (more specifically the application pool identity that hosts Excel Services) does not have access to the content database containing the Excel file. The resolution is simply to grant the identity database owner rights on the content database. Excel services then works fine. It may be possible to get away with less than database owner rights – I may experiment with this in future, or would be interested to hear other experiences.
Ian
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