Import Excel data into R using openxlsx: Error in file(con, "r") : invalid 'description' argument

Question

I am trying to import the data in my Excel file into R using Openxlsx library:

library(openxlsx)
data <- read.xlsx("datafile.xlsx", sheet = "Sheet1")

However, I get the following error:

Error in file(con, "r") : invalid 'description' argument
In addition: Warning message:
In unzip(xlsxFile, exdir = xmlDir) : error 1 in extracting from zip file

Answer 1

This error is thrown because your Excel file is open. Save and close the Excel file and try again, it will work.

Answer 2

Error is also returned when file is password-protected

Answer 3

I'm currently having this issue, but I have confirmed (multiple times) that the files of interest are closed. I have also restarted my computer. Any ideas about what could be causing this besides an open file?