Opening XL2007 spreadsheet

Opening XL2007 spreadsheet

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A client of mine has sent me a MS Excel 2007 spreadsheet. I use 2003. My version of Excel will not open it.

Can I just change the suffix? Or do I need to get the client to save it as a 2003 version? I assume 2007 allows this to be done.

Until this problem I did not know MS Excel 2007 existed. Do you need Vista to use it. Based on advice from people on this site I stayed with XP when I renewed my computer recently.
David Witham

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By Jane Dance
18th May 2007 14:01

David my sympathy
No great technical advice but recently was asked by a client (computer store) how to perform an excel procedure which would not normally have been a problem but on being presented with Excel 2007 (which I hadnt heard of either) I was completely phased by the way it had changed.

I added a request to his year end letter asking him to save his cash book in XP2003 format!!

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By David Carter
18th May 2007 10:07

Good manners for Excel 2007 users
Until at least 2009 it will be good manners for Excel 2007 users to send files to other people in Excel 97-2003 format.

This is the list of formats available in Excel 2007 - Save as Type:

Excel workbook (i.e. Excel 2007 with .xlsx suffix)
Excel macro-enabled workbook
Excel binary workbook
Excel 97-2003 workbook
XML data
Single file web page
Web page
Excel template
Excel macro-enabled template
Excel 97-2003 template
Text (tab delimited)
Unicode text
Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 workbook
CSV (comma delimited)
Formatted text (space delimited)
Text (Macintosh)
Text (MSDOS)
CSV (Macintosh)
CSV (MSDOS)
DIF (Data Interchange Format)
SYLK (Symbolic Link)
Excel Add-IN
Excel 97-2003 Add-in

The fourth is the one to use.

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John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
17th May 2007 12:11

Converters, compatibility and further reading
Hi David,

There are three parts to your question. The first issue, about how to deal with Excel 2007 files if you aren't using the program, can be solved by installing Microsoft's Office Compatibility Pack. Changing the file suffix will not work.

You may encounter some minor quirks with the pack (follow the link to find copious technical details from Microsoft), but it should solve your problems.

You can run Office 2007 on Windows XP - I have been doing so with the beta test version, but Microsoft would very much like you to use Vista, for which the new suite has been optimised. Those who do buy Vista-equipped PCs can also often get Office 2007 bundled with it at a lower cost than buying a new version off the shelf.

If at any point in the future you decide to review your policy regarding Office 2003 and Vista, you can always take a look at the material detailed in our ExcelZone article, Is the upgrade worth it?.

Hope this helps.
John Stokdyk
Technology editor
AccountingWEB.co.uk


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By User deleted
17th May 2007 13:37

supplementary question
If I have Office 2007 can I save a file "down a level" so that people I send it to who don't have Office 2007 or the conversion pack can read them?

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By User deleted
18th May 2007 17:01

XL2007 - default to 97-2003
Hi there
I had the opposite problem - I have just had a new computer (XP pro) with office 2007 installed. I didn't realise that my clients wouldn't be able to open my emailed files!!
However, since then (and finally getting to grips with the different 'ribbon' effect) I have set up my 2007 to always open/save files in the 97-2003 compatability mode - this save me having to remember to do it every time!!
Go to Excel options, and the save tab on the left, you can then choose 97-2003 to be automatically used every time.
Hope this helps :)

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