Save a file for use in an earlier version of Office
The 2007 Microsoft Office system introduces a new file format that is based on Extensible Markup Language (XML). The new file format is called Open XML Formats and applies to Microsoft Office Word 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007.
If you are using the 2007 Office release, you can share your files with people using an earlier version of Microsoft Office by saving your file in the 97-2003 file format. For example, you can save your Microsoft Office Word 2007 document (.docx) as a 97-2003 document (.doc).
With your file open, click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save As.
Keyboard shortcut To open the Save As dialog box, press ALT, F, A.
If you want to rename the file, in the File name box, enter a new name for the file.
In the Save as type list, click the 97-2003 file format that you want to save the file in. For example, click Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc), Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls), or PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (*.ppt).
You can save a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 file in another file format by clicking the Microsoft Office Button, and then clicking Save As. The file formats that are available in the Save As dialog box vary, depending on what type of sheet is active (a worksheet, chart sheet, or other type of sheet).
You can open a file that was created in another file format (in an earlier version of Microsoft Office Excel or in another program) by clicking the Microsoft Office Button, and then clicking Open. You will be prompted to save it to an Office Excel 2007 format, unless you open a workbook that is shared. For files that were created in an earlier version of Excel, you have the option to keep the original format.
The default Office Excel 2007 XML-based file format. Cannot store Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro code or Microsoft Office Excel 4.0 macro sheets (.xlm).
Excel Workbook (code)
.xlsm
The Office Excel 2007 XML-based and macro-enabled file format. Stores VBA macro code or Excel 4.0 macro sheets (.xlm).
Excel Binary Workbook
.xlsb
The Office Excel 2007 Binary file format (BIFF12).
Template
.xltx
The default Office Excel 2007 file format for an Excel template. Cannot store VBA macro code or Excel 4.0 macro sheets (.xlm).
Template (code)
.xltm
The Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled file format for an Excel template. Stores VBA macro code or Excel 4.0 macro sheets (.xlm).
Excel 97- Excel 2003 Workbook
.xls
The Excel 97 - Excel 2003 Binary file format (BIFF8).
Excel 97- Excel 2003 Template
.xlt
The Excel 97 - Excel 2003 Binary file format (BIFF8) for an Excel template.
Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook
.xls
The Excel 5.0/95 Binary file format (BIFF5).
XML Spreadsheet 2003
.xml
XML Spreadsheet 2003 file format (XMLSS).
XML Data
.xml
XML Data format.
Excel Add-In
.xlam
The Office Excel 2007 XML-based and macro-enabled Add-In, a supplemental program that is designed to run additional code. Supports the use of VBA projects and Excel 4.0 macro sheets (.xlm).
Excel 97-2003 Add-In
.xla
The Excel 97-2003 Add-In, a supplemental program that is designed to run additional code. Supports the use of VBA projects.
Excel 4.0 Workbook
.xlw
An Excel 4.0 file format that saves only worksheets, chart sheets, and macro sheets. You can open a workbook in this file format in Office Excel 2007, but you cannot save an Excel file to this file format.
Lotus space-delimited format. Saves only the active sheet.
Text (Tab-delimited)
.txt
Saves a workbook as a tab-delimited text file for use on another Microsoft Windows operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
Text (Macintosh)
.txt
Saves a workbook as a tab-delimited text file for use on the Macintosh operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
Text (MS-DOS)
.txt
Saves a workbook as a tab-delimited text file for use on the MS-DOS operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
Unicode Text
.txt
Saves a workbook as Unicode text, a character encoding standard that was developed by the Unicode Consortium.
CSV (comma delimited)
.csv
Saves a workbook as a comma-delimited text file for use on another Windows operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
CSV (Macintosh)
.csv
Saves a workbook as a comma-delimited text file for use on the Macintosh operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
CSV (MS-DOS)
.csv
Saves a workbook as a comma-delimited text file for use on the MS-DOS operating system, and ensures that tab characters, line breaks, and other characters are interpreted correctly. Saves only the active sheet.
DIF
.dif
Data Interchange Format. Saves only the active sheet.
SYLK
.slk
Symbolic Link Format. Saves only the active sheet.
Note If you save a workbook in text format, all formatting is lost.
dBase III and IV. You can open these files formats in Excel, but you cannot save an Excel file to dBase format.
Quattro Pro 5.0 (Win)
.wb1
Quattro Pro version 5.0 for Windows. You can open Quattro Pro files in Excel by using a converter. You cannot save an Excel file to Quattro Pro format.
Quattro Pro 7.0 (Win)
.wb3
Quattro Pro version 7.0 for Windows. You can open Quattro Pro files in Excel by using a converter. You cannot save an Excel file to Quattro Pro format.
You can paste data from the Microsoft Office Clipboard into Excel by using the Paste or Paste Special command (Home tab, Clipboard group, Paste button) if the Office Clipboard data is in one of the following formats.
Format
Extension
Clipboard type identifiers
Picture
.wmf or .emf
Pictures in Windows Metafile Format (WMF) or Windows Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF).
Note If you copy a Windows metafile picture from another program, Excel pastes the picture as an enhanced metafile.
Bitmap
.bmp
Pictures stored in Bitmap format (BMP).
Microsoft Excel file formats
.xls
Binary file formats for Excel versions 5.0/95 (BIFF5), Excel 97-2003 (BIFF8), and Office Excel 2007 (BIFF12).
SYLK
.slk
Symbolic Link Format.
DIF
.dif
Data Interchange Format.
Text (tab-delimited)
.txt
Tab-separated text format.
CSV (Comma-delimited)
.csv
Comma-separated values format.
Formatted text (Space-delimited)
.rtf
Rich Text Format (RTF). Only from Excel.
Embedded object
.gif, .jpg, .doc, .xls, or .bmp
Microsoft Excel objects, objects from properly registered programs that support OLE 2.0 (OwnerLink ), and Picture or another presentation format.
Linked object
.gif, .jpg, .doc, .xls, or .bmp
OwnerLink, ObjectLink , Link, Picture, or other format.
Office drawing object
.emf
Office drawing object format or Picture (Windows enhanced metafile format, EMF).
Text
.txt
Display Text, OEM Text.
HTML
1033.aspx
Hypertext Markup Language.
Note When you copy text from another program, Excel pastes the text in HTML format, regardless of the format of the original text.
The following file formats are no longer supported in Office Excel 2007. You cannot open or save files in these file formats.
Format
Extension
Clipboard type identifiers
Excel Chart
.xlc
Excel 2.0, 3.0, and 2.x file formats
WK1, FMT, WK2, WK3, FM3, WK4
.wk1, .wk2, .wk3, .wk4, .wks
Lotus 1-2-3 file formats (all versions)
Microsoft Works
.wks
Microsoft Works file format (all versions)
WQ1
.wq1
Quatro Pro for MS-DOS file format
DBF 2
.dbf
DBASE II file format
Tips for file formats that are not supported by Excel
If a file format that you want to use is not supported in Excel, you can try the following:
Search the World Wide Web (WWW) for a company that makes file format converters for file formats that are not supported in Excel.
Save to a file format that another program supports. For example, you may want to import your spreadsheet into another program that does not support the Excel file format. But the other program may be able to import another supported file format, such as an XML spreadsheet or a text file format. In this case, you can save your workbook to the XML spreadsheet format, and then from the other program, import the XML file.
A file is in a different file format than its extension indicates
The file that you are trying to open in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 has a file name extension that does not match the actual file format of the file. For example, the file has an .xlsx file name extension but it really is a text file that should have a .txt file name extension.
Excel prompts you to verify that the file is not corrupted and that it originated from a source that you trust. Before you click Yes to open the file, you may want to consider the reasons why the file might have an incorrect file name extension.
For example, the file might have been:
Renamed inadvertently If you or someone you know renamed the file by accident so that it has an incorrect file name extension you can safely open the file. Then, save the file in the file format that you want with the appropriate file name extension.
Renamed intentionally If you or someone you know purposely renamed the file by using a different extension to ensure that Excel will recognize the file name extension, you can open the file. However, as a best practice, you should save the file with a file name extension that reflects its actual file format.
As a first step, however, it is important to decide whether or not you trust the source of the file. If you can't verify that the originator of the file is a trusted source, you should not open the file. A hacker (malicious user) might have renamed the file with the intent of misleading you to open it in Excel.
An issue with a file name extension might occur when a workbook that you are trying to open is unreadable and the contents no longer resemble the expected file format. If a workbook has become corrupted, you can try to repair it before you open it. For information about how to recover a corrupted workbook, see Repairing a corrupted workbook.
If you see this message when you try to open a workbook that a trusted source sent to you for review in an e-mail message, you cannot open it from your e-mail program. The person who sent it to you should resend the workbook in the Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb) or Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) file format. Alternatively, you can save the attached workbook on your computer, and then open it in Excel.
Excel 97-2003 features that are not supported in Office Excel 2007
When you open a workbook in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 that was created in an earlier version of Microsoft Office Excel (97-2003), some features of the earlier version of Office Excel are not supported in the workbook. Unsupported features have either been replaced by new features and functionality, or they have been removed because they were rarely used.
Tip If features are not available in the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface but are still available in Office Excel 2007, you can still use those features by adding them to the Quick Access Toolbar.
The following Excel 97-2003 features may function differently, have been removed, or are not available on the Ribbon (part of the Office Fluent user interface) in Office Excel 2007.
Style galleries for tables, cells, and PivotTables provide a set of professional formats that can be applied quickly. You can choose from many predefined styles or create custom styles as needed. Styles replace AutoFormat as the simplest way to apply formatting to a range of cells.
You can also still use the AutoFormat command, but you need to add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar first.
You can use an insert row (a special row in Excel lists) to quickly add a new row of data at the end of a list.
The insert row is no longer available. To add new rows to a table, press TAB, or type or paste the data that you want to include just below a table. You can also insert rows to include additional rows of data.
When you create a table, a defined name for the same range is created at the same time. This name can be used to reference the table in formulas that use the new, structured referencing feature.
Names that are used for lists in earlier versions of Excel might not meet the requirements for range names in Excel 2007, and therefore cannot be used for referencing the table in formulas that use the new structured referencing feature. To use table names in structured references, you must change the defined names.
You can publish an Excel list to a Windows SharePoint Services site and connect to the published list on the SharePoint site to keep list data synchronized between Excel and Windows SharePoint Services.
Two-way synchronization of Excel tables with SharePoint lists is no longer supported. When you export table data to a SharePoint list, you can only create a one-way connection to the data in the SharePoint list.
With a one-way connection to the data in the SharePoint list, changes that are made to the data in the SharePoint list can be incorporated in Excel 2007. When you refresh the table data in Excel 2007, the latest data from the SharePoint site overwrites the table data on the worksheet, including any changes that you made to the table data. In Excel 2007, you can no longer update a SharePoint list with changes that you make to the table data in Excel, after that data has been exported.
To preserve a two-way connection, you need to keep the workbook in Excel 97-2003 file format instead of converting it to the Excel 2007 file format.
Full row and full column references that are used in a workbook can include data in cells that are located within the row and column limit of Excel 97-2003.
Full row and full column references automatically take into account the cells in the larger grid size of Excel 2007. This means that the reference =A:A, which refers to cells A1:A65536 in earlier versions of Excel, refers to cells A1:A1048576 in the Excel 2007 file format.
Converting a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format can cause problems when full row or column references are used in that workbook, and data that was not meant to be included in the references has been entered in cells that are beyond the row and column limit of the earlier version of Excel.
Also, if specific functions that count the number of cells, rows, or columns in the reference were used (such as COUNTBLANK, ROWS, and COLUMN), and these functions referenced full rows or columns, the results that these functions return might be different than expected.
Defined names in formulas
Specific names that use a combination of letters and numbers (such as USA1, FOO100, and MGR4) can be defined and used in formulas in Excel 97-2003 because they do not conflict with cell references.
With a new limit of 16,384 columns, the columns in Excel 2007 extend to column XFD. This means that specific names (such as USA1, FOO100, and MGR4) that you could define in earlier versions of Excel will conflict with valid cell references in Excel 2007. In addition, Excel 2007 reserves names that start with XL for internal use.
When incompatible names are found when you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, you will be alerted about the conflict. To differentiate these names from cell references, an underscore (_) is automatically added as a prefix to the incompatible names.
External workbook references and functions that take string references (such as INDIRECT) are not updated — these references and functions must be changed manually.
Excel 2007 also does not change defined names that are referenced through Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. VBA code that references incompatible names will not work and must be updated.
You create a chart by clicking the chart type that you want on the Office Fluent user interface Ribbon (Insert tab, Chart group). After creating the chart, you can use the Chart Tools to modify and format the chart.
Instead of pattern fills in chart elements, you can use picture and texture fills.
Charts with pattern fills that were created in an earlier version of Excel appear the same when they are opened in Excel 2007, but you cannot use the pattern fills in other chart elements.
Instead of the Size with window command, you can use the Zoom to Selection command to achieve similar results.
Automatically creating a text box when you type on a chart
A text box is automatically created when you click anywhere on a chart and start typing.
You cannot create a text box when you click anywhere on a chart and start typing.
To add a text box on a chart, use the Insert Text Box command.
Copying charts to Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
By default, a copied chart is pasted as a picture in an Office Word 2007 document or Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation.
By default, a copied chart is pasted in an Office Word 2007 document or Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation as an object that is linked to the Excel chart.
You can change the way that a copied chart is pasted by clicking the Paste Options button that is displayed when you paste the chart, and then pasting the chart as a picture or an entire workbook.
You can use a Word 97-2003 table as data for a new chart.
A table in Office Word 2007 cannot be used as data for a new chart.
When you create a chart in Office Word 2007, you get a worksheet with sample data instead of the data in the selected Word table. To plot the Word table data into the new chart, you need to copy that data to the worksheet, replacing the existing sample data.
Printed chart size
You can specify printed chart size and scaling options on the Chart tab of the Page Setup dialog box. The Chart tab is available only when a chart is selected (File menu, Page Setup command).
The printed chart size and scaling options are no longer available on the Chart tab of the Page Setup dialog box. The Chart tab is available only when a chart is selected (Page Layout tab, Page Setup group, Dialog Box Launcher.
Dragging data points to change the source values on the worksheet is no longer supported.
Grouping and selecting shapes
Shapes are drawn in a format that differs from the shape format that is used in Excel 2007.
Shapes that are drawn in earlier versions of Excel cannot be grouped with shapes that are drawn in Excel 2007, even when the shapes are upgraded to the current version. You cannot select shapes that are created in different versions of Excel at the same time. Shapes that are created in different versions of Excel are layered on top of current shapes.
Much like shapes, charts that are created in Excel 2007 cannot be layered on top of dialog sheets that are created in earlier versions of Excel, and you cannot view charts that are layered underneath these dialog sheets.
To select the current charts, use the chart element selection box (Chart Tools, Format tab, Current Selection group).
To select hidden charts or shapes that were created in an earlier version of Excel, you must first add the Select Multiple Objects command to the Quick Access Toolbar.
Names used for PivotTable reports in earlier versions of Excel might not meet the requirements for range names in Excel 2007 and therefore cannot be used for referencing a table in formulas that use the new structured referencing feature. To use PivotTable report names in structured references, you must change the defined names.
Calculated members that are defined in OLAP cubes are displayed by default in PivotTable reports.
Calculated members that are defined in OLAP cubes are no longer displayed by default in PivotTable reports, but calculated measures (calculated members in the Measures dimension) are displayed by default.
You can display calculated members by selecting Show calculated members from OLAP server on the Display tab in the PivotTable Options dialog box (PivotTable Tools, Options tab, PivotTable group, Options).
Versions of Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services earlier than SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services are used to support OLAP PivotTable reports.
The new filtering options in OLAP PivotTable reports require support for sub-selects on the OLAP server. SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services supports sub-selects to make all of the filtering options available.
When you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, only the filtering options that are available in Excel 2003 PivotTable reports will be available in Excel 2007 PivotTable reports, because the earlier versions of SQL Server Analysis Services do not support sub-selects.
OLAP Cube Wizard
You can use the OLAP Cube Wizard to create OLAP cube files from relational data sources. By using this feature, you can add a hierarchical data structure to relational data so that the relational data can be viewed in PivotTable reports and stored in a separate file.
The OLAP Cube Wizard is no longer available. To create PivotTable reports that are based on relational data, you can connect to the relational data directly, or you can import the relational data into an Excel workbook.
You use the PivotTable Wizard to create a PivotTable report and the PivotChart Wizard to create a PivotChart report.
The PivotTable Wizard and PivotChart Wizard are not available on the Office Fluent Ribbon. Instead, you use the Insert PivotTable and Insert PivotChart commands to create a PivotTable report or a PivotChart report in one step (Insert tab, Tables group, PivotTable button).
You can still use the PivotTable Wizard and PivotChart Wizard by adding them to the Quick Access Toolbar. Some familiar features are available only when you use the wizards, such as server-defined page fields, the option to optimize memory, the ability to explicitly create a PivotTable report based on another PivotTable report, and multiple consolidation ranges.
Custom labels and item formatting are lost when you collapse fields.
PivotTable reports preserve customization of items (such as custom labels and item formatting) even when those items are temporarily not visible in the PivotTable report.
When you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, the custom labels and item formatting are applied when you collapse fields. Custom labels are always available in the workbook, even when fields are removed from the PivotTable reports, and then added again at a later time.
Microsoft Script Editor is available on the Tools menu (Tools, Macro, Microsoft Script Editor) so that you can use it to edit HTML files.
Integration with Microsoft Script Editor has been removed from the 2007 Microsoft Office system, which means that script debugging components are no longer available in Excel 2007. However, Microsoft Script Editor is still installed with the 2007 Office release, and you can use the Microsoft Script Editor as a standalone program to edit HTML files.
Support for the following file formats has been removed from Excel 2007. You will not be able to open or save workbooks in these file formats.
File formats that are not supported in Excel 2007
WK1, ALL(1-2-3)
WK4 (1-2-3)
WJ1 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj1)
WJ3 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj3)
WKS (1-2-3)
WKS (Works Japanese) (*.wks)
WK3, FM3(1-2-3)
WK1, FMT(1-2-3)
WJ2 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj2)
WJ3, FJ3 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj3)
DBF 2 (dBASE II)
WQ1 (Quattro Pro/DOS)
Microsoft Excel Chart (*.xlc)
Support for the following file formats has changed.
File format
In Excel 2007
Web Page (*1033.aspx; *1033.aspxl)
Excel 2007 no longer stores Excel-specific feature information in this file format. You can open a file in this format, preserving any Excel-specific features that were created in an earlier version of Excel. However, you can save such a file (or any other workbook) in this file format for publishing purposes only.
Single File Web Page (*.mht; *.mhtml)
Excel 2007 no longer stores Excel-specific feature information in this file format. You can open a file in this format, preserving any Excel-specific features that were created in an earlier version of Excel. However, you can save such a file (or any other workbook) in this file format for publishing purposes only.
Check a workbook for compatibility with earlier versions of Excel
To ensure that a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbook does not have compatibility issues that cause a significant loss of functionality or a minor loss of fidelity in an earlier version of Excel, you can run the Compatibility Checker. The Compatibility Checker finds any potential compatibility issues and helps you create a report so that you can resolve them.
Important When you work on a workbook in Compatibility Mode, where the workbook is in Excel 97-2003 Binary file format (BIFF8) instead of the new Office Excel 2007 XML-based file format (.xlsx), the Compatibility Checker is automatically run when you save a workbook.
In Office Excel 2007, open the workbook that you want to check for compatibility.
Open an Office Excel 2007 workbook in an earlier version of Excel
For backward compatibility and collaboration with earlier versions of Microsoft Office Excel, you can use one of two ways to open Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbooks in an earlier version of Excel. You can either use the earlier binary file format (.xls) or the new XML-based file format (.xlsx) to exchange workbooks between different versions of Excel.
To ensure that a workbook that you save in Office Excel 2007 can be opened in an earlier version of Excel, you can save a copy that is fully compatible with Excel 97-2003 (.xls) in Excel 2007.
Users who use an earlier version of Excel can also download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint File Formats to install updates and converters for the earlier version of Excel. This allows them to open, edit, and save an Excel 2007 workbook in the earlier version of Excel, without having to save it to that version's file format first or without having to upgrade the earlier version of Excel to Excel 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
On a computer that is running Windows Vista
In the Address bar, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to open.
On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP
In the Look in list, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to open.
In the folder list, locate and open the folder that contains the workbook.
Click the workbook, and then click Open.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then point to the arrow next to Save As.
Under Save a copy of the document, click Excel 97-2003 Workbook.
The file will be saved in the Excel 97 - Excel 2003 Binary file format (BIFF8) so that it can be opened in versions of Excel 97 through Excel 2003.
Note You can also save a workbook to Excel 5.0/95 binary file format (BIFF5). Click Microsoft Office Button, click Save As, and then in the Save as type box, click Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook. You will be able open the workbook in that version of Excel, but Excel 2007 formatting and features will not be preserved.
All Excel 2007 workbooks that you open after installing the updates and converters will automatically be converted so that you can edit and save them without having to upgrade to Excel 2007.Office Excel 2007-specific features and formatting may not be displayed in the earlier version of Excel, but they are still available when the workbook is saved and then re-opened in Excel 2007. For more information about features and formatting that are not displayed, see Office Excel 2007 features that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
In the earlier version of Excel, open the Excel 2007 workbook.
In the Address bar, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to open.
On a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP
In the Look in list, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the workbook that you want to open.
In the folder list, locate and open the folder that contains the workbook.
Click the workbook, and then click Open.
If you have not yet installed the updates and converters, you will be prompted to do so. Follow the instructions to install the necessary updates and converters.
The Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Workbook format (.xlsx) preserves all worksheet and chart data, formatting, and other features available in Office Excel 2007, and the Macro-Enabled Workbook format (.xlsm) preserves macros and macro sheets in addition to those features.
If you frequently share workbook data with people who use an earlier version of Excel, you can work in Compatibility Mode to prevent the loss of data and fidelity when the workbook is opened in the earlier version of Excel, or you can use converters that help you transition the data. For more information, see Use Office Excel 2007 with earlier versions of Excel.
If you save a workbook in another file format, such as a text file format, some of the formatting and data might be lost, and other features might not be supported.
The following file formats have feature and formatting differences as described.
This file format (.prn) saves only the text and values as they are displayed in cells of the active worksheet.
If a row of cells contains more than 240 characters, any characters beyond 240 wrap to a new line at the end of the converted file. For example, if rows 1 through 10 each contain more than 240 characters, the remaining text in row 1 is placed in row 11, the remaining text in row 2 is placed in row 12, and so on.
Columns of data are separated by commas, and each row of data ends in a carriage return. If cells display formulas instead of formula values, the formulas are converted as text. All formatting, graphics, objects, and other worksheet contents are lost. The euro symbol will be converted to a question mark.
Note Before saving a worksheet in this format, make sure that all of the data that you want converted is visible and that there is adequate spacing between the columns. Otherwise, data may be lost or not properly separated in the converted file. You may need to adjust the column widths of the worksheet before you convert it to formatted text format.
This file format (.txt) saves only the text and values as they are displayed in cells of the active worksheet.
Columns of data are separated by tab characters, and each row of data ends in a carriage return. If a cell contains a comma, the cell contents are enclosed in double quotation marks. If the data contains a quotation mark, double quotation marks will replace the quotation mark, and the cell contents are also enclosed in double quotation marks. All formatting, graphics, objects, and other worksheet contents are lost. The euro symbol will be converted to a question mark.
If cells display formulas instead of formula values, the formulas are saved as text. To preserve the formulas if you reopen the file in Excel, select the Delimited option in the Text Import Wizard, and select tab characters as the delimiters.
This file format (.txt) saves all text and values as they appear in cells of the active worksheet.
However, if you open a file in Text (Unicode) format by using a program that does not read Unicode, such as Notepad in Windows 95 or a Microsoft MS-DOS-based program, your data will be lost.
Note Notepad in Windows NT reads files in Text (Unicode) format.
This file format (.csv) saves only the text and values as they are displayed in cells of the active worksheet. All rows and all characters in each cell are saved. Columns of data are separated by commas, and each row of data ends in a carriage return. If a cell contains a comma, the cell contents are enclosed in double quotation marks.
If cells display formulas instead of formula values, the formulas are converted as text. All formatting, graphics, objects, and other worksheet contents are lost. The euro symbol will be converted to a question mark.
This file format (.dif) saves only the text, values, and formulas on the active worksheet.
If worksheet options are set to display formula results in the cells, only the formula results are saved in the converted file. To save the formulas, display the formulas on the worksheet before saving the file.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Excel Options.
Click Advanced, and then under Display options for this worksheet, select the Show formulas in cells instead of their calculated results check box.
Column widths and most number formats are saved, but all other formats are lost.
Page setup settings and manual page breaks are lost.
Cell comments, graphics, embedded charts, objects, form controls, hyperlinks, data validation settings, conditional formatting, and other worksheet features are lost.
The data displayed in the current view of a PivotTable report is saved; all other PivotTable data is lost.
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code is lost.
The euro symbol will be converted to a question mark.
This file format (.slk) saves only the values and formulas on the active worksheet, and limited cell formatting.
Up to 255 characters are saved per cell.
If an Excel function is not supported in SYLK format, Excel calculates the function before saving the file and replaces the formula with the resulting value.
Most text formats are saved; converted text takes on the format of the first character in the cell. Rotated text, merged cells, and horizontal and vertical text alignment settings are lost. The font color might be converted to a different color if you reopen the converted SYLK sheet in Excel. Borders are converted to single-line borders. Cell shading is converted to a dotted gray shading.
Page setup settings and manual page breaks are lost.
Cell comments are saved. You can display the comments if you reopen the SYLK file in Excel.
Graphics, embedded charts, objects, form controls, hyperlinks, data validation settings, conditional formatting, and other worksheet features are lost.
VBA code is lost.
The data displayed in the current view of a PivotTable report is saved; all other PivotTable data is lost.
Note You can use this format to save workbook files for use in Microsoft Multiplan. Excel does not include file format converters for converting workbook files directly into the Multiplan format.
These Web Page file formats (1033.aspx, 1033.aspxl), Single File Web Page file formats (.mht, .mhtml) can be used for exporting Excel data. In Office Excel 2007, worksheet features (such as formulas, charts, PivotTables, and Visual Basic for Application (VBA) projects) are no longer supported in these file formats, and they will be lost when you open a file in this file format again in Excel.
This XML Spreadsheet 2003 file format (.xml) does not retain the following features:
Auditing tracer arrows
Chart and other graphic objects
Chart sheets, macro sheets, dialog sheets
Custom views
Data consolidation references
Drawing object layers
Outlining and grouping features
Password-protected worksheet data
Scenarios
User-defined function categories
VBA projects
New Office Excel 2007 features, such as improved conditional formatting, are not supported in this file format. The new row and column limits of Excel 2007, however, are supported.
After you've installed Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you may want to know how you can continue working with workbooks that are created in an earlier version of Excel, how you can keep these workbooks accessible for users who don't have the current version of Excel installed, and how the differences between the versions affect the way that you work.
For backward compatibility and collaboration with earlier versions of Microsoft Office Excel (Excel 97-2003), you can use one of several ways to exchange workbooks between the different versions. In Office Excel 2007, you can open a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel and work in Compatibility Mode so that the workbook remains in a file format that can easily be opened again in the earlier version. An Excel 2007 workbook can also be opened in an earlier version of Excel by using file converters that can be downloaded.
And if you decide to convert the workbook to the current file format, you can always check the converted workbook for compatibility with earlier versions of Excel, so that you can make the necessary changes to avoid the loss of data or fidelity that might occur when that workbook is opened in an earlier version of Excel.
In Excel 2007, when you open a workbook that was created in an earlier version, it is automatically opened in Compatibility Mode, and you see Compatibility Mode in square brackets next to the file name in the Excel title bar (title bar: A horizontal bar at the top of a window, dialog box, or toolbar that shows the name of the document, program, or toolbar.). In Compatibility Mode, any new or enhanced Excel 2007 features are not available when you work in a workbook, which prevents the loss of data and fidelity when the workbook is opened in an earlier version of Excel. Also, rather than using the current XML-based file format (.xlsx), the workbook is saved in Excel 97-2003 file format (.xls), a binary file format that is easily opened in an earlier version of Excel.
Unlike other 2007 Microsoft Office system programs, such as Microsoft Office Word 2007, you cannot manually turn on Compatibility Mode in Excel, and you don't have the option to include any new features when you work in a workbook in Compatibility Mode.
If you no longer want to work in Compatibility Mode, you can convert the workbook to the current file format. For information, see Convert a workbook to Excel 2007 file format.
Use file converters in earlier versions of Excel to open an Excel 2007 workbook
Specific updates and file converters are available on Microsoft Office Online that can help you open an Excel 2007 workbook in an earlier version of Excel (Excel 97-2003). If you have not yet installed the updates and converters, when you try to open an Excel 2007 workbook, you may be prompted to do so.
After installing the updates and converters, all Excel 2007 workbooks can be opened so that you can edit and save them without having to upgrade your version of Excel to Excel 2007.Excel 2007-specific features and formatting may not be displayed in the earlier version of Excel, but they are still available when the workbook is saved and then re-opened in Excel 2007. For more information about features and formatting that are not displayed, see Office Excel 2007 features that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
Download and use file converters
On the computer that has the earlier version of Excel installed, download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint File Formats from the Microsoft Office Downloads Web site and install the updates and converters that are needed to open Excel 2007 workbooks.
In the earlier version of Excel (Excel 97-2003), open the Excel 2007 workbook.
When you open a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel, and you no longer plan for anyone to work on this workbook in the earlier version, you can convert the workbook to the current Excel 2007 file format. When you convert to the current file format, you will have access to all of the new and enhanced features and functionality that Excel 2007 offers, and the file size will be smaller.
To convert the workbook, you can:
Convert the workbook to the current file format When you convert a workbook, it is replaced with a copy of the workbook in the current file format (.xlsx or .xlsm). After the workbook is converted, it is no longer available in the original file format.
Save the workbook in the current file format If you want to keep a copy of the workbook in the original file format, rather than converting the workbook, you may want to save the workbook in the current file format (.xlsx). For more information, see Save a workbook in another file format.
Convert a workbook to the current file format
Open the workbook that you want to convert to the current file format.
Note The workbook is opened in Compatibility Mode.
Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Convert.
If you receive a message about converting workbooks, click OK.
Tip If you don't want to see this message about converting workbooks, select the Do not ask me again about converting workbooks.
To work in the current file format, click Yes to close and reopen the workbook.
Check an Excel 2007 workbook for compatibility with earlier versions of Excel
To ensure that a Excel 2007 workbook does not have compatibility issues that cause a significant loss of functionality or a minor loss of fidelity in an earlier version of Excel, you can run the Compatibility Checker. The Compatibility Checker finds any potential compatibility issues and helps you create a report so that you can resolve them.
Important When you work on a workbook in Compatibility Mode, where the workbook is in Excel 97-2003 file format (.xls) instead of the new Excel 2007 XML-based file format (.xlsx) or binary file format (.xlsb), the Compatibility Checker runs automatically when you save a workbook.
In Excel 2007, open the workbook that you want to check for compatibility.
Click Microsoft Office Button, click Prepare, and then click Run Compatibility Checker.
To check the workbook for compatibility every time that you save it, select the Check compatibility when saving workbook check box.
To create a report in a separate worksheet of all the issues that are listed in the Summary box, click Copy to New Sheet.
Tip If available, you can click Fix to resolve simple issues. For more complex issues, click Help for more information.
Office Excel 2007 features that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel
Not all Microsoft Office Excel 2007 features are supported in earlier versions of Excel. When you work in compatibility mode or want to save an Excel 2007 workbook to the file format of an earlier version of Excel, the Compatibility Checker can help you identify issues that may cause a significant loss of functionality or a minor loss of fidelity in the earlier version of Excel. To avoid the loss of data or functionality in an earlier version of Excel, you can then make the necessary changes to your Excel 2007 workbook.
The Compatibility Checker lists the issues it finds, and provides a Find and Help button for most issues, so that you can locate all occurrences of the issue, and get information on best ways to solve the issue.
Note When you click Find in the Compatibility Checker, Excel typically selects only cells and ranges that are affected by compatibility issues such as cell formatting inconsistencies, incompatible values in cells, or cells and ranges that contain data outside the row and column limit of earlier versions of Excel. However, when specific features such as grouping have been applied to cells that are affected by compatibility issues, Excel selects the entire worksheet range containing the grouped cells that are located outside the row and column limit of earlier versions of Excel instead of selecting just those grouped cells.
The following worksheet issues cause a significant loss of functionality:
Issue
Solution
This workbook contains data in cells outside of the row and column limit of the selected file format. Data beyond 256 (IV) columns by 65,536 rows will not be saved. Formula references to data in this region will return a #REF! error.
In Excel 2007, the worksheet size is 16,384 columns by 1,048,576 rows, but the worksheet size of earlier versions of Excel is only 256 columns by 65,536 rows. Data in cells outside of this column and row limit is lost in earlier versions of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells and ranges that fall outside of the row and column limits, select them, and then place them within the column and row limits or on another sheet by using the Cut and Paste commands.
This workbook contains dates in a calendar format that is not supported by the selected file format. These dates will be displayed as Gregorian dates.
In Excel 2007, you can create custom international calendar formats, such as Hebrew Lunar, Japanese Lunar, Chinese Lunar, Saka, Zodiac Chinese, Zodiac Korean, Rokuyou Lunar, and Korean Lunar. However, these calendar formats are not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
To avoid loss of functionality, you may want to change the calendar format to a language (or locale) that is supported in earlier versions of Excel.
This workbook contains dates in a calendar format that is not supported by the selected file format. These dates must be edited by using the Gregorian calendar.
In Excel 2007, you can apply a non-Western calendar type, such as Thai Buddhist or Arabic Hijri. In earlier versions of Excel, these calendar types can only be edited in Gregorian.
To avoid loss of functionality, you may want to change the calendar format to a language (or locale) that is supported in earlier versions of Excel.
This workbook contains more cells with data than are supported in earlier versions of Excel. Earlier versions of Excel will not be able to open this workbook.
In Excel 2007, the total number of available cell blocks (CLBs) is limited by available memory. In earlier versions of Excel, however, the total number of available CLBs is limited to 64,000 CLBs in an instance of Excel.
A CLB includes 16 worksheet rows. If all rows in a worksheet contain data, you would have 4096 CLBs in that worksheet, and you could have only 16 of such worksheets in a single instance of Excel (regardless of how many workbooks you have open in Excel).
To ensure that the workbook does not exceed the 64,000 CLB limit and can be opened in earlier versions of Excel, you should work in Compatibility Mode in Excel 2007 after you save the workbook to Excel 97-2003 file format. In Compatibility Mode, Excel keeps track of the CLBs within the active workbook.
The following worksheet issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
Earlier versions of Excel do not support color formatting in header and footer text. The color formatting information will be displayed as plain text in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can apply color formatting to header and footer text. You cannot use color formatting in headers and footers in earlier versions of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Fix if you want to remove the color formatting.
This workbook contains worksheets that have even page or first page headers and footers. These page headers and footers cannot be displayed in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you have the option to display different header and footer text on even pages or on the first page. This option is not available in earlier versions of Excel. Even page or first page headers and footers cannot be displayed in the earlier versions, but they remain available for display when you open the workbook in Excel 2007 again.
If you frequently need to open a workbook in an earlier Excel file format, you may want to stop using even or first page headers or footers for that workbook.
Some cells or styles in this workbook contain formatting that is not supported by the selected file format. These formats will be converted to the closest format available.
In Excel 2007, different cell formatting or cell style options are available, such as special effects and shadows. These options are not available in earlier versions of Excel.
You can accept the closest available format that is applied when you continue saving the workbook, or you can change or remove a cell style that is not supported before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.
This workbook contains more unique cell formats than are supported by the selected file format. Some cell formats will not be saved.
In Excel 2007, you can use 64,000 unique cell formats, but in earlier versions of Excel, you can only use up to 4,000 unique cell formats. Unique cell formats include any specific combination of formatting that is applied in a workbook.
The following Excel table issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
The table contains a custom formula or text in the total row. In earlier versions of Excel, the data is displayed without a table.
In Excel 2007, you can use custom formulas and text in the total row of a table, but this is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. Although the formulas will remain, the range will no longer be a table. If you want the table to remain in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to remove the custom text and use only the formulas that are available in the total row.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that contains a custom formula or text, and then remove that formula or text from the total row.
A table in this workbook does not display a header row. In earlier versions of Excel, the data is displayed without a table unless the Header Row check box is selected (Table Tools, Design tab, Table Style Options group).
In Excel 2007, you have the option of displaying or hiding the header row of a table. In earlier versions of Excel, a table always has a header row.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that is displayed without a header row, and then display a header row.
A table style is applied to a table in this workbook. Table style formatting cannot be displayed in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can quickly format a table by applying a theme-based table style. In earlier versions of Excel, you can only format a table manually.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that has a table style applied, and then remove that table style.
A table in this workbook is connected to an external data source. Table functionality will be lost, but the data remains connected. If table rows are hidden by a filter, they remain hidden in an earlier version of Excel.
To avoid losing table functionality in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to disconnect the external data source before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that is connected to an external data source, and then disconnect the table from the external data source. In the earlier version of Excel, you can then connect the data to the external data source.
A table in this workbook has a read-only connection to a Windows SharePoint Services List. Table functionality will be lost, as well as the ability to refresh or edit the connection. If table rows are hidden by a filter, they remain hidden in an earlier version of Excel.
To avoid losing table functionality in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to disconnect the table from the Windows SharePoint Services list before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.
You can also decide to create a SharePoint list that is read/write only in the earlier version of Excel, and then work on this workbook in Compatibility Mode in Excel 2007, which keeps it in Excel 97-2003 file format.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that has a read-only connection to a Windows SharePoint Services List, and then disconnect the table from the SharePoint List. In Excel 2003, you can then import the SharePoint List as a read/write list.
The following PivotTable issues cause a significant loss of functionality:
Issue
Solution
A PivotTable in this workbook exceeds former limits and will be lost if it is saved to earlier file formats. Only PivotTables that are created in Compatibility Mode will work in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, a PivotTable report supports 1,048,576 unique items per field, but in earlier versions of Excel, only 32,500 items per field are supported.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the PivotTable that exceeds the former limits. When you save the workbook to Excel 97-2003 format, you can then re-create this PivotTable in Compatibility Mode.
A PivotTable in this workbook contains conditional formatting rules that are applied to cells in collapsed rows or columns. To avoid losing these rules in earlier versions of Excel, expand those rows or columns.
To avoid losing conditional formatting rules that are applied to cells in collapsed rows or column, you should expand the rows and columns before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the collapsed rows or columns that contain conditional formatting rules, and then expand those rows or columns.
The following PivotTable issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
A PivotTable style is applied to a PivotTable in this workbook. PivotTable style formatting cannot be displayed in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can quickly format a PivotTable report by applying a theme-based PivotTable style. In earlier versions of Excel, you can only format a PivotTable manually.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the PivotTable that has a PivotTable style applied, and then remove that PivotTable style.
A PivotTable in this workbook is built in the current file format and will not work in earlier versions of Excel. Only PivotTables that are created in Compatibility Mode will work in earlier versions of Excel.
A PivotTable that has been created in the Excel 2007 file format cannot be refreshed in earlier versions of Excel. To avoid this issue, you may want to work in Compatibility Mode. When you create a PivotTable in Compatibility Mode, you can open it in earlier versions of Excel without loss of functionality.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the PivotTable that is created in the current file format. When you save the workbook to Excel 97-2003 format, you can then re-create this PivotTable in Compatibility Mode.
A PivotTable in this workbook has fields in compact form. In earlier versions of Excel, this layout will be changed to tabular form.
In Excel 2007, you can use compact form (alone or in combination with tabular and outline form) to keep related data from spreading horizontally off of the screen and to help minimize scrolling — fields are contained in one column and are indented to show the nested column relationship. In earlier versions of Excel, only outline form and tabular form are supported.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the PivotTable that has fields in a compact form, and then change that format to tabular form as needed.
The following sorting issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
A worksheet in this workbook contains a sort state with more than three sort conditions. This information will be lost in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can apply sort states with up to sixty-four sort conditions to sort data by, but earlier versions of Excel support sort states with up to three conditions only. To avoid losing sort state information in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to change the sort state to one that uses no more than three conditions. In earlier versions of Excel, users can also sort the data manually.
All sort state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the sort state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been sorted with more than three conditions, and then change the sort state by using only three or less conditions.
A worksheet in this workbook contains a sort state that uses a sort condition with a custom list. This information will be lost in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can sort by a custom list. To get similar sorting results in earlier versions of Excel, you can group the the data that you want to sort, and then sort the data manually.
All sort state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the sort state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been sorted by a custom list, and then change the sort state so that it no longer contains a custom list.
A worksheet in this workbook contains a sort state that uses a sort condition that specifies formatting information. This information will be lost in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can sort data by a specific format, such as cell color, font color, or icon sets. In earlier versions of Excel, you can only sort text.
All sort state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the sort state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been sorted by a specific format, and then change the sort state without specifying formatting information.
The following filtering issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
Some data in this workbook is filtered in a way that is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can apply filters that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format. In earlier versions of Excel, users can then filter the data manually.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Some data in this workbook is filtered by a cell color. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can filter by a cell color, font color, or icon set, which is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format. In earlier versions of Excel, users can then filter the data manually.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Some data in this workbook is filtered by a font color. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can filter by a cell color, font color, or icon set, which is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format. In earlier versions of Excel, users can then filter the data manually.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Some data in this workbook is filtered by a cell icon. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can filter by a cell color, font color, or icon set, which is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format. In earlier versions of Excel, users can then filter the data manually.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Some data in this workbook is filtered by more than two criteria. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can filter data by more than two criteria. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format. In earlier versions of Excel, users can then filter the data manually.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Some data in this workbook is filtered by a grouped hierarchy of dates, resulting in more than two criteria. Rows that are hidden by the filter will remain hidden, but the filter itself will not display correctly in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can filter dates by a grouped hierarchy. Because this is not supported in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to ungroup the hierarchy of dates. To avoid losing filter functionality, you may want to clear the filter before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.
All filter state information remains available in the workbook, however, and is applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the filter state information is edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the data that has been filtered, and then you can clear the filter to unhide the rows that are hidden. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter. On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Sort & Filter, and then click Clear to clear the filter.
Date grouping can also be turned off on the Advanced tab in the Excel Options dialog box. (Office Button, Excel Options).
The following formula issues cause a significant loss of functionality:
Issue
Solution
Some worksheets contain more array formulas that refer to other worksheets than are supported by the selected file format. Some of these array formulas will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! errors.
In Excel 2007, workbook arrays that refer to other worksheets are limited by available memory, but in earlier versions of Excel, worksheets can only contain up to 65,472 workbook arrays that refer to other worksheets. Workbook arrays beyond the maximum limit will be converted to and display #VALUE! errors.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain array formulas that refer to another worksheet, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors.
Some formulas contain more values, references, and/or names than are supported by the selected file format. These formulas will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! Errors.
In Excel 2007, the maximum length of formula contents is 8,192 characters and the maximum internal formula length is 16,384 bytes. In earlier versions for Excel, the maximum length of formula contents is only 1,024 characters, and the maximum internal formula length is only 1,800 bytes. When the combination of formula arguments (including values, references, and/or names) exceeds the maximum limits of earlier versions of Excel, the formulas will result in #VALUE! errors when you save the workbook to an earlier Excel file format.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas that exceed the maximum formula length limits of earlier versions of Excel, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors.
Some formulas have more levels of nesting than are supported by the selected file format. Formulas with more than seven levels of nesting will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! errors.
In Excel 2007, a formula can contain up to 64 levels of nesting, but in earlier versions of Excel, the maximum levels of nesting is only 7.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas with more than 7 levels of nesting, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors.
Some formulas contain functions that have more arguments than are supported by the selected file format. Formulas that have more than 30 arguments per function will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! errors.
In Excel 2007, a formula can contain up to 255 arguments, but in earlier versions of Excel, the maximum limit of arguments in a formula is only 30.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas with more than 30 arguments, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors.
Some formulas use more operands than are allowed by the selected file format. These formulas will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! errors.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas with more than 40 operands, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors.
Some formulas contain functions with more arguments than are supported by the selected file format. Formulas with more than 29 arguments to a function will not be saved and will be converted to #VALUE! errors.
In Excel 2007, a user-defined function (UDF) that you create by using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) can contain up to 60 arguments, but in earlier versions of Excel, the number of arguments in UDFs are limited by VBA to only 29.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain functions with more than 29 arguments, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #VALUE! errors. You may need to use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to change user-defined functions.
One or more functions in this workbook are not available in earlier versions of Excel. When recalculated in earlier versions, these functions will return a #NAME? error instead of their current results.
Excel 2007 provides the following functions that are not available in earlier versions of Excel:
When you save the workbook in Excel 97-2003 file format, and open it in an earlier version of Excel, any new function will be displayed in the cell with _xlfn. For example, =_xlfn.IFERROR (1,2).
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain functions that are new in Excel 2007, and then make the necessary changes to avoid #NAME? errors.
Some formulas contain references to tables that are not supported in the selected file format. These references will be converted to cell references.
In Excel 2007, you can use structured references to make it much easier and more intuitive to work with table data when you are using formulas that reference a table, either portions of a table or the entire table. This feature is not supported in earlier versions of Excel, and structured references will be converted to cell references.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas with structured references to tables, so that you can change them to the cell references that you want to use.
Some formulas contain references to tables in other workbooks that are not currently open in this instance of Excel. These references will be converted to #REF on save to Excel 97-2003 format because they cannot be converted to sheet references.
In Excel 2007, you can use structured references to make it much easier and more intuitive to work with table data when you are using formulas that reference a table, either portions of a table or the entire table. This feature is not supported in earlier versions of Excel, and structured references will be converted to cell references. However, if the structured references point to tables in other workbooks that are not currently open, they will be converted to and displayed as #REF errors.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the cells that contain formulas with structured references to tables in other workbooks, so that you can change them to avoid #REF errors.
The following formula issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
Some array formulas in this workbook refer to an entire column. In earlier versions of Excel, these formulas may be converted to #NUM! errors when they are recalculated.
Array formulas that refer to an entire column in Excel 2007will be converted to and displayed as #NUM! errors when they are recalculated in earlier versions of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the array formulas that refer to an entire column so that you can make the necessary changes to avoid #NUM errors.
One or more defined names in this workbook contain formulas that use more than the 255 characters allowed in the selected file format. These formulas will be saved but will be truncated when edited in earlier versions of Excel.
When named ranges in formulas exceed the 255 character limit that is supported in earlier versions of Excel, the formula will work correctly, but it will be truncated in the Name dialog box and cannot be edited.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain named ranges in formulas, and then make the necessary changes so that users can edit the formulas in earlier versions of Excel.
Some formulas in this workbook are linked to other workbooks that are closed. When these formulas are recalculated in earlier versions of Excel without opening the linked workbooks, characters beyond the 255-character limit cannot be returned.
When formulas in a workbook are linked to other workbooks that are closed, they can only display up to 255 characters when they are recalculated in earlier versions of Excel. The formula results may be truncated.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain formulas that link to other workbooks that are closed so that you can verify the links and can make the necessary changes to avoid truncated formula results in earlier versions of Excel.
A Data Validation formula has more than 255 characters.
When Data Validation formulas exceed the 255 character limit that is supported in earlier versions of Excel, the formula will work correctly, but it will be truncated and cannot be edited.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain Data Validation formulas, and then use fewer characters in the formula so that users can edit them in earlier versions of Excel.
The following conditional formatting issues cause a significant loss of functionality:
Issue
Solution
Some cells have more conditional formats than are supported by the selected file format. Only the first three conditions will be displayed in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, conditional formatting can contain up to sixty-four conditions, but in earlier versions of Excel, only three conditions are supported.
In earlier versions of Excel, users will see the first three conditions only. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that have conditional formatting applied that use more than three conditions, and then make the necessary changes.
Some cells have overlapping conditional formatting ranges. Earlier versions of Excel will not evaluate all of the conditional formatting rules on the overlapping cells. The overlapping cells will show different conditional formatting.
In Excel 2007, conditional formatting ranges in cell can overlap, but this is not supported in earlier versions of Excel and conditional formatting is not displayed as expected.
In earlier versions of Excel, users will see different conditional formatting than expected. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that have overlapping conditional formatting ranges, and then make the necessary changes.
One or more cells in this workbook contain a conditional formatting type that is not supported in earlier versions of Excel, such as data bars, color scales, or icon sets.
Excel 2007 provides the following new conditional formatting types that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel:
Color scales
Data bars
Icon sets
Top or bottom ranked values
Above or below average values
Unique or duplicate values
Table column comparison to determine which cells to format
In earlier versions of Excel, users will not see conditional formatting, such as data bars, color scales, or icon sets. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that have conditional formatting types that are new in Excel 2007, and then make the necessary changes.
Some cells contain conditional formatting with the 'Stop if True' option cleared. Earlier versions of Excel do not recognize this option and will stop after the first true condition.
In Excel 2007, you can apply conditional formatting without stopping when the condition is has been met. This is not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain conditional formatting with the 'Stop if True' option cleared, and then click Fix to resolve the compatibility issue.
In earlier versions of Excel, the conditional formatting results will not be the same as in Excel 2007, because conditional formatting is no longer applied after the first condition is true. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
One or more cells in this workbook contain a conditional formatting type on a nonadjacent range (such as top/bottom N, top/bottom N%, above/below average, or above/below standard deviation). This is not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
In Excel 2007, you can apply conditional formatting to ranges that are not adjacent. This is not supported in earlier versions of Excel.
In earlier versions of Excel, users will not see conditional formatting in nonadjacent cells. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate cells that contain a conditional formatting type on a nonadjacent range, and then make the necessary changes.
Some PivotTables in this workbook contain conditional formatting that may not function correctly in earlier versions of Excel. The conditional formatting rules will not display the same results when you use these PivotTables in earlier versions of Excel.
Conditional formatting that is applied to Excel 2007 PivotTables does not display the same results in PivotTables in earlier versions of Excel.
In earlier versions of Excel, the conditional formatting results in the PivotTables will not be the same as in Excel 2007. All conditional formatting rules remain available in the workbook, however, and are applied when the workbook is opened again in Excel 2007, unless the rules are edited in the earlier version of Excel.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate PivotTable fields that contain conditional formatting rules, and then make the necessary changes.
The following graphics, object, and ActiveX issues cause a significant loss of functionality:
Issue
Solution
Any effects on this object will be removed. Any text that overflows the boundaries of this graphic will appear clipped.
In Excel 2007, you can use special effects, such as transparent shadows that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel. The special effects will be removed. Also, in Excel 2007, when you insert text in a shape that is longer than the shape, the text spills outside of the boundaries of the shape. In earlier versions of Excel, this text will be truncated. To avoid truncated text, you can adjust the size of the shape for a better fit.
In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the objects that have special effects applied so that you can remove the special effects as needed.
An embedded object in this worksheet is created in a newer version of Office. You cannot edit it in an earlier version of Excel.
Embedded objects that are created in Excel 2007 cannot be edited in earlier versions of Excel.
Uninitialized ActiveX controls cannot be transferred to the selected file format. The controls will be lost if you continue.
If a workbook contains ActiveX controls that are considered to be Unsafe for Initialization (UFI), they are lost when you save the workbook to an earlier Excel file format. You may want to mark those controls as Safe for Initialization (SFI).
If you open a workbook with uninitialized ActiveX controls that are set to high security, you must first use the Message Bar to enable them before they can be initialized.
The following customization issue causes a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
This workbook contains a customized Quick Access Toolbar and/or custom user interface parts that are not supported in earlier versions of Excel. These custom features will not be available in earlier versions of Excel.
Because the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface in Excel 2007 is very different from the menus and toolbars in earlier versions of Excel, any customizations that were made in Excel 2007 are not available in earlier versions of Excel.
In earlier versions of Excel, you can add similar custom commands to toolbars and menus.
The following collaboration issue causes a minor loss of fidelity:
Issue
Solution
This workbook will be read-only and shared workbook features will not be available when someone opens it in an earlier version of Excel by using a file converter. To allow users to continue using the workbook as a shared workbook in earlier versions of Excel, you must save it in the file format of the earlier versions.
To keep sharing the shared workbook with users who use earlier versions of Excel and to ensure that all shared workbook features are available in the earlier versions, you should save the workbook in the Excel 97-2003 file format.
You can save a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbook in a different file format. You can save a workbook in an earlier version file format, in text file format, and in other file formats, such as PDF or XPS. You can also save any file format that you can open in Office Excel 2007 as an Excel 2007 workbook. By default, Excel 2007 saves files in the .xlsx file format, but you can change the default file format for saving.
If you frequently use the Save As command, you may want to add it to the Quick Access Toolbar.
You can save any file format that you can open in Excel 2007 in the current Excel Workbook file format (.xlsx). By doing this, you can use the new features of Excel 2007, such as the larger grid, that are not supported by other file formats.
Note When you save a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel as an Excel 2007 workbook, some formats and features may not be retained. For information on unsupported Excel 97-2003 features, see Excel 97-2003 features that are not supported in Office Excel 2007.
Open the workbook that you want to save as an Excel 2007 workbook.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save As.
In the File name box, accept the suggested name or type a new name for the workbook.
In the Save as type list, do one of the following:
If you are saving a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel, and the workbook contains macros that you want to retain, click .xlsm.
If you want to save the workbook as a template, click .xltx.
If you are saving a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel, the workbook contains macros that you want to retain, and you want to save the workbook as a template, click .xltm.
If you want to save the workbook in the current Excel Workbook file format, click .xlsx.
If you want to save the file in the new binary file format, click .xslb.
Add the Save As command to the Quick Access Toolbar
The Save As command is not available as a button on the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface Ribbon. You can, however, add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar.
Click the Microsoft Office Button.
Right-click Save As, and then click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
