Open an Excel 2007 workbook in Excel versions 97-2003

How to Open Excel 2007 Workbook in Excel versions 97-2003

Before one can open Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbooks in an earlier version of Excel, you can either use the earlier binary file format (.xls) to save them or use the new XML-based file format (.xlsx) to exchange the workbooks between different versions of Excel. To save a copy that is fully compatible with Excel 97-2003, take the following steps:

1. In Excel 2007, open the workbook that you want to save in Excel 97-2003 format.
2. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then point to the arrow next to Save As.
3. Under Save a copy of the document, click Excel 97-2003 Workbook.
4. Click Save.
5. The file will be saved in the Excel 97 - Excel 2003 Binary file format (.xls or BIFF8) so that it can be opened in versions of Excel 97 through Excel 2003.
6. Important. You can also save a workbook to Excel 5.0/95 binary file format (BIFF5).
7. Repeat steps 1 – 2 above.
8. Under Save As type box, click Excel Binary Workbook.
9. Click Save.

 

 

You will be able open the workbook in that version of Excel, but Excel 2007 formatting and features will be lost.

Download and install updates and converters for an earlier version of Excel
On the computer that has the earlier version of Excel installed, do one of the following:

1. Download the 2007 Microsoft Office system Compatibility Pack for Excel from the Microsoft Office Downloads web site (http://r.office.microsoft.com/r/rlidAWSContentRedir?AssetID) and install the updates and converters that are needed to open Office Excel 2007 workbooks.
2. 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.