I recently bought a new iMac (to replace my 10-year old one), and installed MS Office 2019. My old iMac had Office 2008. There have been a lot of changes in the last 11 years, and I am having enough trouble with learning where everything is on the new Excel version, but I will eventually figure it out (I think). However, what I can't figure out is how to open all my old Excel files (which were moved over as Excel 2008 files) so that the don't open in Excel 2019 and require reformatting (column widths, etc.) every time. Is there not a way in Preferences (or somewhere) to instruct Excel to always open these files in the original formatting?
Excel for Mac
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Cory Cooper
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Hello,
I would guess it has to do with the large version discrepancy between 2008 and 2019 versions of Excel. There isn't any way to have Excel to open it as a 2008 Excel file. The major file format change in Office happened around 2004, when they went from xls to xlsx format. It has stayed the same since then.
What kind of unique formatting, other than column widths, is not translating properly? Could it be a font used in the older files?
C
I would guess it has to do with the large version discrepancy between 2008 and 2019 versions of Excel. There isn't any way to have Excel to open it as a 2008 Excel file. The major file format change in Office happened around 2004, when they went from xls to xlsx format. It has stayed the same since then.
What kind of unique formatting, other than column widths, is not translating properly? Could it be a font used in the older files?
C
Hi Cory,
Sorry to take so long to reply. I have been out of town (and off line) for 10+ days. In any event, thanks for the input. I think you may be on to something with the fonts. I'll check that out with a little experimentation. Other than column widths, the row heights can be a problem, so maybe that makes sense. Either way, if that doesn't't pan out, I'll quit wasting time and move on, based upon your explanation.
Sorry to take so long to reply. I have been out of town (and off line) for 10+ days. In any event, thanks for the input. I think you may be on to something with the fonts. I'll check that out with a little experimentation. Other than column widths, the row heights can be a problem, so maybe that makes sense. Either way, if that doesn't't pan out, I'll quit wasting time and move on, based upon your explanation.
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This might be worth a try: Open the old Excel files in Numbers, then, if you don’t want to learn how to use Numbers, just save them as Excel files. After you open the old file(s) in numbers, go to File -> Export to and select Excel…
Personally, I prefer Numbers over Excel, and I end up opening Excel files from clients in Numbers, where I do my work, and then export them back to Excel to send back. I haven’t had complaints, and I don’t think my clients are aware of the back and forth. Good luck.
Personally, I prefer Numbers over Excel, and I end up opening Excel files from clients in Numbers, where I do my work, and then export them back to Excel to send back. I haven’t had complaints, and I don’t think my clients are aware of the back and forth. Good luck.