How to open newer XLS files in Excel Version 4.0

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nicholas Fitzpatrick
  • Start date Start date
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Nicholas Fitzpatrick

I'm using Excel version 4. Can someone point me to an add-in or extension
or something to let me open newer files ... at least Excel 95 or Excel 97?

Thanks, Nick
 
Nicholas Fitzpatrick said:
I'm using Excel version 4. Can someone point me to an add-in or extension
or something to let me open newer files ... at least Excel 95 or Excel 97?
Click to expand...

You must have a very unconventional view of how Microsoft operates.

You need to use a newer version of Excel or some other spreadsheet that
opens newer Excel files. There are some inexpensive alternatives, such as
OpenOffice; however, all the alternatives assume you're running Windows 95
at least. If you're running Windows 3.1 in addition to Excel 4, you're
software is simply too old to allow you to do what it appears you want to
do. You'd need to upgrade both in order to work with newer format Excel
files. If you also have older hardware and don't want to upgrade that, then
there are some Linux distributions that come with OpenOffice that run
reasonably well on older harware as long as you use a lightweight window
manager.

One way or another, you need to do some software upgrading at the very
least.
 
You must have a very unconventional view of how Microsoft operates.

You need to use a newer version of Excel or some other spreadsheet that
opens newer Excel files. There are some inexpensive alternatives, such as
OpenOffice; however, all the alternatives assume you're running Windows 95
at least. If you're running Windows 3.1 in addition to Excel 4, you're
software is simply too old to allow you to do what it appears you want to
do. You'd need to upgrade both in order to work with newer format Excel
files. If you also have older hardware and don't want to upgrade that, then
there are some Linux distributions that come with OpenOffice that run
reasonably well on older harware as long as you use a lightweight window
manager.

One way or another, you need to do some software upgrading at the very
least.
Click to expand...

I'm not asking for a convertor for Excel 4 to open Excel 2003 files.
I'm simply asking for Excel 95 or Excel 97. Excel 4 was not that old
when Excel 95 or 97 came out; presumably convertors were available
at the time. Excel 97 seems to open Excel 2003 files okay, which is
4 versions distant rather than just 2.

Sure, upgrading would be an option ... but that was not the question.

Nick
 
I do not think there were any converters for Excel 4, but it was a long time
ago.

Certainly the advice given in Excel 5 is to saveas an Excel 4 file, which is
still an option in all subsequent versions.

hth
Charles
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I do not think there were any converters for Excel 4, but it was a long time
ago.
Click to expand...

Indeed it was a long time ago! I think Excel 4 as the last version
not to have multiple worksheets ... perhaps this change was too
much to provide backwards compatability!
Certainly the advice given in Excel 5 is to saveas an Excel 4 file, which is
still an option in all subsequent versions.
Click to expand...

Yes, always an option!

Nick
 
...
...
I'm not asking for a convertor for Excel 4 to open Excel 2003 files.
I'm simply asking for Excel 95 or Excel 97. Excel 4 was not that old
when Excel 95 or 97 came out; presumably convertors were available
at the time. Excel 97 seems to open Excel 2003 files okay, which is
4 versions distant rather than just 2.
Click to expand...
...

You're wrong. There were no converters at the time Excel 5 came out. Microsoft
expected you to upgrade to Excel 5 if you wanted to work with Excel 5 files.

Excel 5/95 does *not* open Excel 97 workbooks because Microsoft changed native
file formats between 5/95 and 97 versions. Microsoft hasn't changed file formats
in subsequent Excel versions (though they've apparently added features that are
simply transparent to older versions, such as colored worksheet tabs). That's
the reason Excel 97 can open Excel 2003 files.

FWIW, Lotus and Borland/Corel never provided file format converters for 123 or
Quattro Pro. Indeed, I'm not aware of any software company that has ever been
foolish enough to undercut sales of its latest versions by providing file format
converters that would allow older versions of software to work with newer file
formats. Backward compatibility (newer software can read older file formats) is
a necessity. The reverse would only stifle revenue growth.

It's conceivable that DataViz's ConversionPlus package can convert Excel 5/95 or
subsequent .XLS files to Excel 4 .XLS format, but you'd find it cheaper to buy
Office 97 or 2000 from an auction or used software site. Cheaper still may be
recent but not current versions of Lotus SmartSuite or Corel WordPerfect Office,
which both can load Excel 97 .XLS files and save as Excel 4 .XLS files.

AFAIK, these are your only alternatives.
 
...
..
..

You're wrong. There were no converters at the time Excel 5 came out. Microsoft
expected you to upgrade to Excel 5 if you wanted to work with Excel 5 files.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info ... I probably knew this 10 years ago, but have long
since forgotten. Seems odd, as they had no problem providing
similiar tools for Microsoft Word of the same vintage.
Excel 5/95 does *not* open Excel 97 workbooks because Microsoft changed native
file formats between 5/95 and 97 versions. Microsoft hasn't changed file formats
in subsequent Excel versions (though they've apparently added features that are
simply transparent to older versions, such as colored worksheet tabs). That's
the reason Excel 97 can open Excel 2003 files.
Click to expand...

In the office here, we still use Excel 97 mostly ... when I look at
Excel XP, etc., it is amazing how few really useful new features there are ...
and how many old problems remain unadressed (limited worksheet size,
poor graphing, mis-programmed ERFC function, February 29, 1900 date bug).
I wonder when someone will come away with an app that will blow Excel
out of the water .... seems to me it is suffering from Lotus-123 disease!
FWIW, Lotus and Borland/Corel never provided file format converters for 123 or
Quattro Pro. Indeed, I'm not aware of any software company that has ever been
foolish enough to undercut sales of its latest versions by providing file format
converters that would allow older versions of software to work with newer file
formats. Backward compatibility (newer software can read older file formats) is
a necessity. The reverse would only stifle revenue growth.
Click to expand...

Well, as I pointed out above, Microsoft Word is an example.

Nick
 
...
...
. . . Seems odd, as they had no problem providing
similiar tools for Microsoft Word of the same vintage.
Click to expand...
...

And they apparently still do for Word. It may be due to Word files having a
simpler layout, so converters wouldn't be complicated to write. It's possible
that an Excel converter would have required most of Excel 5/95's functionality.
 
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