Windows 98 and Excel

[Guest]

I have Windows 98 on my home computer. I received an
Excel spreadsheet and cannot open it in Works.

What do I need to do to open the xls spreadsheet and work
with it, i.e., simple functions like sorting?

 

[Don Guillett]

The simple answer is that you need Excel to "work" with it. You can get a
free excel viewer but that's all you can do.

 

[Harlan Grove]

The simple answer is that you need Excel to "work" with it. You
can get a free excel viewer but that's all you can do.

....

No. To be precise, one needs a spreadsheet program that can open .XLS files
to work with them. There are several shareware and freeware spreadsheet and
integrated programs that can do so. The most widely used now would be
OpenOffice, which can be downloaded (warning: it's a BIG download) from
http://www.openoffice.org. It the OP only wants to do simple things with the
..XLS file, this is a much less costly alternative to buying Microsoft
Office, even an older version through eBay.

 

[John Taylor]

You could use the shareware (but not 'crippled' in any way) spreadsheet
program available from the following URL:

http://www.byedesign.freeserve.co.uk/

It can open Excel workbooks, and has many functions that are the same as
and/or compatible with Excel. One big advantage over OpenOffice is that it
is a small (+/- 500 Kb) download. It obviously won't have all the "bells
and whistles" that Excel does, but may be satisfactory for your
requirements.

Cheers,

John