xlxs Windows Office 2007 --> Mac Office 2008

[milenkod]

Having problems opening an xlxs file generated in Windows Office 2007 with Mac Office 2008. Mac Office keeps telling me that the file is corrupt. I can open the file just fine on my Windows machine in Office 2007....no dice on the Mac.

However, if I Save As a regular .xls file, it works OK. I have many files that I need to use on my Mac that were generated in Windows Office 2007. Aside from opening all those files and re-saving them, is there anything else (easier) that can be done? Can't they natively open in Mac Office 2008?

 

[MisterMe]

Clearly this is an issue that is specific to you and to your files. Without knowing something--anything at all--about your setup, even a wild guess is an exercise in futility.

 

[rat tat tat]

milenkod, if you don't mind me asking. can you post a generic .xlsx file format in office 2007 to see anybody else is having an issue opening it in office 2008?

 

[milenkod]

milenkod, if you don't mind me asking. can you post a generic .xlsx file format in office 2007 to see anybody else is having an issue opening it in office 2008?

Let me back-up a bit...the files in question are actually not my files, but my wife's.....she's a recent 'switcher'. I'll ask her to find one that doesn't have any 'sensitive' info in it. I do have a suspicion that those files may have VB Macros/scripts. But I don't understand why Mac excel would report them as "corrupt".

 

[Gray-Wolf]

Have you tested the reverse? Create one of the same type of file in Mac, then try to open it in the windows version. It may indeed be a macros issue. The other option, if it was a windows only situation, all older versions of office can not open the newest files. the .docx and such.

 

[milenkod]

Well...I have some further updates if anyone is willing to hear them...

I tried to copy the files to a USB stick and open them again (thinking that there's a network sharing issue at play)...no luck, same error.
So then I logged onto the Windows machine from my other Mac that has Apple Numbers. It was able to open the older revision of the file from several months back and the same file, with the updated data, that is in question. Numbers was able to open it. Both files generates an error report but two error items were different. On the file in question, the following error appeared:

"Hyperlinks within the notebooks and hyperlinks to other files aren't supported and were removed"

There was also a font missing, which I didn't think would cause file not to open.

Could this be the source of my problems with the xlsx files? If so, what to do from here (other than open all in Numbers)??

 

[rat tat tat]

milenkod, try launching the excel application and opening up the excel file from there.

 

[milenkod]

milenkod, try launching the excel application and opening up the excel file from there.

Already tried that too...won't do it

 

[nadyne]

Is there a way that I can get a copy of a file where you're seeing this issue? If you've created it in Office 2007, it shouldn't show up as corrupt in Office 2008.

If you can give me more information about the files, that would really help. Is it every file that she creates, or is it just some of them? Can you figure out if the files that have problems have anything in common -- linking to different spreadsheets, complex formulas, etc? If the spreadsheet is saved as .xls instead of .xlsx, is it missing anything?

PM me for my email address. (And remember that next week is Macworld, so I'll probably be slow on email for a bit!)

Regards,
Nadyne.

 

[milenkod]

Is there a way that I can get a copy of a file where you're seeing this issue? If you've created it in Office 2007, it shouldn't show up as corrupt in Office 2008.

If you can give me more information about the files, that would really help. Is it every file that she creates, or is it just some of them? Can you figure out if the files that have problems have anything in common -- linking to different spreadsheets, complex formulas, etc? If the spreadsheet is saved as .xls instead of .xlsx, is it missing anything?

PM me for my email address. (And remember that next week is Macworld, so I'll probably be slow on email for a bit!)

Regards,
Nadyne.

The file is actually one of my wife's and today she re-signed the contract with her client, re-establishing her NDA and legal policies about dissemination of information. Therefore I can not send the file(s).

However, I think I have resolved the issue. After much researching and reading, one common theme that seemed to reoccur was centered around hyperlinks contained within the worksheet. I 'stepped-through' the sheets on the Windows machine to see if these files shared this commonality as well. Sure enough, I found a link/hyperlink back to a file that no longer exists (as reported by Windows Excel). I simply right-clicked on the hyperlink and chose the option to no longer consider it as a hyperlink; saved the file (as an .xlsx). I went back to the Mac, logged onto the shared folder and viola!! it opened without issue.

All the files I'm having issue with are 'child' versions that have new data added to them on a monthly basis. The first several child-versions did not have the bad hyperlink thus they opened fine. Subsequent monthly updates did have the link so every file thereafter suffered from the same error.

 

[nadyne]

Thanks for the details of what you figured out! I'll share this with the Excel team and see if we can reproduce this problem.

Regards,
Nadyne.