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Using the Compatibility Pack for Office 2007 under Windows 10

Anonymous
2021-11-26T14:26:38+00:00

Has anyone found a way to get the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack to work with Office 2003 under Windows 10?

I'm still an avid user of Excel 2003 - my own toolbars, lots of custom buttons linked to macros, most actions one click instead of up to five - it is just the perfect version of Excel. Under Windows 7 the Compatibility Pack runs fine, allowing opening and saving of .xlsx files without a problem. It seems to install fine under Windows 10, but doesn't work. You get the "This file is not in a recognizable format" error when trying to open a .xlsx file, as if the Compatibility Pack wasn't there at all.

I have tried installing and running both Excel 2003 and the Compatibility Pack in Compatibility Mode for various previous versions of Windows but to no avail. Is there a solution to this that I've missed? Is there a third-party converter that will do the same thing? Can I run Windows 7 in an emulator mode within Windows 10?

I hope someone can help. Excel 2003 is just too good to consign to the bin just yet!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-11-29T08:44:30+00:00

    Rob, very pleased to have helped, particularly with a 2003 issue, which was my saviour many moons ago.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-11-28T17:49:51+00:00

    Hi Ron

    You are a star - I now have a fully working version of Excel 2003 running on Windows 10, and opening .xlsx files!!

    It turned out that you were right - although I had installed Office 2003 SP2 I had not got SP3. It needed a bit of a search to find a version that worked, but I found one on CNET here: https://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Office-2003-Service-Pack/3000-18483_4-170478.html

    It looks as if you need the 'FullFile' version of SP3. Having installed this and refreshed the File Converters installation, all is now working perfectly.

    I can now continue to use all the things I love about Excel 2003, whilst maintaining compatibility with more up-to-date colleagues, including:

    • As many custom toolbars as I want, with all my favourite tools, giving one-click access to almost everything
    • Customisable tool button images, so I can put all my macros behind buttons and instantly see what they are
    • A function bar which automatically expands and contracts to fit the text in each cell (now there's a real novelty!)
    • The Chart Wizard

    I have got used to the ribbon in the other Office applications, and I definitely think that the recent versions of Word and PowerPoint are big improvements on the 2003 versions. But Excel is a very different matter.

    If Microsoft want to get me back onto Excel 2019 all they have to do is to offer a mode where the user interface looks and acts just like 2003! But for now I will continue using my (fully paid for) Excel 2003 and enjoying every minute.

    Best,

    Rob

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-11-27T09:42:27+00:00

    PS: As far as I understand, Microsoft is getting rid of all old software with Windows 10 as well as a lot of Microsoft software sold in contravention of Microsoft licence sold cheaply on the internet by only allowing 64bit software.

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  4. Anonymous
    2021-11-27T10:20:09+00:00

    Cliff, See: Microsoft Office 2013 - Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Docs and Microsoft Office 2016 - Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Docs

    In fact Microsoft has provide critical updates for Office 2003 and will probably still do so Microsoft Update Catalog

    There are many Government Department in the UK that still use Office Office 2003. I know this is correct as there a still many .doc files on their websites and I have received .doc files on occasions from Government Departments.

    Extended Support Fixed Lifecycle Policy - Microsoft Lifecycle | Microsoft Docs

    The Extended Support phase follows Mainstream Support. At the supported service pack level, Extended Support includes:

    • Paid support ^4^
    • Security updates at no additional cost
    • Ability to request non-security fixes for select products, for eligible Unified Support customers. ^5^

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-11-27T08:12:12+00:00

    Thanks Cliff, much appreciated.

    Of course what Microsoft could do is to put back into current versions of Excel the really valuable features that are the reason why I still use Excel 2003. The ability to have multiple Quick Access toolbars with easily customizable button images would be a really good start. That and a formula bar that automatically expands and contracts to fit the content of the cell would make a huge difference!

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