Why can't I open my old version of Workbook after installing Office 2021

Question

Why can't I open my old version Workbook after installing Office 2021? Do I still need to install a lower version of Office? I just tried again and even saved my newly created file in 97-2003 format. Please help.

Answer 1

Hi,

Did you check if Word or PowerPoint have the same problem?

I suggest you download the support tool to uninstall all Office applications from PC completely: https://aka.ms/SaRA-officeUninstallFromPC

Then re-install Office 2021 and test if you can open Workbooks.

Just checking in to see if the information was helpful. Please let us know if you would like further assistance.

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Answer 2

Hi,

It is possible to open older Excel workbooks in your Office 2021.

Is there any specific error message that is displayed on your screen when you try to open your Excel workbook? If yes, please mention it here so I can help you solve the problem.

Although, if you are not able to open it, it may be an issue of compatibility between different versions of Microsoft Office.

Here are some things you can try-

1. Use compatibility mode: In newer versions of Office, you can try opening the old version workbook in compatibility mode. Open Excel, go to File > Open, browse to the location of your file, and select it. Choose the option to open it in compatibility mode, which will attempt to convert the file to the newer format.
2. Save in a compatible format: If you are able to open the file in compatibility mode, you can save it as a newer file format (.xlsx) that is compatible with Office 2021. Go to File > Save As, choose the appropriate format, and save the file with a new name.

If these methods don't work for you, here are some other ways you can try to restore previous version of your excel file.

But before attempting to do anything, I suggest you take a backup of your Excel file.

Best Regards.