Excel and Numbers

Question

Excel and Numbers

Apparently Microsoft is trying to force an update of Office, which I have been using on my iMacs for a few years. My version of Excel no longer allows me to save any documents, which makes them essentially useless. It also does not allow me to open them in Numbers, which I have read is supposed to work. I am writing to see if anyone knows how to transition my Excel files to Numbers. I have already tried dragging them to the icon or choosing to try to open the file in Numbers. They don't work. I'm hoping there is a trick I am not aware of. Somehow I think the Microsoft approach is unethical.

iMac 24″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Jan 17, 2025 12:45 PM

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Answer 1

SGIII

Level 8

36,308 points

Jan 18, 2025 12:47 AM in response to Hazel Greenberg

What version of Excel are you using?

If your version of Excel is so old (i.e. pre 2007) that all your files have the .xls extension then Numbers will have trouble opening those. Otherwise, if your files have an .xlsx extension then just File > Open them from Numbers. You may lose some formatting, and not all Excel formulas are supported, but most of your work will transition over.

In any case it seems unlikely that Microsoft would try to prevent you from opening Excel files in another app even if that were technically possible. They're a good citizen in the Mac word. They even sell MS Office Via the Mac App Store. It works really well on the Mac.

SG

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Answer 2

FoxFifth

Level 10

472,995 points

Jan 17, 2025 1:28 PM in response to Hazel Greenberg

What happens (e.g., what error message) if you open the Numbers app and then use the Numbers File menu Open item to attempt to open any of the Excel files?

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Answer 3

Jan 17, 2025 1:54 PM in response to FoxFifth

There is no error message. It just does not work.

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