Order of Installation
If you want to install and use more than one version of Excel on
the same computer, you must install the versions of Excel in ascending
order.
For example, if you want to use both Excel 7.0 and Excel 2000
on the same computer, you must install Excel 7.0 first, and then Excel 2000.
This is necessary because of the way registry keys, shared programs, file
extensions and other settings are managed for each version of Excel.
The following table shows the order in which you should install the versions of
Excel:
Excel Install
version order
------- -------
5.0 first
7.0 second
97 third
2000 fourth
The rest of this article assumes that you installed the versions
of Excel in this correct order.
Running Multiple Versions of Microsoft Excel Simultaneously
Although it is possible to run more than one version of Excel
simultaneously on the same computer, Microsoft strongly recommends that you
avoid doing this. For example, if you want to start Excel 97, first quit all
other versions of Microsoft Excel that may be running.
Double-Clicking Files in the Windows Explorer
When you double-click a Microsoft Excel workbook (.xls) file,
chart (.xlc) file, or add-in (.xla) file in Windows Explorer, the following
rules apply:
- If a version of the program that created the file is
running, the file is opened in that version of the
program.
- With Excel 7.0 or 97, if no version of the program that
created the file is running, the file is opened in the version of the program
that you most recently installed. However, with Excel 5.0, every time you start
the program, it registers itself as the last version installed, and will
attempt to load the file.
To reassociate files with the programs in a particular version
of Excel, run Microsoft Office Setup and click
Repair Office. Doing this registers the file associations for the version of
Microsoft Office.
See the "Reassociating Microsoft Excel Files"
section for more information about this behavior.
If you
double-click a file that is not supported by the version of Excel that is
already running or that automatically starts, you receive the following error
message:
Filename: file format
is not valid.
If you receive this error message, start the later
version of Excel. Then, open the file by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer
or by using the
Open dialog box (click
Open on the
File menu).
Reassociating Microsoft Excel Files
When you start Excel 5.0, Microsoft Excel files (.xls, .xlc, and
.xla files) are automatically associated with it.
When you start
them, Excel 7.0, Excel 97, and Excel 2000 are not automatically associated with
Microsoft Excel files; they perform this task only when you install these
programs.
Because of this difference in behavior, if you start Excel
5.0, an Excel file that you double-click is always opened in Excel 5.0, unless
another version of Excel is already running.
If you want to
double-click a file and open it in a newer version of Excel, you can associate
Excel files with Microsoft Excel 7.0, 97, or 2000 by using either of the
following methods.
Method 1: Reregister Excel Using Setup
In Microsoft Excel 2000, run Setup and click
Repair Office.
In Excel 7.0 or 97, run Setup using the
/y switch. Using
/y instructs the Setup program to register all of the registry keys
that are used by Microsoft Excel and to associate Microsoft Excel files with
the version of Microsoft Excel that you are installing.
Method 2: Reregister the File Types
To associate Microsoft Excel files with Microsoft Excel 7.0, 97
or 2000, follow these steps:
- Double-click My Computer.
- On the View menu, click Folder Options. (In Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP, click Folder Options on the Tools menu.) Then, click the File Types tab.
- In the list of registered file types, scroll down and click
Microsoft Excel Worksheet. Then, click Edit.
- In the list of Actions, click Open. Then, click Edit.
- In the Application used to perform action
box, change the path to the Microsoft Excel program file (Excel.exe) so that it
refers to the Excel.exe file for Microsoft Excel 7.0, Microsoft Excel 97 or
Microsoft Excel 2000.
If you are unsure of the location for
Excel.exe, click Browse to search for the file. - Click OK. Then, click Close, and then click Close again to close the Options dialog box.
NOTE: If you use one of these methods and you start Microsoft Excel
5.0, Microsoft Excel files are automatically reassociated with Microsoft Excel
5.0. There is no way to prevent this behavior from occurring. If you want to
ensure that a Microsoft Excel file is opened in a specific version of Microsoft
Excel, start that version of Microsoft Excel
before you open the file, or use the
Open dialog box to open files.
Inserting Microsoft Excel Objects into Other Programs
If you install multiple versions of Microsoft Excel on a single
computer and you insert a Microsoft Excel Worksheet object into another program
(for example, Microsoft Word), the most recently installed version of Microsoft
Excel is used when you insert the worksheet object.
For example, if
you install the following programs on your computer
Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0
Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 , version 7.0
Microsoft Excel 2000
and then insert a Microsoft Excel Worksheet object into Microsoft
Word, a Microsoft Excel 2000 worksheet is added.
Using Automation to Control Microsoft Excel
If you install multiple versions of Microsoft Excel on a
computer, you may experience difficulty when you attempt to use Automation to
control a specific version of Microsoft Excel.
For example, if you
run the following Visual Basic for Applications subroutine in Microsoft Word 97
Sub AutomationTest()
Dim xlApp As Object
Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
MsgBox xlApp.Version
xlApp.Quit
Set xlApp = Nothing
End Sub
the subroutine always creates an Automation session in the version of
Microsoft Excel that you most recently installed. So, if you install both
Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 2000 on the same computer, the message
box in the example displays 9.0, the version number of Microsoft Excel 2000.
NOTE: You cannot separately control Automation of Excel 97 and Excel
2000 when both are installed. Although Excel 97 and Excel 2000 each have their
own application class, both have the same CLSID (class id). The last version
that you install will contain the path to the Automation server.
Version of
Microsoft Excel Class name
-------------------------------------
2000 Excel.Application.9
97 Excel.Application.8
7.0 Excel.Application.5
5.0 Excel.Application.5
: Because Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0 both use the same class
name, when both are installed on the same computer, Excel.Application.5 always
applies to Microsoft Excel 7.0. There is no way to prevent this behavior.
However, Microsoft Excel 5.0 and 7.0 both use the same file format and offer
very similar features so you should be able to use Microsoft Excel 7.0 instead
of Microsoft Excel 5.0 without side effects.
Shared Programs
You should not experience any problems when you use shared
programs, such as Microsoft Equation Editor and Clip Gallery, with any version
of Microsoft Excel. Note that the
Object dialog box may display more than one entry for each shared
program; this behavior occurs because there may be multiple versions of the
shared program on the computer.