Description of differences between Excel 2001 for Mac and Excel 2000

Microsoft Excel 2000 and Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac are very similar programs in many ways. For example, they share a common file format and they share most of the same features. However, there are some important differences that you may want to know when you work with both Excel 2000 and Excel 2001 for Mac.

This article contains general information about the difference between Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac and Microsoft Excel 2000.

Microsoft Data Maps

Support in Excel 2001 for Mac

In Excel 2001 for Mac, you cannot insert a Microsoft Data Map into a worksheet. There is no Map tool on the Standard toolbar, and the Map menu command does not appear on the Insert menu.

Convert from Excel 2000

If you open a workbook that contains a map that was created in Excel 2000, the map is imported as a picture and appears in black and white. If you double-click the map in Excel 2000, you receive the following error message: If you open a workbook that contains a map, make changes to the workbook, save it, and then reopen the workbook in Excel 2000, the map still works correctly.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ActiveX Controls

Support in Excel 2001 for Mac

Excel 2001 for Mac does not support using ActiveX Controls, also known as "OCX files" or "OCXs." You cannot insert or use ActiveX Controls in worksheets, in custom dialog boxes, or in custom UserForms.

Because ActiveX Controls are not supported in Excel 2001 for Mac, the Control Toolbox toolbar is not available in worksheets in Excel 2001 for Mac. The Toolbox in the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor is available. However, you cannot add ActiveX Controls to it.

Convert from Excel 2000

If you open a workbook that contains one or more ActiveX Controls, either of the following problems may occur:

• Each control appears as red "X."
• You receive one or more "Graphics Filter Converting" messages.

When the controls appear, they do not work when you click them, and you cannot delete them. Also, you may receive one of the following error messages if you copy and paste a control or if you run a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro:If you open a workbook that contains ActiveX Controls, make changes to the workbook, save it, and then reopen the workbook in Excel 2000, the ActiveX Controls still work correctly. However, they do not work in Excel 2001 for Mac.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1900 date system vs. 1904 date system

In Excel 2001 for Mac, the default date system is the 1904 date system. In Excel 2000, the default date system is the 1900 date system. Typically, this difference does not cause a problem.

However, if you transfer a workbook from Excel 2000 to Excel 2001 for Mac, or vice versa, and then copy a date from one workbook to another, the date may increase or decrease by four years and one day. This issue occurs if the two workbooks use different date systems.

For example, if you copy the date 1/1/1998 from a workbook that uses the 1900 date system and then paste the date into a workbook that uses the 1904 date system, the date appears as 1/2/2002. Or, if you copy the date 1/1/1998 from a workbook that uses the 1904 date system and then paste the date into a workbook that uses the 1900 date system, the date appears as 12/31/1993.

As long as you know about the date system that your workbook is using, the difference in date systems should not cause a problem.

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

The Quattro Pro files format

Excel 2001 for Mac does not support opening or saving files in the Quattro Pro file format.

If you try to open a file that is saved in any Quattro Pro file format (WQ1, WQ2, WB1, or WB2), you receive the following error message: If you have to open a Quattro Pro file in Excel 2001 for Mac, do one of the following:

• Open the file in Quattro Pro, and then save it in the Lotus 1-2-3 file format (WK4, WK3, WK1, or WKS). You can open the resaved file in Excel 2001 for Mac.
• Open the file in Excel 2000, and then save it as a Microsoft Excel workbook. You can open the workbook in Excel 2001 for Mac. Only versions of Quattro Pro up to Quattro Pro 7.0 for Microsoft Windows are supported.

Because Excel 2001 for Mac cannot save files in the Quattro Pro file format, save your files in a different file format, and then use another program, such as Excel 2000 to convert the files to the Quattro Pro file format.

For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Visual Basic Editor

The Visual Basic for Applications editing environment (the Visual Basic Editor) in Excel 2001 for Mac is almost the same in design to the Visual Basic Editor in Excel 2000. However, consider the following differences:

• The Locals Window and Watch Window menu commands are not available on the View menu. You cannot display these menu commands in the Visual Basic Editor.
• You cannot customize any one of the toolbars (Standard, Edit, or Debug) or the menu bar in the Visual Basic Editor.
• You cannot customize the Toolbox toolbar that contains controls for use in UserForms.
• You cannot export a Visual Basic module or a UserForm. If you want to export a module or a UserForm, open the workbook that contains the module or the UserForm in Excel 2000, and then export the module or the UserForm.
• List box and combo box controls do not have ControlSource and RowSource properties. Therefore, these controls cannot be linked to cells in a worksheet.

ADO, DAO, and ODBCDirect

ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), Data Access Objects (DAO) and ODBCDirect are not available in Excel 2001 for Mac. Therefore, you cannot run Visual Basic macros that use ADO, DAO, or ODBCDirect to retrieve external data into Excel. However, you can run macros that use standard Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) to retrieve external data.

Online Help

In Excel 2000, if you point to Office on the Web on the Help menu, the Microsoft Office Update Web site appears in your Web browser.

Excel 2001 for Mac uses a slightly different method to display these Web pages. When you click the Help menu, the Help on the Web command appears. If you click Help on the Web, your Web browser starts and the following HTML Web page appears:This Web page contains links to several locations on the Microsoft Web site. If you want to customize the "Help on the Web" page, use a text editor or a Web editor, such as Microsoft FrontPage to customize the page.

Embedded objects

In Excel 2000, if you insert a document from another program into a worksheet, you can change the embedded document by double-clicking it. When you do this, the document is edited "in-place," that is, you remain in Excel 2000, but the menus and the toolbars change so that you can change the document.

In Excel 2001 for Mac, in-place editing is not available. If you double-click a document that is inserted in a worksheet, the program for the document is started, and you change the document in the program. When you are finished, you close the document and return to Excel.

Templates for modification

In Excel 2000, you can open a template to modify it by opening the template. Any changes you make are saved in the template itself when you save the file.

In Excel 2001 for Mac, if you want to open a template to modify it, you must hold down the SHIFT key while you open the template. After the template is open, release the SHIFT key. You can then change the template and save it.

Menu bars

The steps to modify the Worksheet menu bar or the Chart menu bar are slightly different in Excel 2001 for Mac. To modify the Worksheet menu bar or the Chart menu bar, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Toolbars tab.
3. If you want to make changes to the Worksheet menu bar or to the Chart menu bar, click to select the Worksheet Menu Bar check box or the Chart Menu Bar check box.
   
   You can make changes to menus, menu items, and submenus on the two menu bars. You cannot make changes to the menu bar at the very top of the screen.
4. When you are finished, click Close in the Customize dialog box.

When you click Close, the two menu bars disappear from the screen. However, any changes that you made to menus, menu items, or submenus appear on the menu bar at the very top of the screen.

Menu Icons

In Excel 2001 for Mac, icons do not appear to the left of menu items even though they appear when you customize menus, menu items, and submenus. This issue occurs because of the design of the Macintosh operating system.

For the latest Microsoft Knowledge Base articles and other support information about Excel 2001 for Mac, visit the following Microsoft Web sites: