Microsoft KB Archive Search

Notice: This website is an unofficial Microsoft Knowledge Base (hereinafter KB) archive and is intended to provide a reliable access to deleted content from Microsoft KB. All KB articles are owned by Microsoft Corporation. Read full disclaimer for more details.

  1. Home
  2. Error message when you try to open an Excel 2007 .xltx file in Excel 2000: "This file is not in a recognizable format"

Error message when you try to open an Excel 2007 .xltx file in Excel 2000: "This file is not in a recognizable format"

View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

You install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack on a computer that has Microsoft Excel 2000 installed. When you try to open a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 .xltx file, the file does not open in Excel 2000. Additionally, you receive the following error message:
This file is not in a recognizable format.

� If you know the file is from another program which is incompatible with Microsoft Excel, click Cancel, then open this file in its original application. If you want to open the file later in Microsoft Excel, save it in a format that is compatible, such as text format.
� If you suspect the file is damaged, click Help for more information about solving the problem.
� If you still want to see what text is contained in the file, click OK. Then click Finish in the Text Import Wizard

↑ Back to the top

Workaround

To work around this issue, save the .xltx file as an .xlt file in Excel 2007. Then, open the .xlt file in Excel 2000.

To save the .xltx file as an .xlt file in Excel 2007, follow these steps:
  1. Start Excel 2007, and then open the .xltx file.
  2. Click the Microsoft Office Button, point to Save As, and then click Other Formats.
  3. In the Save As dialog box, click Excel 97-2003 Template (*.xlt) in the Save as type box, and then click Save.

↑ Back to the top

More information

For more information about the Office Compatibility Pack, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466

↑ Back to the top

Keywords: KB925595, kbfileawareoff2007, kbexpertisebeginner, kbopenfile, kbprb, kbconversion, kbtshoot, kberrmsg

↑ Back to the top

Article Info
Article ID : 925595
Revision : 6
Created on : 10/15/2007
Published on : 10/15/2007
Exists online : False
Views : 281