The changes that you made to a shared.xls file in an offline folder are not saved on a file server that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP

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Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

You share an .xls file and an .xlsx file in an offline folder on a file server that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP.
You open the folder in Windows Explorer from a computer that is running Windows Vista.
You edit the .xls file, and then you save the .xls file to the offline folder.
You open the file from another computer.

In this scenario, you find that the changes to the file were not saved.

Resolution

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To resolve this problem, apply the hotfix that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article, and then enable the hotfix. To do this, follow these steps:

Apply the following hotfix.
956836 Description of the Excel 2007 hotfix package (Excel.msp, Xlconv.msp): August 26, 2008
Enable the hotfix package.

To have us enable the hotfix package for you, go to the "Fix it for me" section. If you prefer to fix this problem yourself, go to the "Let me fix it myself" section.

Fix it for me

To fix this problem automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Then click Run in the File Download dialog box, and follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Fix this problem
Microsoft Fix it 50721

Notes
- This wizard may be in English only. However, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.
- If you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.
Then, go to the "Did this fix the problem?" section.

Let me fix it myself
To enable the hotfix package, follow these steps:
1. Click Start
  , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
  
  If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type VistaOfflineFilesCompatMode, and then press ENTER.
5. Right-click VistaOfflineFilesCompatMode, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
7. Exit Registry Editor.
Did this fix the problem?
- Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this section. If the problem is not fixed, you can contact support.
- We would appreciate your feedback. To provide feedback or to report any issues with this solution, please leave a comment on the "Fix it for me" blog or send us an email message.