*.xls docs

The migrated Excel docs from my PC to my Mac will not open on the Mac. Any suggestions? Thanks.

What version of Office/Excel were you using on your Windows computer...and what version of Office/Excel are you using on your Mac?

- Nick

I'm using the Office y2007 version on the PC; I don't have Office installed on the Mac. All of my Word docs open up in Apple's 'Pages' and I therefore thought the Excel spreadsheets would open up in Apple's 'Numbers'.

DonJ441 said:

I'm using the Office y2007 version on the PC; I don't have Office installed on the Mac. All of my Word docs open up in Apple's 'Pages' and I therefore thought the Excel spreadsheets would open up in Apple's 'Numbers'.

Click to expand...

Ok I see...I thought maybe you were moving from "Office for Windows" to "Office for Mac".

If "Number's" is not working to import these files...there are a few "Office" alternatives for the Mac.

- Open Office
- Libre Office
- NeoOffice

And they're all free!

Don’t buy Microsoft Office: Three free alternatives for Mac OS X

- Nick

Which version of Numbers do you have? If you just recently purchased a new Mac you should have the latest versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

Is Numbers not opening it at all or is it just not working properly? Depending on what you had in your spreadsheet, it's very possible that Numbers might butcher some of the formatting and/or be unable to handle some of the advanced Excel features.

My Mac is brand new. The Excel spreadsheets are very basic...just using the basic functions. When highlighted to open, they just won't open.

At the risk of being jumped on yet again, the best option is Office 2011.

DonJ441 said:

My Mac is brand new. The Excel spreadsheets are very basic...just using the basic functions. When highlighted to open, they just won't open.

Click to expand...

If your Mac is brand new, you should have received the new version of Numbers along with Pages, and Keynote for free. Assuming you have them, Numbers should have been able to open your 2007 Excel sheet. Try this:

Highlight your 2007 Excel sheet, then press your spacebar. Let's see if quick view on your Mac will display the file correctly. Let us know.

After highlighting and hitting the space bar, a note appears and states the file name, the size, and the last modified date.

That might suggest that the files are corrupted or are in an odd format as the contents of the spreadsheet should have been viewable (this is a feature called QuickLook). Does it have the xls or xlsx extension? If not, it might just have the wrong extension. If this is the case, simply add the appropriate extension (if you're coming from Office 2007, it's likely xlsx).

They all have the xls extension. Oddly, I've found that two of the files (out of 30 or so) will open with a note that the Excel spreadsheet may look different because the font in the original is not available on OS X and was replaced with Helvetica. If I save the change due to the different font, the folder now has two files with the same name, one with the xls extension and one without an extension.

The file not showing an extension is actually a .numbers file. OSX hides the extent for files associated with applications. Try right clicking on the .xls file, then "Open with" and pick Numbers. If that works, then what is happening is that your .xls files are not associated with Numbers.

When trying to open with, I get the same results...i.e., file can't be opened.

Sounds like the files that won't open are damaged. You can try getting them from the PC again. The only other thing I can think of to try is to get Office for the Mac, but if the files are damaged, that won't work, either.

DonJ441 said:

When trying to open with, I get the same results...i.e., file can't be opened.

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The files are damaged. When we suggested earlier to open them using the space bar (quick look) and they wouldn't open, that means the file is damaged. It won't matter if you're using Numbers, Excel, or another program.

Thanks for all of the help. I deleted the files on the Mac and reinstalled them, with no change in outcome. I then put the USB with the files on them and tried to open them from that source. Many would then open, but with several caveats...formulas didn't transfer,was one. So, it looks like there is a compatibility issue, that short of purchasing a Mac Office or Excel program, that prevents Numbers from accessing the original files. Since I've made the decision to fully transfer to the Apple culture, I'll just rewrite the few files I may need in the Numbers format. Once again...thanks for all of the assists!

DonJ441 said:

So, it looks like there is a compatibility issue, that short of purchasing a Mac Office or Excel program, that prevents Numbers from accessing the original files. Since I've made the decision to fully transfer to the Apple culture, I'll just rewrite the few files I may need in the Numbers format. Once again...thanks for all of the assists!

Click to expand...

You could always try what I suggested in this post:

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/switcher-hangout/310496-xls-docs.html#post1578034

- Nick

The beauty of Nick's suggestion is that they are free, so you could use them to try opening the .xls files and if they work, great, and if not, you aren't out any money. Of the three, I'd try Libre Office first, it seems to be the one most like Macs. All three are based on the same engine (Open Office) so you probably don't need to try all three.

MacInWin said:

The beauty of Nick's suggestion is that they are free, so you could use them to try opening the .xls files and if they work, great, and if not, you aren't out any money.

Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head! What I'm thinking is...see if any of those apps will open the files...and open them correctly . Certainly worth the effort (free apps)...rather than recreating the files from scratch.

Of course if these Excel files are super small or super simple...then recreating them may not be a big job.

- Nick