How to Save as Excel in Format 97 – 2003 Automatically

If you have an Excel file with the format 97 until 2003 .xls (not .xlsx), you can still open it in the latest version of 2007 and above.

However, you can’t open .xlsx files in Excel applications version 2003 and below. To get around this, you can save the Excel file to Format 2003 in the Excel application version 2007 and above.

Save Excel File to Format 97 – 2003 Manually

If you want to save only certain Files (Workbooks) to 97 – 2003 format, please follow these steps:

1. Open your Excel file (Workbook), then Click the File Tab.
2. Click Save As.
3. Click Computer and Browse to specify where to save the Excel file. Then the Save As window will appear.
4. Change the Save as type to Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls).
5. Finally, Click Save to save your File.

Now, you can open the .xlsx file in Microsoft Excel 2003 versions and below.

Automatically Save as Excel File to Format 97 – 2003

You can also set the automatic “Save as” file to .xls (Excel 2003). In this way, all new Files (Workbooks) will be saved in 97 – 2003 (.xls) format. Please follow these guidelines:

1. Click the File Tab, then Click Options.
2. In the Excel Options window, click the Save menu.
3. In the Save Workbooks section, change the “Save file in this format” to Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls).
4. Finally, click Ok to save the settings.

Automatically, when you save it as an all-new Excel file, Excel will convert it to .xls format instead of xlsx.

Note: If your Workbook contains features that are not supported in 2003 and below formats, you will get an associated warning message.

I recommend that all your computers use the latest Excel software to make your work easier

Because the old version of Excel software doesn’t support all the features in the latest version – such as charts.