XL: Running Multiple Versions of Microsoft Excel

• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 5.0, 5.0c

SUMMARY

Although Microsoft does not recommend installing more than one version of Microsoft Excel on a computer, it is possible to install and use more than one version. For example, you can install and use both Microsoft Excel 97 and Microsoft Excel 7.0 on the same computer.

This article describes the problems you may encounter when you install more than one version and offers advice about preventing the versions of Microsoft Excel from conflicting with each other.

MORE INFORMATION

Order of Installation

To install and use more than one version of Microsoft Excel on a single computer, install earlier versions of Microsoft Excel first.

For example, if you want to use both Microsoft Excel 5.0 and Microsoft Excel 97 on the same computer, you must install Microsoft Excel 5.0 FIRST. This is necessary because of the way registry keys, shared programs, and other settings are managed for each version of Microsoft Excel.

NOTE: The following sections assume that you installed the versions of Microsoft Excel in ascending order.

Running Multiple Versions of Microsoft Excel Simultaneously

Although it is possible to run more than one version of Microsoft Excel simultaneously on the same computer, Microsoft strongly recommends that you avoid doing this. For example, if you want to start Microsoft Excel 5.0, first quit all other versions of Microsoft Excel that may be running.

Double-Clicking Files in the Windows Explorer

When you double-click a Microsoft Excel workbook (.xls) file, chart (.xlc) file, or add-in (.xla) file in Windows Explorer, the following rules apply:

• If a version of Microsoft Excel is already running, the file is opened in the running version of Microsoft Excel.
• If no version of Microsoft Excel is running, the file is opened in Microsoft Excel 5.0 if it is installed on your computer; if Microsoft Excel 5.0 is not installed, the file is opened in the version of Microsoft Excel that you most recently installed on your computer.

  See the "Reassociating Microsoft Excel Files" section for more information about this behavior.

   <Filename>: file format is not valid.

Reassociating Microsoft Excel Files

When you start Microsoft Excel 5.0, Microsoft Excel files (.xls, .xlc, and .xla files) are automatically associated with it.

When you start them, Microsoft Excel 7.0 and Microsoft Excel 97 are not automatically associated Microsoft Excel files; they perform this task only when you install these programs.

Because of this difference in behavior, if you start Microsoft Excel 5.0, a Microsoft Excel file that you double-click is always opened in Microsoft Excel 5.0, unless another version of Microsoft Excel is already running.

If you want to double-click a file and open it in a newer version of Microsoft Excel, you can associate Microsoft Excel files with Microsoft Excel 7.0 or 97 by using either of the following methods.

Method 1

Run Microsoft Excel Setup or Microsoft Office Setup with the /y switch. Using /y instructs the Setup program to register all of the registry keys that are used by Microsoft Excel and to associate Microsoft Excel files with the version of Microsoft Excel that you are installing.

Method 2

Use the File Types tab in the Options dialog box to associate Microsoft Excel files with Microsoft Excel 7.0 or 97. To do this, use the following steps:

1. Double-click My Computer.

2. On the View menu, click Options. Then, click the File Types tab.

3. In the list of registered file types, scroll down and click Microsoft Excel Worksheet. Then, click Edit.

4. In the list of Actions, click Open. Then, click Edit.

5. In the "Application used to perform action" box, change the path to the Microsoft Excel program file (Excel.exe) so that it refers to the Excel.exe file for Microsoft Excel 7.0 or Microsoft Excel 97.

   If you are unsure of the location for Excel.exe, click Browse to search for the file.

6. Click OK. Then, click Close, and then click Close again to close the Options dialog box.

Inserting Microsoft Excel Objects into Other Programs

If you install multiple versions of Microsoft Excel on a single computer and you insert a Microsoft Excel Worksheet object into another program (for example, Microsoft Word), the latest version of Microsoft Excel is used when you insert the worksheet object.

For example, if you install the following programs on your computer

   Microsoft Word for Windows, version 6.0
   Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0
   Microsoft Excel 97

Using Automation to Control Microsoft Excel

If you install multiple versions of Microsoft Excel on a computer, you may experience difficulty when you attempt to use Automation to control a specific version of Microsoft Excel.

For example, if you run the following Visual Basic for Applications subroutine in Microsoft Word 97

   Sub AutomationTest()
       Dim xlApp As Object
       Set xlApp = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
       MsgBox xlApp.Version
       xlApp.Quit
       Set xlApp = Nothing
   End Sub

If you want to control a specific version of Microsoft Excel using Automation, you use the class names that are listed in the following table.

   Version of
   Microsoft Excel   Class Name
   -------------------------------------

   97                Excel.Application.8
   7.0               Excel.Application.5
   5.0               Excel.Application.5

Shared Programs

You should not experience any problems when you use shared programs, such as Microsoft Equation Editor and Clip Gallery, with any version of Microsoft Excel. Note that the Object dialog box may display more than one entry for each shared program; this behavior occurs because there may be multiple versions of the shared program on the computer.