BUG: "Invalid Excel File Format" with IMPORT Command

• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5, 2.5a and 2.5b
• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5, 2.5a and 2.5b
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5b

SYMPTOMS

You receive the "Invalid Excel File Format" error message when you are importing a Microsoft Excel version 5.0 file into FoxPro.

NOTE: In FoxPro 2.0 for MS-DOS, you will get the error message "Invalid Excel version 2.0 file" when you are importing worksheets in Microsoft Excel 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 file format.

CAUSE

With each release of Microsoft Excel, the file format that Microsoft Excel uses has changed. FoxPro 2.0 can import only Microsoft Excel 2.0 files. FoxPro 2.5 for MS-DOS, Windows, and the Macintosh can import files in the Microsoft Excel 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 formats.

Microsoft Excel 5.0 was not released until after FoxPro 2.5 for MS-DOS and Windows were developed. FoxPro for Macintosh was developed at approximately the same time as Microsoft Excel 5.0 for Windows. Therefore, support for importing Microsoft Excel 5.0 format files was not built into FoxPro 2.5 for any platform.

RESOLUTION

There are some workarounds to directly importing a Microsoft Excel 5.0 worksheet, all of which must be performed in Microsoft Excel. Two of these workarounds are:

• Save the Microsoft Excel 5.0 file as a Microsoft Excel 4.0, 3.0, or 2.0 format file. (IMPORTANT: Make sure you give the file a new name before you save it.) Then import this file with the IMPORT FROM <file> TYPE XLS command.

  -or-

• Save the Microsoft Excel 5.0 file as a DBF format file. (IMPORTANT: Make sure you give the file a new name before you save it.) All versions of Microsoft Excel can save files in the DBF3 file format; in addition, Microsoft Excel 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 can save files in the DBF4 file format. FoxPro can open either of these two file formats.

  IMPORTANT: In versions of Microsoft Excel prior to 5.0, the database range must be defined in Microsoft Excel before the file is saved in one of the DBF formats. Data outside the database range will NOT be saved to the DBF format file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

REFERENCES

FoxPro for MS-DOS and Windows "Language Reference," version 2.5, pages L3-569 and L3-570

FoxPro for Macintosh "Language Reference," version 2.5, pages 468-469

Microsoft Excel "User's Guide 1," version 4.0, pages 60, 306, and 307