Excel 97-2003 features that are not supported in Office Excel 2007

When you open a workbook in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 that was created in an earlier version of Microsoft Office Excel (97-2003), some features of the earlier version of Office Excel are not supported in the workbook. Unsupported features have either been replaced by new features and functionality, or they have been removed because they were rarely used.

 Tip   If features are not available in the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface but are still available in Office Excel 2007, you can still use those features by adding them to the Quick Access Toolbar.

The following Excel 97-2003 features may function differently, have been removed, or are not available on the Ribbon (part of the Office Fluent user interface) in Office Excel 2007.

In this article

Unsupported worksheet features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
AutoFormat You can use the AutoFormat feature to apply one of several autoformats (autoformat: A built-in collection of cell formats (such as font size, patterns, and alignment) that you can apply to a range of data. Excel determines the levels of summary and detail in the selected range and applies the formats accordingly.) to quickly format a range of data.

Style galleries for tables, cells, and PivotTables provide a set of professional formats that can be applied quickly. You can choose from many predefined styles or create custom styles as needed. Styles replace AutoFormat as the simplest way to apply formatting to a range of cells.

You can also still use the AutoFormat command, but you need to add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar first.

For more information, see:

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Unsupported table features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
Excel lists You can create an Excel list (list: A series of rows that contains related data or a series of rows that you designate to function as a datasheet by using the Create List command.) to make it easier to manage and analyze groups of related data in a worksheet.

Excel lists are now referred to as Excel tables to match this feature in other Microsoft Office programs, such as Word and PowerPoint.

For more information, see Create or delete an Excel table.
Insert row You can use an insert row (a special row in Excel lists) to quickly add a new row of data at the end of a list.

The insert row is no longer available. To add new rows to a table, press TAB, or type or paste the data that you want to include just below a table. You can also insert rows to include additional rows of data.

For more information, see Add or remove Excel table rows and columns.
Defined names You can define names for lists.

When you create a table, a defined name for the same range is created at the same time. This name can be used to reference the table in formulas that use the new, structured referencing feature.

Names that are used for lists in earlier versions of Excel might not meet the requirements for range names in Excel 2007, and therefore cannot be used for referencing the table in formulas that use the new structured referencing feature. To use table names in structured references, you must change the defined names.

For more information, see Use names to clarify formulas.
Synchronizing Excel tables with SharePoint lists You can publish an Excel list to a Windows SharePoint Services site and connect to the published list on the SharePoint site to keep list data synchronized between Excel and Windows SharePoint Services.

Two-way synchronization of Excel tables with SharePoint lists is no longer supported. When you export table data to a SharePoint list, you can only create a one-way connection to the data in the SharePoint list.

With a one-way connection to the data in the SharePoint list, changes that are made to the data in the SharePoint list can be incorporated in Excel 2007. When you refresh the table data in Excel 2007, the latest data from the SharePoint site overwrites the table data on the worksheet, including any changes that you made to the table data. In Excel 2007, you can no longer update a SharePoint list with changes that you make to the table data in Excel, after that data has been exported.

To preserve a two-way connection, you need to keep the workbook in Excel 97-2003 file format instead of converting it to the Excel 2007 file format.

For more information, see Export an Excel table to a SharePoint list.

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Unsupported formula and function features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
Full row or column references Full row and full column references that are used in a workbook can include data in cells that are located within the row and column limit of Excel 97-2003.

Full row and full column references automatically take into account the cells in the larger grid size of Excel 2007. This means that the reference =A:A, which refers to cells A1:A65536 in earlier versions of Excel, refers to cells A1:A1048576 in the Excel 2007 file format.

Converting a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format can cause problems when full row or column references are used in that workbook, and data that was not meant to be included in the references has been entered in cells that are beyond the row and column limit of the earlier version of Excel.

Also, if specific functions that count the number of cells, rows, or columns in the reference were used (such as COUNTBLANK, ROWS, and COLUMN), and these functions referenced full rows or columns, the results that these functions return might be different than expected.
Defined names in formulas Specific names that use a combination of letters and numbers (such as USA1, FOO100, and MGR4) can be defined and used in formulas in Excel 97-2003 because they do not conflict with cell references.

With a new limit of 16,384 columns, the columns in Excel 2007 extend to column XFD. This means that specific names (such as USA1, FOO100, and MGR4) that you could define in earlier versions of Excel will conflict with valid cell references in Excel 2007. In addition, Excel 2007 reserves names that start with XL for internal use.

When incompatible names are found when you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, you will be alerted about the conflict. To differentiate these names from cell references, an underscore (_) is automatically added as a prefix to the incompatible names.

External workbook references and functions that take string references (such as INDIRECT) are not updated — these references and functions must be changed manually.

Excel 2007 also does not change defined names that are referenced through Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code. VBA code that references incompatible names will not work and must be updated.

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Unsupported charting features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
Chart wizard You can use the Chart Wizard to create a chart.

You create a chart by clicking the chart type that you want on the Office Fluent user interface Ribbon (Insert tab, Chart group). After creating the chart, you can use the Chart Tools to modify and format the chart.

For more information, see Create a chart.
Simultaneous resizing of multiple charts You can change the size of multiple charts simultaneously. You must change the size of each chart individually.
Duplicate chart sheets that contain data When an existing chart sheet that contains data is selected, you can press F1 to create a chart sheet with the same data.

You can no longer duplicate chart sheets that contain data by pressing F11.

Pressing F11 when an existing chart sheet that contains data is selected creates a new chart sheet without data.
Changing the rotation of 3-D charts You can change the rotation of a 3-D chart by using the mouse.

You cannot use the mouse to change the rotation of a 3-D chart.

You can only change the rotation of a 3-D chart by specifying settings in the 3-D Rotation category in the Format Chart Area dialog box.

For more information, see Change the display of a 3-D chart.
Using pattern fills in chart elements You can use pattern fills in chart elements.

Instead of pattern fills in chart elements, you can use picture and texture fills.

Charts with pattern fills that were created in an earlier version of Excel appear the same when they are opened in Excel 2007, but you cannot use the pattern fills in other chart elements.

For more information, see Change the shape fill, outline, or effects of chart elements.
Sizing charts with the window You can use the Size with window command to automatically resize charts that are located on chart sheets (chart sheet: A sheet in a workbook that contains only a chart. A chart sheet is beneficial when you want to view a chart or a PivotChart report separately from worksheet data or a PivotTable report.) when you change the size of the window. Instead of the Size with window command, you can use the Zoom to Selection command to achieve similar results.
Automatically creating a text box when you type on a chart A text box is automatically created when you click anywhere on a chart and start typing.

You cannot create a text box when you click anywhere on a chart and start typing.

To add a text box on a chart, use the Insert Text Box command.
Copying charts to Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 By default, a copied chart is pasted as a picture in an Office Word 2007 document or Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation.

By default, a copied chart is pasted in an Office Word 2007 document or Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation as an object that is linked to the Excel chart.

You can change the way that a copied chart is pasted by clicking the Paste Options button that is displayed when you paste the chart, and then pasting the chart as a picture or an entire workbook.

For more information, see Copy Excel data or charts to Word or Copy Excel data or charts to PowerPoint.
Using a Word table as a data source You can use a Word 97-2003 table as data for a new chart.

A table in Office Word 2007 cannot be used as data for a new chart.

When you create a chart in Office Word 2007, you get a worksheet with sample data instead of the data in the selected Word table. To plot the Word table data into the new chart, you need to copy that data to the worksheet, replacing the existing sample data.
Printed chart size You can specify printed chart size and scaling options on the Chart tab of the Page Setup dialog box. The Chart tab is available only when a chart is selected (File menu, Page Setup command).

The printed chart size and scaling options are no longer available on the Chart tab of the Page Setup dialog box. The Chart tab is available only when a chart is selected (Page Layout tab, Page Setup group, Dialog Box Launcher Button image.

For more information, see Print a chart.
Drag and drop data You can add data to a chart by selecting the data in the worksheet and dragging it onto the chart.

You can no longer drag data from a worksheet to a chart.

You can use other methods to add data to a chart.

For more information, see Update the data in an existing chart.
Direct manipulation of data points on charts You can drag data points (data points: Individual values plotted in a chart and represented by bars, columns, lines, pie or doughnut slices, dots, and various other shapes called data markers. Data markers of the same color constitute a data series.) on a chart and change their source values on the worksheet. Dragging data points to change the source values on the worksheet is no longer supported.
Grouping and selecting shapes Shapes are drawn in a format that differs from the shape format that is used in Excel 2007.

Shapes that are drawn in earlier versions of Excel cannot be grouped with shapes that are drawn in Excel 2007, even when the shapes are upgraded to the current version. You cannot select shapes that are created in different versions of Excel at the same time. Shapes that are created in different versions of Excel are layered on top of current shapes.

Much like shapes, charts that are created in Excel 2007 cannot be layered on top of dialog sheets that are created in earlier versions of Excel, and you cannot view charts that are layered underneath these dialog sheets.

To select the current charts, use the chart element selection box (Chart Tools, Format tab, Current Selection group).

To select hidden charts or shapes that were created in an earlier version of Excel, you must first add the Select Multiple Objects command to the Quick Access Toolbar.

For more information, see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

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Unsupported PivotTable features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
Defined names You can define names for PivotTable reports.

Names used for PivotTable reports in earlier versions of Excel might not meet the requirements for range names in Excel 2007 and therefore cannot be used for referencing a table in formulas that use the new structured referencing feature. To use PivotTable report names in structured references, you must change the defined names.

For more information, see Use names to clarify formulas.
Calculated members Calculated members that are defined in OLAP cubes are displayed by default in PivotTable reports.

Calculated members that are defined in OLAP cubes are no longer displayed by default in PivotTable reports, but calculated measures (calculated members in the Measures dimension) are displayed by default.

You can display calculated members by selecting Show calculated members from OLAP server on the Display tab in the PivotTable Options dialog box (PivotTable Tools, Options tab, PivotTable group, Options).

For more information, see Create and change the field layout in a PivotTable or PivotChart report.
Filtering with SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Versions of Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services earlier than SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services are used to support OLAP PivotTable reports.

The new filtering options in OLAP PivotTable reports require support for sub-selects on the OLAP server. SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services supports sub-selects to make all of the filtering options available.

When you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, only the filtering options that are available in Excel 2003 PivotTable reports will be available in Excel 2007 PivotTable reports, because the earlier versions of SQL Server Analysis Services do not support sub-selects.
OLAP Cube Wizard You can use the OLAP Cube Wizard to create OLAP cube files from relational data sources. By using this feature, you can add a hierarchical data structure to relational data so that the relational data can be viewed in PivotTable reports and stored in a separate file.

The OLAP Cube Wizard is no longer available. To create PivotTable reports that are based on relational data, you can connect to the relational data directly, or you can import the relational data into an Excel workbook.

For more information, see:
PivotTable Wizard and PivotChart Wizard You use the PivotTable Wizard to create a PivotTable report and the PivotChart Wizard to create a PivotChart report.

The PivotTable Wizard and PivotChart Wizard are not available on the Office Fluent Ribbon. Instead, you use the Insert PivotTable and Insert PivotChart commands to create a PivotTable report or a PivotChart report in one step (Insert tab, Tables group, PivotTable button).

You can still use the PivotTable Wizard and PivotChart Wizard by adding them to the Quick Access Toolbar. Some familiar features are available only when you use the wizards, such as server-defined page fields, the option to optimize memory, the ability to explicitly create a PivotTable report based on another PivotTable report, and multiple consolidation ranges.

For more information, see
Custom labels and item formatting Custom labels and item formatting are lost when you collapse fields.

PivotTable reports preserve customization of items (such as custom labels and item formatting) even when those items are temporarily not visible in the PivotTable report.

When you convert a workbook from an earlier version of Excel to the Excel 2007 file format, the custom labels and item formatting are applied when you collapse fields. Custom labels are always available in the workbook, even when fields are removed from the PivotTable reports, and then added again at a later time.

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Unsupported developer features

Feature In Excel 97-2003 In Excel 2007
Microsoft Script Editor Microsoft Script Editor is available on the Tools menu (Tools, Macro, Microsoft Script Editor) so that you can use it to edit HTML files. Integration with Microsoft Script Editor has been removed from the 2007 Microsoft Office system, which means that script debugging components are no longer available in Excel 2007. However, Microsoft Script Editor is still installed with the 2007 Office release, and you can use the Microsoft Script Editor as a standalone program to edit HTML files.

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Unsupported file formats

Support for the following file formats has been removed from Excel 2007. You will not be able to open or save workbooks in these file formats.

File formats that are not supported in Excel 2007
WK1, ALL(1-2-3)
WK4 (1-2-3)
WJ1 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj1)
WJ3 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj3)
WKS (1-2-3)
WKS (Works Japanese) (*.wks)
WK3, FM3(1-2-3)
WK1, FMT(1-2-3)
WJ2 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj2)
WJ3, FJ3 (1-2-3 Japanese) (*.wj3)
DBF 2 (dBASE II)
WQ1 (Quattro Pro/DOS)
Microsoft Excel Chart (*.xlc)

Support for the following file formats has changed.

File format In Excel 2007
Web Page (*.htm; *.html) Excel 2007 no longer stores Excel-specific feature information in this file format. You can open a file in this format, preserving any Excel-specific features that were created in an earlier version of Excel. However, you can save such a file (or any other workbook) in this file format for publishing purposes only.
Single File Web Page (*.mht; *.mhtml) Excel 2007 no longer stores Excel-specific feature information in this file format. You can open a file in this format, preserving any Excel-specific features that were created in an earlier version of Excel. However, you can save such a file (or any other workbook) in this file format for publishing purposes only.

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Applies to:
Excel 2007