i cannot open excel files from email. my save as choices are limited to documents
MacBook Pro
You provide little information. Are you using Apple Mail? What OS version? Have you a copy of Excel? Can you open Excel files that are not in Mail? What happens when you click on the Excel attachment in a Mail message?
i have tried to open the files from gmail, yahoo and web based version of outlook. i do not have excel for mac, only numbers. i just bought a macbook pro days ago.
i was led to believe that apple is no longer a closed system. that i could open excel in numbers. when i try save as, the best i can do is save excel as txt
is this as good as it gets?
Just save the file. Since you have iWork [Numbers] and not Office [Excel], Numbers will be the default application to open the file. You can verify this by doing a right click (or Control + click) on the file and expand the triangle beside "Open with…". There might be some conflicts with formatting, fonts and the like, especially if the file was created using Office for Windows. You will have the opportunity to review any conflicts because you will be presented with a dialog as you open the file with Numbers.
Hi,
The following article is a couple of years old, but could possibly be of some interest to you anyway.
http://www.macworld.com/article/133922/2008/06/iworkoffice.html
Opening received spreadsheet files can sometimes be a problem even for PC users, depending upon the programs and exact file formats involved. The old Excel format (.xls) may make things easier than the new one (.xlsx). Also, it may not be a bad idea to have an additional program suite installed, such as the free OpenOffice.org (or perhaps NeoOffice, for Mac).
Jan
kenneth, i expected something as simple as you described. when i right click from the outlook web application, i get these options; open link in new window or open link in new tab. i also get download linked file or download linked file as. when i download "as", my option is to save as a document, not a numbers file. so i do this and of course it cannot be opened when i try.
from yahoo mail, i get similar choices plus choices about opening or downloading images. the xl file is simply not recognized as a numbers equivalent.
by the way the xl file is as simple as they get.
i appreciate all the feedback - i am assuming something is wrong with my settings. i am not being given usable choices when i right click.
It needs to be downloaded to your computer as an *.xls or *xlsx first, then it can be indexed as such and assigned as being "owned" by iWork-Numbers. Have you tried dragging the attachment to your desktop? What is the result? You might also want to check <YourHomeFolder> Downloads because your email editor might save it there as default. I have not used Outlook for years nor do I use a Web-based email service such as Yahoo; however, you might want to check under File >Preferences for the default location for mail downloads. It might already be on your computer, downloaded to that default folder. Another method to use to find the attachment is to undertake a Spotlight search. Do this by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the extreme upper right corner of the Menu bar. In the drop-down search field start typing the name of the attachment (which should be the name of the file) and in a few seconds the list will be populated by any possible matches. There is also the possibility of a more filtered search using Command + F [⌘ +F], but try these other avenues first, then post back reporting any progress.
You need to click the Arrow next to the Name. It will expand and show you the normal Finder.
i cannot open excel files from an email
