How can I open an excel file previously made from Excel?

I use LibreOffice to open the excel spreadsheets that Windows user send me which Numbers is unable to open.

Please don't double post. It only confuses everyone. I request that the Host delete your other post.

Most Excel workbooks will open in Numbers simple via File > Open and navigate to the .xlsx file (though you sometimes lose formatting or some Excel formulas). What do you get when you try that?

If that doesn't work, it's easy to get the data (without formulas) from Excel into Numbers. With both apps open, simply select the cells with the data in Excel, command-c to copy, click once in a cell in a Numbers table and command-v to paste.

So it's quite easy to get data from Excel into Numbers, which is a pleasant environment for accomplishing many tasks. If you planned to go back and forth between Excel and Numbers, perhaps collaborating with other people, then you will probably be disappointed, however. Better to just stay in Excel, which has a solid new version 2016 for the Mac and is cross-platform and on iOS as well. If you want mobile capability, then Numbers or Excel are your best choices. LibreOffice doesn't sync with a tablet version.

SG

If you don't have Excel anymore, then try opening in any of the Office clones and you should have no trouble copy-pasting into Numbers.

SG

LMH17061 wrote:

I have all my sport's statistics saved from my old Mac using Microsoft Office 2004. When I purchased my new Retina Display I was under the impression that all my old Excel files could be opened and changed using Numbers. Unfortunately, that is not true because I cannot open any of my basketball stats (73 years worth) using Numbers. I am sure if I could open them, I could then transfer them to Numbers. Can anyone tell me what I can do? Thanks in advance.

Use LibreOffice instead of Numbers, as a bonus it's free.

SGIII wrote:

Most Excel workbooks will open in Numbers simple via File > Open and navigate to the .xlsx file

Excel 2004 can not save in xlsx format, it'll be an xls file (which Numbers should open) but is unlikely to render well and formulas may break.

Use LibreOffice.

LibreOffice and the other clones may be a good choice for those who want to use a spreadsheet the old way–on a single machine, offline, no sync–and who aren't too fussy about fit and finish.

For sync and for freedom from worries about when volunteers can get around to patching security holes, Numbers and Excel seem to be the only game in town right now.

These days the full MS Office suite costs about as much as a couple of cups of coffee per month. iWork is entirely free, and, while it does not even pretend to be MS Office, is a pleasant environment for things like tracking sports stats (and, if wanted, sharing them to other machines and devices and on the web).

The assumption is that tracking 73 years of stats does not require 10s of thousands of rows. If it does, then Numbers is not a good choice. Nor is Numbers (or any of the clones) a good choice if you frequently are collaborating with others using Excel and need to send things back and forth. Otherwise, Numbers is a strong contender.

SG

Please note that LibreOffice and Excel have identical or superior sync abilities (all 3 use iCloud Drive, Excel has additional choices). Fit and Finish are (like most cosmetic options), entirely subjective.

LibreOffice is updated far more regularly than Numbers or Excel, let's give credit where it is due. LO is on a par with Excel, and it is free, unlike Numbers, which is neither.

If you want ease of use, a wide range of file type support and a lack of proprietary traps do not use Numbers.

Csound1 wrote:

Please note that LibreOffice and Excel have identical or superior sync abilities

Does LibreOffice do real-time sync that allows more than one person to work on a document at the same time? MS Office does. And so does Numbers, via Numbers for iCloud.

If you want ease of use, a wide range of file type support and a lack of proprietary traps do not use Numbers.

If you need frequent, perfect support for a wide range of proprietary formats from the past, then Numbers is not a good choice. If you collaborate frequently with others using Excel, then use Excel. If you want ease of use, a pleasant working environment, and you don't have highly demanding data analysis needs, then Numbers does a great job for many tasks.

SG

SGIII wrote:

Csound1 wrote:

Please note that LibreOffice and Excel have identical or superior sync abilities

Does LibreOffice do real-time sync that allows more than one person to work on a document at the same time? MS Office does. And so does Numbers, via Numbers for iCloud.

If used with iCloud Drive yes, just like Numbers does (because it is ICD that allows a document to be open in two places)

SGIII wrote:

If you want ease of use, a wide range of file type support and a lack of proprietary traps do not use Numbers.

If you need frequent, perfect support for a wide range of proprietary formats from the past, then Numbers is not a good choice. If you collaborate frequently with others using Excel, then use Excel. If you want ease of use, a pleasant working environment, and you don't have highly demanding data analysis needs, then Numbers does a great job for many tasks.

Tell me what is unpleasant about Excel or LO's working environment please.

Then explain how an xlsx, xlsm or xlst file is "from the past" these are all current excel files, industry standards that are correctly supported by every other spreadsheet I have seen.

Csound1 wrote:

Tell me what is unpleasant about Excel or LO's working environment please.

I use Excel perhaps more than Numbers. Did I suggest Excel is unpleasant? Excel is a heavy-duty truck, though, and not everyone needs to drive a truck every day. LibreOffice is a truck too, and not quite as smooth as Excel. It's got little incompatibilities, and for some features requires Java, etc. Those who need to drive a truck will find a great value in Excel these days. Those who need a light but powerful solution–that, like Excel, works well on mobile too–will enjoy Numbers.

SG

Did I suggest Excel is unpleasant

If you want ease of use, a pleasant working environment, and you don't have highly demanding data analysis needs, then Numbers does a great job for many tasks.

Indirectly, yes.

Csound1 wrote:

Then explain how an xlsx, xlsm or xlst file is "from the past" these are all current excel files, industry standards that are correctly supported by every other spreadsheet I have seen.

In Excel, xlsm is the extension given to workbooks containing VBA macros. Does "every other spreadsheet" handle them correctly? LibreOffice doesn't. And of course Numbers doesn't either. It doesn't even try. Many of the things you can do with VBA macros can be done using AppleScript with Numbers.

SG

From the LibreOffice Site:

The most recent versions of LibreOffice can run some Excel Visual Basic scripts if you enable this feature at LibreOffice - PreferencesTools - Options - Load/Save - VBA Properties.

It is clearly still a work in progress, but way ahead of Numbers, which doesn't even try.