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marty_t

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Windows 7, Excel 2007, Sync'ing 2003 xls files problem

Hi,

I have had this problem for a few years now and I cannot seem to find a fix for it.

More and more it becomes an annoyance for my co-workers and I thought I would throw the question in here once again.

I am having a problem where files saved in excel 2003 format by an Win7/Excel2007 client to a Terrastation server (irrelavant as it happens on 2k3 server also), failes to synchronise and ALWAYS ends up OFFLINE.

Even simply opening the .xls in Excel 2007 renders the file offline.

A manual sync is then required for the rest of the office to see the file on the server.

This does NOT happen to Excel 2007 format files saved to the same location using the same machine.

I think a longer explanation is here: http://forums.techarena.in/vista-help/887452.htm

I didn't have this problem with XP Pro/Office 2003, but I have had the same problem with Vista/Office 2007.

Something tells me that the way Excel 2007 saves the 2003 format file is stopping sync center from allowing it to sync.

I can performa  manual sync and it goes back online (until you open it in Excel 2007 again)

Can someone PLEASE help. This issue has been a problem in my network for ages, and I thought upgrading to 2010 would fix it, but it hasn't.

HELP.

Thanks,

Marty
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rspahitz
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I don't think I have a fix for you but it sounds like the same problem I've seen with shared files.  We have some files created by Excel 2007 and when opened in 2003 while someone else has it opened, it seems to lock it permanently.

The solutions seem to be having the 2003 file get exclusive access to this file while nobody else is using it, or to upgrade from 2003 to 2007/2010.
What I am not sure is if the file was created by 2003 then used by 2007 simultaneously with 2003.
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marty_t

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Whilst I agree we can now use 2007 format for future files, which I have instructed the office to do. It would be impossible to go over all the 2003 format files and convert them to 2007. Also, when we receive a 2003 file from external sources, to make sure we keep integrity with the external source, we wouldn't be able to convert it to 2007.

XP and 2003 didn't have this problem, so it's something that is only in vista / win 7 and Office 2007 / 2010.

Thanks,

Marty
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rspahitz
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I've requested that this question be deleted for the following reason:

This question has been classified as abandoned and is closed as part of the Cleanup Program. See the recommendation for more details.
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I agree...there is value in unanswered questions like this since at some point Microsoft may properly acknowledge this as a bug so anyone who experiences it can at least know it's a real problem.

I suggest PAQ with 0 points.
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ASKER

I've requested that this question be closed as follows:

Accepted answer: 0 points for marty_t's comment http:/Q_27309661.html#36950193

for the following reason:

To keep the question in the KB
I've objected to your action, since your choice of a "solution" is not a valid technical solution. While i understand your intent, please note that EE does not allow you to accept invalid, non-technical comments to your question.

If you wish to maintain this content, then you might consider making a copy of the question (i.e. just copy the content) and save it to your local machine. This will allow you to refer to the comments as needed.

However, I would suggest that if you have found value in this, then perhaps you have received some form of "assistance" from the Experts, and therefore could accept one or more of their solutions as an Assisted solution - that would satisfy the EE policy, and would allow you to maintain this question in the PAQ. It's understandable that some issue take several "steps" to resolve.

SouthMod
EE Moderator
South, not to be picky about this, but Marty is trying to follow the rules you (EE) defined and you keep overriding him.
First, he wanted to leave this open until we got an answer and you said he couldn't but he could pick a solution of his choice, then you say his choice is not good enough.

In my opinion, the answer I gave is valid, but does not really offer a solution, leaving us in this quandry.  The answer allows future viewers to see that there really IS NO ANSWER, and that, in itself is a valid answer but not necessarily worth the price paid.

The original selection by Marty was valid: "There is a clear flaw in the software."
And an assist can go to ID 36556794.

Would this put it to rest, or would it then be opened again?  Please let this question get PAQ'd
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I found what the problem was.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2002109

AND it comes with a FIX!!! FINALLY!!
Excellent Marty!  Sorry it took MS so long to fix this, but glad you can now move forward with it.
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How do I add this SOLUTION as an accepted answer? Or mark as solved?
Usually once a question is marked as solved, you won't be able to re-mark it.  I think that with this link at the bottom of this thread, people will find it:

SOLUTION IS HERE: https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/27309661/Windows-7-Excel-2007-Sync'ing-2003-xls-files-problem.html?anchorAnswerId=38758803#a38758803
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Excellent Thanks.