XL: Custom Number Formats Are Lost When Worksheet Saved As Lotus 1-2-3 File

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This article was previously published under Q214089

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SUMMARY

In Microsoft Excel, when you save a worksheet in a Lotus 1-2-3 file format (WKS, WK1, WK3,WK4), and then open the file in Lotus 1-2-3, custom number formats created in Excel may not be recognized by Lotus 1-2-3.

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Although Lotus 1-2-3 uses the number formats listed in the following table, Lotus 1-2-3 is unable to recognize anything but the default number formats for a Microsoft Excel worksheet. The following is a table of the Lotus 1-2-3 date and time formats:

   Date Formats                  Time Formats
   --------------------------------------------------------
   DD-MMM-YY                     HH:MM:SS AM/PM
   DD-MMM                        HH:MM AM/PM
   MMM-YY                        HH:MM:SS (default for long
   MM/DD/YY (default for long       international)
     international)              HH:MM (default for short
   MM/DD (default for short         international)
      international)

Lotus 1-2-3 also uses the following formats: fixed, scientific, currency, comma, percent (from 0 to 15 decimal places), general, +/-, text, hidden, automatic, and label.