Article ID: 830627 - Last Review: July 27, 2006 - Revision: 1.3

XL2003: Error Messages When You Save to an Earlier File Format When Transition Formula Evaluation Is Enabled

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SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Office Excel 2003, when you try to save a file, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:

A formula in a cell (Cell:Cell_Number) could not be converted because it contains a function that is not available in the file format to which you are saving. If you continue the save, the formula and result will be saved, but the function itself will be converted to an error value.

Do you want to see additional errors as they occur so you can fix them later?

To see each error as it occurs, click Yes.
To get only a count of the number of errors when Microsoft Excel is finished saving, click No.
To cancel the save, click Cancel

Continue reporting each error?

If you click Yes, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Microsoft Excel cannot convert some of the cells. The total number of errors found is Number_Of_Errors.

If you click OK, you receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Your_File_Name may contain features that are not compatible with Your_Chosen_File_Format. Do you want to keep the workbook in this format?

If you continue to save the file following these error messages, when you reopen the file, Excel converts the formula in the cells that are referenced in the error messages to =#N/A.

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CAUSE

This issue occurs when the following conditions are true:

You saved your file to one of the following file formats:
- Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook
- Microsoft Excel 97-2003 & 5.0/95 Workbook
- Microsoft Excel 4.0 Worksheet
-and-
Your worksheet contains one of the following functions:
- AVERAGE
- MIN
- MAX
- STDEV
- STDEVP
- VAR
- VARP
-and-
On the Transition tab of the Options dialog box, you click to select the Transition formula evaluation check box.

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WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

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Method 1: Turn Off Transition Formula Evaluation

To turn off Transition Formula Evaluation, follow these steps:

Start Excel, and then open your file.
Click Tools, and then click Options.
Click the Transition tab, click to clear the Transition formula evaluation check box, and then click OK.

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Method 2: Use the Corresponding "A" Function

For each of the functions listed in the "Cause" section of this article, Excel includes a set of functions that are designed to be 100 percent compatible with Lotus 1-2-3. These functions are known as the "A" functions because all the function names end with the letter A.

For additional information about using the A functions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

205548 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/205548/ ) XL: Using A Functions in Microsoft Excel

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