Here are all the major Excel for Windows versions that have seen the light of day, along with a few words about how they handle macros: ✓ Excel 2: The original version of Excel for Windows was called Version 2 (rather than 1) so that it would correspond to the Macintosh version. Excel 2 first appeared in 1987, but nobody uses it anymore, so you can pretty much forget that it ever existed. ✓ Excel 3: Released in late 1990, this version features the XLM macro language. Nobody uses this version either. ✓ Excel 4: This version hit the streets in early 1992. It also uses the XLM macro language. A small number of people still use this version. (They subscribe to the philosophy if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.) ✓ Excel 5: This one came out in early 1994. It was the first version to use VBA (but it also supports XLM). Excel 5 users are becoming increasingly rare. ✓ Excel 95: Technically known as Excel 7 (there is no Excel 6), this version began shipping in the summer of 1995. It’s a 32-bit version and requires Windows 95 or Windows NT. It has a few VBA enhancements, and it supports the XLM language. ✓ Excel 97: This version (also known as Excel 8) was born in January, 1997. It has many enhancements and it features an entirely new interface for programming VBA macros. Excel 97 also uses a new file format (which previous Excel versions cannot open). Occasionally, I run into someone who still uses this version. ✓ Excel 2000: This version’s numbering scheme jumped to four digits. Excel 2000 (also known as Excel 9) made its public debut in June 1999. It includes only a few enhancements from a programmer’s perspective, with most enhancements being for users — particularly online users. With Excel 2000 came the option to digitally sign macros, thus enabling you to guarantee that the code delivered to your users is truly yours. Excel 2000 still has a modest number of users. ✓ Excel 2002: This version (also known as Excel 10 or Excel XP) appeared in late 2001. Perhaps this version’s most significant feature is the ability to recover your work when Excel crashes. This is also the first version to use copy protection (known as product activation). ✓ Excel 2003: Of all the Excel upgrades I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen them all), Excel 2003 has the fewest new features. In other words, most hardcore Excel users (including yours truly) were very disappointed with Excel 2003. Yet people still bought it. I think these were the folks moving up from a pre-Excel 2002 version. As I write this, Excel 2003 is probably the most commonly used version. ✓ Excel 2007: Excel 2007 signaled the beginning of a new era. Excel 2007 dumped the old menu and toolbar interface and introduced the Ribbon. It also allows much larger worksheets — more than a million rows. ✓ Excel 2010: The latest, and without a doubt, the greatest. Microsoft outdid its corporate self with this version. This version has some slick new features (such as sparkline graphics), and it also performs quite a bit better in some areas. And if you need really, really huge workbooks, you can install the 64-bit version.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:11:52 +0000
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