Excel 2016 xlsm won't open in Excel 2013

[RobertCotton]

I have created a file in Excel 2016 that utilizes 3 User Forms and several command buttons all backed by various VBA Macros. While collaborating with the end user there were several compile errors that we had to overcome due to his use of Excel 2013. I discovered that each time I emailed him a file he would open it from his email and did not save it to his hard drive. This went on for several iterations of the file until we got a file that functioned well on both his computer and mine.

After confirming that everything functioned as expected he saved the file to his hard drive. Now the file will not open on his computer. When he goes to open the file he gets the Excel Opening screen but that's as far as it goes.

Has anyone encountered this situation before and more importantly has anyone encountered this issue and found a solution? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have about 40 hours invested in this file and I really don't want to try to re-write all of the code.

Thanks
Robert Cotton

 

[Michael M]

Have you tried opening it on your computer using Excel 2013 ??
There could be any number of issues relating to compatibility, especially trying to backward open the file on an earlier version !

 

[RobertCotton]

I only have the one occurrence of Excel on my computer (2016) and do not have access to a copy of 2013 that I could install.

 

[Michael M]

Is it something you can upload to a hosting site, dropbox for instance, and we may be able to try it on 2013.
But as I mentioned, writing a workbook in a leter version can cause a lot of issues, especially if there is VBA involved

 

[RobertCotton]

I have a dropbox account but I believe I need an email address in order to create a shared file folder.

Her is what I am having a problem wrapping my mind around. My collaborator can open the file from his outlook. All of the macros function as they should, the forms open, close, and save as they should. Everything works. It is only after he saves the file down to his hard drive that it fails to open.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Michael M]

Is the OP on a server or a local drive ?
If it's a network drive, try
File > Options > Trust Center > Trusted Locations, select Allow Trusted Locations on my network (not recommended), then click Add New location, add the network path to the trusted location to see if the issue can be fixed.
AND
Once you upload the file to dropbox, you should be able to make it available to share.

 

[RobertCotton]

Here is the link to the dropbox file. I will contact my collaborator and have him try your Trust Center suggestion.

EVAP Master Productivity Calculator (2020_0110).xlsm

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[Michael M]

I can't see anything in the file that would stop it from working in 2013 !!
Code also seems to not contain anything out of the ordinary.
I'm still backing the save location by the OP

 

[RobertCotton]

Thank you for your help. I have already sent your suggestion to my collaborator. It will be morning before he will look at it. As soon as I hear back from him I will let you know if it worked.

Thank you again for your help.

 

[RobertCotton]

Good Morning.
I had sent my OP another suggestion I found on a different site as well. The suggestion was .....

Please Note: It is advised to avoid opening the workbook directly from the email message. First, save it to a folder on the hard disk then open the saved workbook.

He followed these instructions and the file now works as it should.

Thanks again for your help.