Windows Vista Excel 2007 - Office Home & Student I am working in windows vista using the compatability feature from excel 2007 to work on a 97-2003 file. The problem I have is that once saved, closed then re-opened, the dates revert to numbers. Example: Cell A1 - date format is dd/mm/yyy and appears like this when entered; 25/04/2009 However, when I save, close then reopen the file again, the date now appears as a number like this; 39928 and the format of the cell has changed to general. I have to work with the file in compatability mode because I am sharing the file with a person who is using Excel 97-2003 and uses Windows XP. 1) Do I have to do something first before saving so that the dates remain as dates and not revert to numbers when the file is re-opened? 2) Or, do I send the file as is, and the person using excel 97-2003 needs to convert the numbers into dates themselves? I hope I have given enough information and I appreciate any insight you can give me regarding this matter. Kind regards EvaCassidyFan

As far as I know, your date format should not be a compatibility mode problem, but have you tried the Compatibility Checker? the date now appears as a number like this; 39928 Are the numbers displayed right or left justified in the cell? If they are left justified, then they are being saved at text. MIKE http://www.skeptic.com/