Which Version Of Excel Do I Have



The instructions for some of the tips you see featured in ExcelTips vary depending on the version of Excel you are using. If you are a relative newcomer to Excel, you may not know exactly how to determine which version you are using.

To check the Version from Excel 2016 start Excel an click on File / Account. On the right side you see the office main version. In the scrrenshot it is 2016. Below you find the exact version. In the screenshot it is 1707 (Build 8326.2096) nfo Open Save As Histop Print. Excel for Microsoft 365, Excel 2019, 2016, 2013 From any opened workbook, click on File. Then, select Account from the left menu. Lastly, click on the About Excel button located under Product Information.

Which Version Of Excel Do I Have Office 365

There are a couple of ways you can figure out which version you are using. The first is to watch Excel as you start the program. Depending on the speed of your system, you may notice the version in the splash screen that appears as Excel starts up. (I say that this depends on the speed of your system because I've seen some systems that are so fast, the splash screen is gone before anyone can fully see everything that is on it.)

Once you have started Excel, how you determine your version depends on the version of Excel you are using. (That sounds rather circular, doesn't it?)

Take a look at the top of your screen. Assuming you can see the ribbon up there (it has words on it like Home, Insert, Page Layout, etc.), you can take a first pass at determining your version by looking at the left end of the ribbon. If you see a File tab, then you are using Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, or Excel in Office 365. (More on that it a moment.) If you, instead, see a round Office button at the top-left corner of the screen, then you are using Excel 2007.

Assuming you see a File tab, you can further narrow down your version by clicking that File tab. If you continue to see the ribbon tabs at the top of the screen, you are using Excel 2010. If the ribbon tabs disappear and you instead see (at the upper-left corner of the screen) a round circle containing a left-pointing arrow, then you are using Excel 2013 or a later version.

If you want to get even more detailed information about your version—information that includes the specific build number of your version—then how you find that out varies widely depending on your general version of Excel. (You might need the detailed build information to provide to Microsoft technical support, for instance.)

Excel 2007

If you want to determine more detail about your version number, then you should follow these steps if you are using Excel 2007:

  1. Click the Office button then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.
  2. At the left side of the dialog box, click Resources.
  3. Click the About button. Excel displays the About Microsoft Office Excel dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The About Microsoft Office Excel dialog box.

Note that near the top of the dialog box you can see the version number you are using. When you are through reviewing the information, click OK to close the dialog box.

Excel 2010

If you want to determine more detail about your version number and you are using Excel 2010, getting to the info is much easier than in Excel 2007. Start by clicking the File tab of the ribbon and then click Help at the left side of the screen. You'll see all the version information appear at the right side of the screen.

Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, and Excel in Office 365

Starting with Excel 2013, Microsoft moved where the version information is located, and it can be a bit tricky to locate. The reason is because these later versions are delivered electronically, via download, instead of from physical media like a CD or DVD.

Click the File tab of the ribbon and then, at the left side of the screen, click Account. (Yes, Account. Go figure!) At the right side of the screen you'll see a large heading that says Office Updates or Office (depending on which version of Excel you are using). Under this heading you can find the version information for your copy of the program. In my version of Excel in Office 365, the version information is listed under the About Excel subheading. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Product Information section of the Account tab on the File tab of the ribbon.

You can find even more detailed version information if you double-click on the About Excel icon to the left of the About Excel subheading.

Finding Information in a Macro

Which version of excel do i have google

If you need to know the version number and build number in a macro you are creating, you can use the .Version property (for the version) and the .Build property (for the build number). Both properties should be used with the Application object, in this manner:

In these examples, sVersion will contain the version number and sBuild the build number. The version number will be '12.0' for Excel 2007, '14.0' for Excel 2010, '15.0' for Excel 2013, or '16.0' for Excel 2016 and later versions. (It is unclear if the Version property returns something other than '16.0' for Excel 2019, but it definitely returns '16.0' for Office 365.)

The build number will be a string of numbers interspersed with periods; the string corresponds to what you see if you follow the steps described earlier in this tip. For example, if you follow the instructions for Excel in Office 365, earlier, and you see a version number of '16.0.12130.20232', then when you execute the above code, sVersion would be '16.0' and sBuild would be '12130.20232'.

At the time of this writing, there have been 30 versions of Excel that stretch from 1985 to the current year, running on three different operating systems. Each version might be slightly or significantly different than the last.

If you’re working with Excel, just learning it, or troubleshooting an issue, it’s important to know which version you are using. There are also some tips and tricks to upgrade versions, work between different versions, and deal with compatibility issues.

This piece should clear up any differences between the major releases of Excel, how file compatibility works between versions, and what you can do to upgrade. If you have more questions about Excel, a live chat session with Excelchat can provide the answers.

Learn about the different versions of Excel and how to upgrade your software.

Which Excel Version Do I Have?

Some of the major Excel versions that you’ll probably run across include Excel 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, and Excel365. But, which version are you currently working with? Depending on your version, here are the actions to take:

  • In Excel 2003, go to the Help tab, and click on About Microsoft Excel.
  • In Excel 2007, click on the rounded Microsoft icon in the top left corner, and click on Excel options > Resources > About.
  • In Excel 2010, click on File > Help > About Microsoft Excel.
  • In Excel versions 2013 and 2016, go to File > Account > About Excel.

About the Different Excel Versions

There are too many versions of Excel to list and outline, but here are some of the major releases and what you need to know.

  • Excel 2003. This was the first version of Excel to offer tables and the first to have the “WIMP” (Windows, Icons, Menus, Point) interface. It was released for both Windows and Mac operating systems.
  • Excel 2007. This release was only provided for Windows and it was the first Excel version to have the Ribbon interface. It also changed the file format from .xls to .xlsm and .xlsx files. This expanded the number of rows that a file could hold to 1 million and improved file security.
  • Excel 2010. This version was also only released for Windows. Some of the new features included Ribbon customizations, multi-threading support, and sparklines.
  • Excel 2013. This version was only available for Windows and features included Slicers, Flash Fill, and dozens of new functions.
  • Excel 2016. This version was released for both Windows and Mac, and it includes regular feature updates released online.
  • Excel365. This is a subscription-based version of Excel 2016 that is 100% online and regularly updated. You don’t need to do anything to make this happen.

Which Version Of Excel Do I Have Today

How to Update Excel

If you have an older version of Excel and want to update it, how you do this will depend on which version you are currently running. Support has ended for Office 2003 and 2007, so it would be a good idea to buy and install the latest version.

If you have Excel 2010, go to File > Help > Check for Updates. If there are updates available, choose Install Updates.

If you have Excel 2013, go to File > Account. Choose Update Options under Product Information. Select Enable Updates. Click Update Now to check for and install any updates.

How to Use Excel Files Created from Earlier Versions of Excel

Once you’ve installed a new version of Excel or upgraded, you might want to know how this is going to impact your existing files. When you have files that were created in an earlier version of Excel, backward compatibility will work in various ways:

  • Use compatibility mode. Compatibility Mode allows you to open and work with Excel files that were created in earlier versions than the one you have. However, this isn’t available for Excel 2007 files.
  • Download a file converter. You can use a file converter to download and open Excel files in earlier versions of Excel.

Versions 2010 and later of Excel allow you to open files that were created in 97-2003 versions in compatibility mode. This should be automatic. However, any new features that were created in Excel after the file was created will not be available in this mode.

If you don’t want to work on a workbook in compatibility mode, you have the option to convert the file to a format that is consistent with the new version of Excel.

If you have an Excel file that is from Excel 97-2003 and you try to open it in a later version, you might be prompted to “convert” the file. Assuming the file is in .xls format, and you don’t plan to work on it in that format again in the future, you can convert it to an XML format (.xlsx, .xltm, .xlsb, .xltx, .xlsm).

After the conversion, you’ll have access to the new features and functions of your current Excel version. To convert a workbook, take the steps:

  • Open the workbook (this will happen in compatibility mode).
  • Go to File > Info > Compatibility Mode > Convert.
  • Click OK.

If you want to have copies of the old file format and convert to the new file format, simply go to File > Save As. Keep the same file name if you wish but choose a new extension under Save as type. Click Save.

Hopefully, you found the information you were looking for regarding working with different versions of Excel. If you still need to troubleshoot a particular issue, or want one-on-one training in Excel, find out how Excelchat can help.

What Version Is Excel On This Computer

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