Strange Excel Open Option

Summary: Once in a while strange wording can appear on Excel's menus. When it does, you might wonder why that wording is there. Here are a couple of ideas you can use when tracking down the cause of the unusual wording. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

Mike noted that on his PCs at work one of the Excel menu choices is File>Open(Native). He had not seen it on any other Excel 2003 installation and it's not in his Excel 2007 system at home, either. Mike wonders if this is some feature that he's not aware of.

The short answer is that it probably isn't. We haven't been able to find hide nor hair of such an option on other systems (similar to Mike's experience), which means it has to be something unique on the system where it appears.

The best guess is that there has been some sort of customization done to the system with the strange Excel option. Perhaps someone customized the system to change the wording in the menu. Also possible is an add-in that is making the change.

Check for add-ins, disabling them and restarting Excel to check what happens. If the problem persists, use Tools | Customize to reset the File menu to its default condition.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7402) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

More Power! For some people, the prospect of creating macros can be scary. Those who conquer their fears, however, find they become much more confident and productive once they learn how to make Excel do exactly what they want. ExcelTips: The Macros is an invaluable source for learning Excel macros. You are introduced to the topic in bite-sized chunks, pulled from past issues of ExcelTips. Learn at your own pace, exactly the way you want.

Check out ExcelTips: The Macros today!

Helpful Links

Newest Tips

Subscribe

RSS Feeds

Strange Excel Open Option