Converting 2003 file 2007 on the fly

[Andrew-R]

Hi all, I've actually got a proper coding question, for a change.

I'm using a data handling application which exports data to Excel, producing an Excel 2003 worksheet. Unfortunately this means that it gives an error if you try to export more than 256 columns of data (which I do every so often).

I've found a way to make the other appliction split the columns over multiple Excel sheets and I have a macro which merges all of the individual sheets back onto the front sheet.

However, before I can run my macro I need to:

1. Save the exported workbook as an Excel 2007 xlsx file.
2. Close the workbook
3. Re-open the xlsx file.

If I don't do this then my macro fails when the front sheet column count reaches 256.

So, what I'm wondering is:

1. Is there a programmatic way to tell Excel that it's no longer dealing with a 2003 format file and it can safely add columns above 256 or

2. Is there a way to tell if the target workbook is a 2003 file which has just been saved as a 2007 file (in which case my macro can close and re-open it) or if it is a genuine 2007 xlsx file?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Andrew