How to get out of compatibility mode in Excel. Setting compatibility mode in Windows. Applying compatibility mode
The Compatibility Assistant monitors programs for known compatibility issues and can be helpful for inexperienced users. The information in this guide is intended for advanced users and administrators.
The screenshots in the article represent Windows 7, but in Vista everything is done the same way.
Disable Compatibility Assistant on Local Machine
You might want to disable the helper on your local machine. For example, when testing programs in different conditions for writing articles, this saves a lot of time.
Click the button Start, in the search box type services.msc and press Enter.
Now scroll down to Program Compatibility Assistant Services, click on it right click mouse and then click Stop.
In response to this, you will briefly see the control window service Control, which then disappears.
If you later decide to turn on the assistant, just select Run.
You might want to disable the assistant altogether. To do this, in the drop-down menu in the (screenshot above) select Properties and in the window that opens, in the drop-down list Launch type, select Disabled.
Disable the Compatibility Assistant using the Local Group Policy Editor
Start local editor group policyby typing gpedit.msc in the menu search box Start and press Enter.
Please select Disable, then Apply and OK. Then close the local group policy editor.
We reiterate that we do not recommend disabling the Compatibility Assistant for general users. Disabling it can lead to software conflicts and system instability. Nevertheless, power users and administrators can get a lot of saved time and frustration from the disabled assistant.
As soon as the user launches the program, the OS automatically turns on the compatibility assistant. It is designed to improve system performance, but on devices with minimal technical parameters another running utility will crash or slow work (How to increase the speed of your PC is described in the article ""). Therefore, if you want to speed up your computer, read how to turn off Compatibility Mode in Windows 10.
Disconnection
The Windows Compatibility Assistant is designed to track:
- programs installed on your computer (read how to remove a program from your PC in the article "");
- crashes that occurred earlier when running applications;
- ways to solve emerging compatibility problems.
It is also designed to run applications written for earlier OS versions. But if you do not want to constantly appear on your PC messages prompting you to install an application with recommended settings, disable this function.
Using the Services
In group policy
- Press Win + R and enter the command: gpedit.msc.
- Computer Configuration -\u003e Administrative Templates -\u003e Windows components - Application compatibility.
- On the right side of the window, find "Disable Program Compatibility Assistant" → RMB → Change → Enabled → confirm changes → restart your PC.
In OS Configuration
Manually launching apps in compatibility mode
RMB on the shortcut to launch → properties → tab "Compatibility".
There are three options available here:
- click the Run Compatibility Troubleshooter button - System in automatic mode will try to solve problems;
- in the "Compatibility mode" block, check the "Run the program in compatibility mode for" item and select from the drop-down list the OS in which the application worked stably;
- in the "Parameters" block, specify the values \u200b\u200bwith which the program will run in compatibility mode - save the changes.
Good to know! To make the changes made for each user on the computer, click the "Change settings for all users" button (you need Administrator rights).
The video describes the manual launch process more clearly.
Automatic parameter detection
- For start automatic tuning you can also right-click on the shortcut to launch the program - Fix compatibility problems.
- After diagnostics, a window will appear with two options for troubleshooting:
- use the recommended parameters;
- diagnostics of the program.
Output
If a program stops working on Windows 10, use the Compatibility Assistant to start it. If necessary, it can be disabled. But it is not recommended to do this if it does not interfere with the operation of the computer.
Compatibility mode disables part of the program's functionality to prevent data loss and ensure document compatibility with early versions Excel. You can always remove Compatibility Mode and convert your document to a more modern format. How to turn off compatibility mode and in what situations you should not do this, you will learn from this lesson.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to work with documents that were created in earlier versions Microsoft Excelsuch as Excel 2003 or 2000. Opening these workbooks turns on Compatibility Mode, sometimes referred to as reduced functionality mode.
In compatibility mode, some options are disabled, i.e. Only those commands are available to you that were used to create the document. For example, when you open a workbook that was created in Excel 2003, you can only use the tabs and commands that are present in Excel 2003.
In the figure below, you can see how Compatibility Mode affects the availability of certain commands. In this case, some excel functions 2013 such as Sparklines and Slicers.
In order to remove the compatibility mode, you need to convert the book to the format corresponding to the current microsoft versions Excel. However, if you work with users of other versions of the program, it is advisable to leave the book in compatibility mode so that the file format does not change.
Book conversion
If necessary, you can use all the functionality of Excel 2013, for this you need to convert the file to excel format 2013.
Please note that converting the file may change the original file markup.
Applying compatibility mode
Later versions of Excel can easily work with documents made in earlier versions, but backward compatibility is not always achieved. A document that is made in Excel 2010 may not always be openable in Excel 2003. To avoid such situations, you should use Compatibility Mode (also known as Reduced Functionality Mode). When you run a file created in more old version program, you can make changes in it only with the help of technologies that are supported by the creator program. In these situations, compatibility mode is almost always enabled by default. If you return to work in the version in which the document was created, then it will be possible to open it and fully work in it without losing data. If you work in this mode, then, for example, in excel program 2013, you can only use the features supported by Excel 2003.
Enabling Compatibility Mode
The user usually does not need to do anything to enable compatibility mode. The program itself is able to evaluate the document, as well as determine the version in which it was created. After completing these steps, it decides whether it is possible to apply all the technologies that are available, or to include restrictions in the form of compatibility mode. If the mode is turned on, then the corresponding inscription should appear in the upper part of the window, as soon as the document is given a name.
Very often the mode is turned on when a file created in Excel 2003 or earlier is opened in modern applications.
Disable Compatibility Mode
Go to the "File" tab, in the right part of the window in the "Mode of limited functionality" block click on "Convert".
A dialog box should open with a message about the creation of a new book, which supports all the capabilities of this particular program, but you should take into account the moment that the old one will be completely and irrevocably deleted. If you agree, then click OK.
When Excel reloads the file, you can work with it and there will be no restrictions on functionality.
Compatibility mode in new files
In order to be able to create tables with full functionality, you should return those saved by default and always in the xlsx format.
When the options window opens, go to the "Save" section. In the block "Saving books" (on the right side of the window) click on "Save files to following format". Change the value from "Excel 97-2003 Workbook (* .xls)" to "Excel Workbook (* .xlsx)" and click OK.
When these steps are completed, new documents will be created in standard mode, without restrictions.
Compatibility Mode allows you to continue working with Excel documents in earlier versions of the program, even if they were edited with a modern copy of this application... It does this by limiting the use of incompatible technologies. But sometimes it becomes necessary to disable this mode. Let's find out how to do this as well as how to perform other operations.
As known, microsoft program Excel has many versions, the first of which appeared back in 1985. A qualitative breakthrough was made in Excel 2007, when the basic format of this application instead of xls became xlsx... At the same time, there were significant changes in functionality and interface. Later versions of Excel work without problems with documents that are made in earlier copies of the program. But backward compatibility is not always achieved. Therefore, a document made in Excel 2010 cannot always be opened in Excel 2003. The reason is that older versions simply may not support some of the technologies with which the file was created.
But another situation is also possible. You created a file in the old version of the program on one computer, then edited the same document on another PC with the new version. When the edited file was transferred to old computer, then it turned out that it does not open or not all functions are available in it, since the changes made to it are supported only latest applications... To avoid such unpleasant situations, there is a compatibility mode or, as it is also called, a mode of reduced functionality.
Its essence lies in the fact that if you run a file created in an older version of the program, you will be able to make changes to it only using those technologies that are supported by the creator program. Individual options and commands with application the latest technologiesthat the creator program cannot work with will not be available for this document even in the most modern applications if compatibility mode is enabled. And in such situations, it is almost always turned on by default. This ensures that after returning to work in the application in which the document was created, the user will open it without any problems and will be able to fully work without losing the previously entered data. Therefore, when working in this mode, for example, in Excel 2013, the user can use only those features that are supported by Excel 2003.
Enabling Compatibility Mode
In order to enable compatibility mode, the user does not need to take any action. The program evaluates the document itself and determines the version of Excel in which it was created. After that, it decides to apply all available technologies (if they are supported by both versions) or enable restrictions in the form of compatibility mode. In the latter case, the corresponding inscription will appear in the upper part of the window immediately after the name of the document.
In particular, reduced functionality mode is often turned on when you open a file in modern applications that was created in Excel 2003 and earlier.
Disable Compatibility Mode
But there are times when you need to forcibly disable compatibility mode. For example, this can be done if the user is sure that he will not return to work on this document in the old version of Excel. In addition, turning it off will expand the functionality and provide the ability to process the document using the latest technologies. So quite often there is a sense in disconnecting. In order to get this opportunity, you need to transform the document.
Compatibility mode in new files
It has already been said above that compatibility mode is automatically turned on when new version program opens the file created in the previous one. But there are also situations that already in the process of creating a document, it is launched in limited functionality mode. This is because Excel is enabled to save files by default in the format xls (Excel 97-2003 workbook)... In order to be able to create tables with full functionality, you need to return the default saving in the format xlsx.
After these steps, new documents will be created in standard mode, and not in limited mode.
As you can see, compatibility mode can be very helpful in avoiding various conflicts between softwareif you are going to work on a document in different versions Excel. This will ensure the use of uniform technologies, which means it will protect against compatibility problems. At the same time, there are times when this mode needs to be disabled. This is done quite simply and will not cause any problems for users who are familiar with this procedure. The main thing is to understand when to disable Compatibility Mode and when to keep working using it.
