Can't open .xls file in numbers '09

Please help, I just purchased iwork '09 and installed recently. I'm using Mac OS X 10.6.8, numbers '09 version 2.0, pages '09 version 4.0. When I try to open an .xls file the error is given 'Numbers quit unexpectedly while using the SFCompatibility plug-in.'
I saw a post from 2010 that suggested updating iwork '09 to numbers 2.0.3 and pages 4.0.3 but when I check for software updates it gives none for iwork. I have not changed the original location or name of the folder/file of where the iwork files were installed automatically.
I've also deleted the com.apple.iwork.numbers.plist (& the Pages one) located in HD > Users > (your account) > Library > Preferences that was also suggested from this post from 2010.
Thanks!

The latest version of Numbers is 2.3, but that is for Lion & Mountain Lion. For Snow Leopard you should have Numbers 2.0.4. iWork '09 installed from the retail disk or from the downloaded trial must be updated through Software Update. Those installations will not be recognized as installed by the Mac App Store.
But, as always, if you're not running the latest versions of the iWork apps installed from a retail box or the downloaded trial & Software Update says your software is up to date, make sure all three of the iWork '09 applications are where the installer initially put them. The updaters are very picky. If the location is not where the updater is programmed to look or if the folder doesn't have the name the updater looks for, it will not work. The applications cannot be renamed or moved. If you installed from the downloaded trial or the retail box, they must be in the iWork '09 folder in Applications. That iWork folder must be named iWork '09. If it doesn't have the '09 Software Update won't find them & the updaters won't work.

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I'm having troubles when I try to open Excel files with Numbers. The iWork program simply shuts down and a message appears, telling that a "sudden problem happened".
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Hi Rafinh,
Welcome to Numbers discussions.
Numbers will open Excel documents. Sometimes deleting the Numbers Preference file will do the trick. Close Numbers then delete the Numbers preference file: home > Library > Preferences, com.apple.iWork.Numbers.plist
In the upper right of this window click Search thousands of questions have been asked and answered.
These Discussions are enduser helping enduser, not Apple employees answering questions. Questions will be answered when a enduser such as yourself finds time, desires to, knows the answer along with the time to respond.
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All of a sudden, using Numbers '09 I can no longer open certain .xls files that I created in the first place by saving .numbers files as Excel files (using the "Save copy as Excel Document" checkbox in the Save As... dialog box). Some will open, but the vast majority attempt to open, and then I get an "Import Error - An unknown error occurred." message. Backed up copies of the same files produce the same result. New .numbers files I save as Excel documents can't open either.
Background: Earlier tonight while saving a .numbers file as an Excel Document, the blue "progress" bar got about halfway and then just hung there. Having not rebooted the computer for a couple of weeks, and lots of apps open, I proceeded to shut down other processes and eventually the blue progress bar finished and an Excel file was saved. However, after rebooting the computer, the above inability to open Excel files started to occur. Something in the "save as" process must have corrupted?
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What would you all suggest now at this point? Would reinstalling Numbers solve this? (hmmn, where is that disc?) I'm personally fine with the .numbers format, but my clients are not, hence the need to save as Excel documents. Any help would be appreciated!

ack, this whole thing is frustrating. I can create new .numbers documents, save them as Excel documents, and those resulting .xls documents will open fine. HOWEVER, if I grab an old .xls document from a time machine backup (over a month ago), I cannot open it. Nor can I open an newly saved .xls document saved from the same original .numbers file.
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If you drag an Excel file onto the Numbers icon, it doesn't open in Numbers?
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ack, this whole thing is frustrating. I can create new .numbers documents, save them as Excel documents, and those resulting .xls documents will open fine. HOWEVER, if I grab an old .xls document from a time machine backup (over a month ago), I cannot open it. Nor can I open an newly saved .xls document saved from the same original .numbers file.
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Hi - thank you for your responses. I don't have an iPad so testing is all being done on site.
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If possible I would like to save this person going to that trouble.
I believe NeoOffice might do the trick but it is a 160 MB download and my broadband is very slow. It would be very irritating to go to the trouble of downloading it only to discover it wouldn't open an .xls file.
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bphendri on the Leopard forum suggested downloading the free OpenOffice app (160MB), and in spite of the large size I decided to go ahead and risk it.
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Opening .xls file with Numbers

I saved a spreadsheet from Numbers '09 version 2.0 in .xls format and then tried to open it, but Numbers won't open it because off a reported problem with the plug-in to do that, "SFCompatibility plug-in." This used to work, I think. Perhaps the latest operating system update messed it up. (I have OS X 10.8.5.) Software update says there is no update for any of my apps. My Numbers software is in Applications/iWork '09.

I was not "fooled by Excel's ability to recognize the file format and apply the correct converter automaticallY"
What i mean is some people will export as a text file, but change the file extension to xls to force it to open excel when double clicked, and excel will open it just fine. Converting as it goes automaticaly and not even asking you any questions or putting up any errors.
I know because i just did it to validate my statement (I am working at a Windows machine at the moment), and it worked fine. Even though the file was actually a tab delimited file, with an XLS on the end. If excel was strict, it would have looked for a Binary XLS file and rejected the file.
This does NOT work with XLSX formats. You will get an error that its not formatted correctly. So if excel was able to recognize file formats and apply the correct converter automatically. they removed this ability in 2007+, only leaving it as legacy functionality.
Your statement would be accurate for plain txt files. But excel is NOT ablel to ID the format automatically.
Try saving a comma separated file with a TXT extension, then try to open it by selecting "files of type" All files, in an open dialog. It will start the converter for text files but will ALWAYS suggest Tab delimited. never the proper format if anything else. (we use Pipe | delimeted very often at work)
thereby I present you the possibility that it is you that has been fooled by Excel into thinking it knows what its doing
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Why does Apple say that Numbers can open and save Excel files, when in actuality, it can only open .XLSX files and only Export to Excel (not save-as excel)?

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Additionally, to state in the benefits of this program that one can save to 'Excel' is a little misleading. You can't save to anything except .numbers. Sure, you can export to Excel (with file extension .XLS, I might add), but you can't save or save-as.
Does anyone else see the irony in being able to export to .XLS but not be able to open an .XLS?
There is something to be said for clarity.
You can't expect folks to have Numbers and Excel on their systems, so how else are they supposed to open .XLS files in Numbers?
And I don't need to see another advertisement for NeoOffice or OpenOffice here, thanks. I'd actually like Numbers to be a little more sensible.
That is all.

When the advertisements were written, there was no Lion so we were able to Save As Excel.
At thiqs time there is no longer Save As command under Lion but the feature is always available.
When your editing task is ended, you are free to use this scheme:
File > Duplicate
File > Save and in the dialog you will have the option save as Excel.
Numbers isn't and I hope that it will not become an Excel editor.
Its resources contain a flag defining it this way.
I posted several times a script editing this resource.
This morning I'm not in a mood allowing me to do your duty.
Search by yourself in existing threads with a keystring like
viewer AND editor
Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) jeudi 27 octobre 2011 09:40:23
iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.8 and 10.7.2
My iDisk is : <http://public.me.com/koenigyvan>
Please : Search for questions similar to your own before submitting them to the community

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If you had iWork '09 installed on your system then that older version is probably being launched. See the if the tip below helps.
Need newer version of Numbers to open file

Can't open .xls file in numbers '09

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