Unable to open emailed Excel files

Question

my excel files change to XLS and can't be opened by the receipient when I email them, I have to send it to my pc at work, open it as excel from the list of applications, save it as an excel file and email it from work which is highly frustrating. I've heard it might be something to do with the recent purchase of Snow Leopard, Would be grateful for any help.

Answer 1

Actually Microsoft Excel has changed formatting.  You have several options of upgrading to a more compatible Excel or equivalent*:
http://www.macmaps.com/crossplatform.html
2007 was the big changeover.   So if you are using an old Excel, you probably will run into problems.  Using the Compress command on files stored on the Mac, Winzip on files on the PC will make them more portable for e-mail.  Just use normal compression.  Not all decompression engines have encrypted Zip file support, or 9x compresison support.   On the Mac, add the paperclip icon to your compose new message toolbar via the View menu -> Customize toolbar.  This will bring up a dialog with a Save Windows Friendly attachment when you send a message, so it is more portable for Windows.   Use an anti-virus tool on both sides, as Macs aren't succeptable to Windows viruses, and can carry them back to Windows users.  And there is this recent malware attack:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3261