Default file format

This policy setting controls the default file format for saving workbooks in Excel 2007.

If you enable this policy setting, you can set the default file format for Excel 2007 from among the following options:

- Excel Workbook (.xlsx).This option is the default configuration in Excel 2007.
- Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (.xlsm)
- Excel Binary Workbook (.xlsx)
- Web Page (.htm; .html)
- Excel 97-2003 Workbook (.xls)
- Excel 5.0/95 Workbook (.xls)
- OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods)

Users can choose to save workbooks in a different file format than the default.

If you disable this policy setting, Excel 2007 saves new workbooks in the Office Open XML format with an .xlsx extension, and users will not be able to change the default setting.

If you do not configure this policy setting, Excel 2007 saves new workbooks in the Office Open XML format with an .xlsx extension.

For users who run Excel 2000 with Service Pack 3, Excel 2002 with Service Pack 3, and Excel 2003 with at least Service Pack 1, Microsoft offers the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, which enables these versions of Excel to open and save .xlsx files. If some users in your organization cannot install the Compatibility Pack, or are running versions of Excel older than Excel 2000 with Service Pack 3, these users might not be able to access Excel files saved in the .xlsx format.

Supported on: At least Windows Vista

Save Excel files as


  1. Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value51
  2. Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value52
  3. Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value50
  4. Web Page (*.htm; *.html)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value44
  5. Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value56
  6. Excel 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value39
  7. OpenDocument Spreadsheet (*.ods)
    Registry HiveHKEY_CURRENT_USER
    Registry PathSoftware\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Excel\Options
    Value NameDefaultFormat
    Value TypeREG_DWORD
    Value60


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