# Microsoft Office Application Help - Excel Help forum > For Other Platforms(Mac, Google Docs, Mobile OS etc) >  > [SOLVED] [Mac] - Excel templates won't open

## sweetdreams

I apologise if someone has answered this question already, but I've been trying to download templates off the Office Website. 

I run:  Excel 2008 for Mac, version 12.0

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/te...i:TC102930047| 
this is one of the templates I've attempted to download. 

now every single document that I open states
*Excel cannot open this file.* 
the file might have been damaged or modified from its original format. 
now... it cannot possibly be EVERY single template that I download is damaged/modified. 

I've checked the extension that mac uses which is also .xltx 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

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## jaslake

Hi sweetdreams

Welcome to the Forum!

I believe the issue may be that Excel for the Mac 2008 does not support  ActiveX Controls.

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## sweetdreams

thank you kindly for the welcome, 

so does that mean, that I won't be able to use any premade templates?
or would a newer version for Mac, be a better solution?

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## jaslake

Hi sweetdreams

See if this link helps...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974170

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## sweetdreams

thank you very much!! it worked!

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## jaslake

Hi sweetdreams

Surprises the Devil out of me. :Smilie:  I work daily on a Mac but don't use the Mac side...I use Virtual Machine. Was just taking a stab in the dark based on the information you provided.

You're welcome...glad I could help.

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## Richard Buttrey

> Hi sweetdreams
> 
> Welcome to the Forum!
> 
> I believe the issue may be that Excel for the Mac 2008 does not support  ActiveX Controls.



Not just that. Excel for Mac 2008 does not support VBA full stop.

For reasons known only to themselves Microsoft dropped it when they moved from 2004 for the Mac to 2008, only reinstating it in Excel for Mac 2011.
Even so there are several areas where VBA syntax is different on the Mac and sometimes non existent. A real pain for any application development that needs to work on both platforms.

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