The following Excel table issues cause a minor loss of fidelity:

Issue Solution
The table contains a custom formula or text in the total row. In earlier versions of Excel, the data is displayed without a table. In Excel, you can use custom formulas and text in the total row of a table, but this is not supported in earlier versions of Excel. Although the formulas will remain, the range will no longer be a table. If you want the table to remain in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to remove the custom text and use only the formulas that are available in the total row.

In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that contains a custom formula or text, and then remove that formula or text from the total row.

For more information, see:

A table in this workbook does not display a header row. In earlier versions of Excel, the data is displayed without a table unless the Header Row check box is selected (Table Tools, Design tab, Table Style Options group). In Excel, you have the option of displaying or hiding the header row of a table. In earlier versions of Excel, a table always has a header row.

In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that is displayed without a header row, and then display a header row.

For more information, see:

A table style is applied to a table in this workbook. Table style formatting cannot be displayed in earlier versions of Excel. In Excel, you can quickly format a table by applying a theme-based table style. In earlier versions of Excel, you can only format a table manually.

In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that has a table style applied, and then remove that table style.

For more information, see:

A table in this workbook is connected to an external data source. Table functionality will be lost, but the data remains connected. If table rows are hidden by a filter, they remain hidden in an earlier version of Excel. To avoid losing table functionality in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to disconnect the external data source before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.

In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that is connected to an external data source, and then disconnect the table from the external data source. In the earlier version of Excel, you can then connect the data to the external data source.

For more information, see:

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A table in this workbook has a read-only connection to a Windows SharePoint Services List. Table functionality will be lost, as well as the ability to refresh or edit the connection. If table rows are hidden by a filter, they remain hidden in an earlier version of Excel. To avoid losing table functionality in earlier versions of Excel, you may want to disconnect the table from the Windows SharePoint Services list before you save the workbook in an earlier Excel file format.

You can also decide to create a SharePoint list that is read/write only in the earlier version of Excel, and then work on this workbook in Compatibility Mode in Excel, which keeps it in Excel 97-2003 file format.

In the Compatibility Checker, click Find to locate the table that has a read-only connection to a Windows SharePoint Services List, and then disconnect the table from the SharePoint List. In Excel 2003, you can then import the SharePoint List as a read/write list.

For more information, see: