Resolution to missing datasheet view with 64-bit versions of Office

  • Article

I just saw the following from our Product Quality team, and thought I would pass along the resolution.  While 64-bit installations of Office 2010 are still relatively uncommon, there are a few known issues/growing pains, and this is one of them Smile

Issue:

Datasheet feature on SharePoint not available for customers who install the 64-bit version of Office 2010.  When clicking on the Datasheet View, the following message is displayed:

The list cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons:

  • A datasheet component compatible with Microsoft SharePoint Foundation is not installed.
  • Your Web browser does not support ActiveX controls.
  • A component is not properly configured for 32-bit or 64-bit support.

Description:

Customers using the 64-bit version of Office 2010 are unable to use the Datasheet view of SharePoint lists. This issue occurs regardless of what version of SharePoint the customer is using: Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, SharePoint Foundation 2010, SharePoint Server 2003, SharePoint Server 2007 or SharePoint Server 2010. The picture below is an example of the experience with SharePoint Server 2010 when you click the Datasheet View button.

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The component that provides this functionality is not installed during the setup of the 64-bit version of Office 2010 because a 64-bit version of the Datasheet component does not exist.

Resolution:

Customers using the 64-bit version of Office 2010 can install the 2007 Office System Drivers: Data Connectivity Components to regain the Datasheet functionality when using the 32-bit version of an internet browser.

The resolution is documented in KB 2266203: You cannot view a list in Datasheet view after you install the 64-bit version of Office 2010.