Query on Macros / VBA compatibility

[ShearaKLC]

I have been avoiding VBA / Macro like the plague as I am worried about compatibility issues.

Am I right to think that if they don't have the same version of Excel, like an older version, or a free software similar to Microsoft that handles excel files, that there might be major compatibility issues, and that avoiding using it makes files a lot less likely to be incompatible, or am I just being over worried over nothing? I want to learn and then possibly sell custom made files, and one bad review could be the end of a digital store, so I need to be very cautious with regards to maximizing compatibility,

[#2 · Accepted solution]

@ShearaKLC 

Some things to consider:

• You'll have to decide which is the oldest version of Excel you want to support. Microsoft has been adding lots of functionality to each new version of Excel, for example new worksheet functions. And in particular Microsoft 365 has very powerful features that really change the way Excel works, but that will fail on older versions. I think this is more important than VBA compatibility issues.
• You'll also have to decide which platforms you want to support. In general, the Windows version of Excel is the most complete one. The Mac version is not that far behind, but it misses some features of the Windows version. Finally, the web (browser), Android and iOS versions are much more limited, although Microsoft works hard to expand those. But VBA works only on the Windows and Mac versions.