Of course you can't open a database in an older version of the software.
When the older version was written, the programmers would not have known
what newer versions would do and could not program it to handle that.

For example, a newer DVD player might be able to play DVDs, CDs, MP3 discs,
etc. But an old CD player can't play a DVD or any future version of a disc.
That is the whole point of upward technology.

Rick

"Mike Burns" wrote in message
...
Cannot open a database with a previous version of your
application.....This is the error message we get once we
upgraded our office package. We were currently on
Office97 Pro and upgraded to Office XP Pro and we get the
above message once we try and open up access.