>I want to import from an XLS file via: "impo FROM e:some-xls-file.xls type xls"
>but it fails and a google seach reveals known issues. Has anyone got a quick resolution to this?

For Excel 2003 format, use TYPE XL8. For Excel 2007 format, you can't use IMPORT. Unfortunately, Excel 2007 is broken, so that even when you save in the earlier format, you can't IMPORT/APPEND those files.

Tamar