>>>This is my VFP code - comes up with unrecognised command verb on first line - what am I doing wrong?
>>>
>>>

>>>oXL = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
>>>oXL.Workbooks.Open("c:\aatemp\global.XLSX")
>>>oXL.ActiveWorkbook.Save("c:\aatemp\globalnew.xls", 56)
>>>oXL.Quit()
>>>

>>
>>Do you have Excel installed? What is the version?
>>
>>I just tested this code
>>
>>

>>oXL = CreateObject("Excel.Application")
>>oXL.Workbooks.Open(GETFILE('xlsx'))
>>*oXL.ActiveWorkbook.Save("c:\aatemp\globalnew.xls", 56)
>>oXL.Quit()

>>
>>worked fine for me, no errors.
>
>do I need to have the latest version of Excel installed ie the one that can read xslx files

Yes, of course. However, it's possible that Microsoft has a free utility to open xlsx files in earlier versions, just like they have for Word. Whether it will work for you, I really don't know.

Update: you will find the "Compatibility Pack" here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=3