i got it, here are the two statements that work
'to open
ExcelApp.Workbooks.Open(strFileName, , False, , , "sa", , , , , , , )
'to save
ExcelApp.Workbooks(1).SaveAs(strFileName, -4143, , "sa", False, False, , , , , )
-4143 is the value of xlnormal for fileformat
Randy Belcher
AFG Industries, Inc.