Weirder still.
I downloaded "Spreadsheet-WriteExcel-0.43 " as cyocum recommended and merely unzipped it.
I opened "WriteExcel.html" and went to "close" where I noticed the same " ( )" that maa suggested.

I tried this and it allowed saving of the formatting (without installing the module) !
Here's the strange bit, when I then removed the "( )" (as a double-check) it still worked.... my head hurts.
Anyway, thank you for your help, I can now get back to the task I started at 0800 this AM.

In reply to Re: Re: Losing EXCEL cell formats on save. by skotte
in thread Losing EXCEL cell formats on save. by skotte

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