<p>The most irritating aspect are the headlines that scream "Excel glitch". It is not a glitch in the software. It is basically muppets using the software where it shouldn't be. </p>
<blockquote><em><a href="#583905">In reply to Minke:</a></em></blockquote><p>Using the right too for the job. There are much better tools out there for analysing large data sets, including a version of Excel newer than 2007!</p>
<p>Would think a large government would have already tested and known the max that a format could hold. With data being as easily available as it is today. I can imagine in future years new formats being created to compress data to smaller file sizes while still retaining all the data without loss.</p>
<p>Whoever implemented the system which consolidated the other files should have been explicit about the file type expected. Bonus if they had given reasons for that file type.</p><p>Consolidation should have been a database operation, so submitted .XLS files should have been a red flag if CSV files had been expected. It seems there was also ample lack of communications.</p>