Recently I have received several calls from our users saying that whenever the try to open a document library in DataSheet view the get the following error message:

" The list cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons: A datasheet component compatible with Windows SharePoint Services is not installed, your browser does not support ActiveX controls, or support for ActiveX controls is disabled. "

All of our office computers have:

- Windows XP SP3

- Microsoft Office 2003 Professional SP3

- Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack

Poking around on the Web, I found several solutions for folks who were using Office 2003. Here’re the most common solutions I found for Office 2003:

Solution 1:

1) Make sure you have a Microsoft Office 2003 Professional edition. Microsoft says: “Support for Windows SharePoint Services list data is available only in Microsoft Office 2003 Professional editions.” See the KB909506 for more information (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/909506)

2) Make sure that ActiveX support is enabled in Internet Explorer.

    How Can I Tell if ActiveX is Enabled in Internet Explorer?
    Browser test page
   

3) Reset Internet Explorer to it’s default settings:

    How to reset Internet Explorer settings
    Reset Internet Explorer 6 settings or here
    Reset Internet Explorer 7 settings or here
    Reset Internet Explorer 8 settings

4) Add your SharePoint site to Trusted Zone.

2) Run “Detect and Repair” tool. (See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/821593 or http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA010548851033.aspx for more information)

Solution 2:

1. Close Internet Explorer
2. Go to Start => Run => "regedit"
3. Navigate to the following key and delete it:
       HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility

         Sub-Key: {65bcbee4-7728-41a0-97be-14e1cae36aae}



4. Re-register Microsoft Office List DataSheet Component (STSLIST.DLL and STSLISTI.DLL): 
   Start => Run =>
   regsvr32.exe "%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\STSLIST.DLL" => OK
   Start => Run =>
   regsvr32.exe "%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\1040\STSLISTI.DLL" => OK

Solution 3:

1. Completely uninstall any Office 2007 products using ‘Add or Remove Programs’ if you have any.

2. Uninstall Microsoft Office 2003 (fix or repair options are not likely to help out here)

3. Install Microsoft Office 2003 Professional. Select a Custom install and make sure Windows SharePoint Services Support is installed with Office 2003.

3. Reinstall your Office 2007 products by running a custom installation with Windows SharePoint Services Support not being installed.

This link might help you to resolve the problem if you have Microsoft Office 2007.

The files listed here are all ZIP files, which contain a REG (Registry) file. Download the ZIP and open it. Extract the REG file to your hard disk and double click it. Answer yes to the import prompt. REG files can be viewed in Notepad. Each of the REG files contains the default settings for the file extension indicated.

NOTE: If your EXE file associations are corrupted, it can be difficult to open REGEDIT, or to even import REG files. To work around this, press CTRL-ALT-DEL and open Task Manager. Once there, click File, then hold down the CTRL key and click New Task (Run). This will open a Command Prompt window. Enter REGEDIT.EXE and press Enter.
Thanks to Nigel Andrews for this tip.

The BAT file (zipped) that will restore all of the “default” associations that XP ships with can be downloaded here or from the author’s page here.