Spreadsheet Format Converter (XLS, XLSX, ODS, Numbers)

About the Spreadsheet Format Converter (XLS, XLSX, ODS, Numbers)

Convert a workbook from one spreadsheet format to another — Excel (XLSX, XLS, XLSB), OpenDocument (ODS and flat FODS), Apple Numbers, Excel 2003 XML, SYLK, dBASE (DBF) or a web page — without installing anything. Every sheet and cell value carries over, and formulas, merged ranges, number formats, comments, hyperlinks, named ranges and hidden sheets do too wherever the new format and this converter can hold them.

Before you convert, the page lists what will be kept, what changes (renamed sheets, dates moved to another date system, dBASE field names) and what is not kept — counted in your own file: cell styles, charts, pictures, pivot tables, macros, conditional formatting, data validation. After writing, the converter reads the new file back and checks that its sheets, cells, formulas and merged ranges are all there.

Common uses

• Opening a .numbers file from a Mac on Windows, or sending an .xlsx to someone who uses Numbers.
• Upgrading old .xls files to .xlsx, or saving .xls for a system that only accepts Excel 97–2003.
• Moving between Microsoft Excel and LibreOffice Calc (ODS) with formulas intact.
• Producing a dBASE table for FoxPro, Clipper or a shapefile, or an HTML table for a web page or an e-mail.

What each format keeps

• XLSX and Excel 2003 XML: values, formulas, merged ranges, number formats, hidden sheets, rows and columns, column widths, row heights, comments, hyperlinks and named ranges.
• XLSB: the same, except formulas, which are saved as their last calculated values.
• XLS (Excel 97–2003): values, merged ranges, number formats, hidden sheets and columns, column widths, comments and hyperlinks. Formulas are saved as their values, and named ranges, row heights and hidden rows are not kept. A sheet holds at most 65,536 rows and 256 columns.
• ODS and FODS: values, formulas (translated to OpenDocument’s syntax), merged ranges, comments, hyperlinks, named ranges and hidden sheets; most number formats. Column widths, row heights and hidden rows and columns are not kept.
• Numbers: values, merged ranges, comments and hyperlinks. Formulas become values, number formats reset (dates stay dates) and hidden sheets become visible. A sheet holds at most 1,000,000 rows and 1,000 columns.
• SYLK: one file per sheet; formulas with a number as result, number formats, comments, column widths and hidden rows and columns. Text is plain ANSI (Windows Western): accented Latin letters are kept, other characters become “?”.
• dBASE (DBF): one table per sheet. Row 1 becomes the field names (up to 10 letters, digits or _), numbers become number fields sized to fit, dates become date fields, and text is stored in the code page you choose.
• HTML: one page with a table for each sheet — values as they are formatted, merged cells, and web, e-mail and phone links.

What never carries over

This converter writes data, not presentation: cell styles (fonts, colours, fills, borders, alignment), charts, pictures, shapes, pivot tables (their cells keep the values shown), the formatting of Excel tables, slicers, macros, conditional formatting, data validation and drop-down lists, frozen panes, sheet protection and data connections stay behind. For XLSX, XLSM, XLS, ODS, FODS and Excel 2003 XML files the list before converting counts which of these your file actually has.

Formulas between Excel and OpenDocument

Excel files write =SUM(Sheet2!A1:A3); OpenDocument writes of:=SUM([$Sheet2.A1:.A3]), with semicolons between arguments. The converter translates references (including 3-D references such as Jan:Mar!B2 and whole columns), argument separators, array constants and function names — Excel-only functions such as XLOOKUP, IFS or TEXTJOIN get the COM.MICROSOFT. names LibreOffice uses, and newer Excel functions get the _xlfn. prefix Excel needs in .xlsx files. Each formula keeps the value it last calculated. A function that one program does not have (a LibreOffice-only function in Excel, for example) shows an error until it is replaced.

Sources

File formats: ECMA-376 Office Open XML (XLSX), OASIS OpenDocument v1.3 (ODS), [Microsoft [MS-XLS]](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/office_file_formats/ms-xls/cd03cb5f-ca02-4934-a391-bb674cb8aa06) and [[MS-XLSB]](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/office_file_formats/ms-xlsb/acc8aa92-1f02-4167-99f5-84f9f676b95a) (XLS, XLSB). Sheet limits: Excel specifications and limits. Reading and writing uses the open-source SheetJS Community Edition library.

Limitations

• One file at a time, up to 50 MB; the whole workbook is converted in your browser’s memory.
• XLS and XLSB files written here hold values instead of formulas; choose XLSX to keep formulas for Excel.
• Formulas in Numbers files are read as the values Numbers saved, not as formulas.
• Sheet names follow Excel’s rules for every format (at most 31 characters, none of : \ / ? * [ ]); longer or invalid names are shortened, and formulas that refer to them are updated.
• Writing large Numbers, XLSB and XLS files is slow in a browser; Numbers output is limited to 600,000 cells (Numbers opens .xlsx files directly).
• Files protected with a password to open cannot be read.

Privacy

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