XLS is a file type used in tables Microsoft Excel... Today we will talk about how you can open these file extensions if there is no Excel program on your computer, namely, we will touch upon several high-quality online services that are capable of working with the XLS type.

In principle, there is nothing to tell about this service. This is the same Microsoft Excel, only built into the browser. There are already familiar tools and functions here as in the full-fledged program. The only thing that can be attributed to a minus is the need to register with the Microsoft service. But having registered once, you will no longer need this.

Among the main advantages of this service over the others are:

Another online service that is capable of working with the XLS extension. To work with it, the user does not need to register. Plus, the service is complete. functions in Russian, which is undoubtedly a huge plus.

To download the file, just go to home page Online Excel Viewer and click on the special area, and then select required document to open it.

By functionality this service inferior to the aforementioned Excel Online. But, despite this, here you can make minor edits to the loaded document.

Let's summarize

Of course, there are a few other services that can open XLS files. But why? Excel Online is the best (without exaggeration) online service for working with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, but requiring the user to have an account, while Online Excel Viewer is simple to implement and not rich in functionality, but it is good if you just need to open some table to view.

Moreover, this very often happens: some formats are almost the same. The only thing that differentiates them is the versions of the programs in which they are used. For example, all this can be said about related formats and. Today we will talk about them.

XLSX and XLS are formats of Microsoft Excel included. A this program designed to work with spreadsheets. The only difference between these formats is that they are used in different versions Microsoft Excel programs. That is why some users need to convert one format to another.

You can convert these formats using special programs or services. It is about the services operating online that we will talk about.

Standard Converter

The first site for converting XLSX to XLS formats is called Standard Converter. You need to go to the site. Select the required formats for conversion, and then upload the file. After that, you just need to click on the " CONVERT".

Convertio

Another very user-friendly site. The interface is simpler than in the previous service, but the functionality is not worse. The principle of operation is the same. Upload the file you want to convert and click on the button to start the conversion process.

We have considered only two services that allow you to convert XLSX to XLS formats. You can describe more services, but the principle of their operation is the same. And the services described in this article have the simplest and most intuitive user interface.

Announcement

The XLS Spreadsheet file format

XLS format is a Microsoft Excel file format. The XLS extension was used until Excel 2007, after which it was replaced by a new format, Open Office XML (XML Spreadsheet, or XMLSS). Excel format 2007 is backward compatible, and the program itself is capable of opening many file formats of programs developed for DOS. Very often Excel is used by third parties (in particular, browsers) in order to avoid the need to use binary formats. XLS files contain information about spreadsheets as well as worksheets, charts, calculations, tables, and macros. In addition, the specified extension is also used in the Visual Basic programming language. Excel is part of Microsoft package Office and is available for both Windows and Mac OS.

Technical details of XLS files

Although XLS spreadsheets do not implement features (in particular, the VBA macro storage feature), the format is widely used due to its simplicity. Until 2007 Excel program used binary proprietary format (BIFF) for formatting. This allowed users to change the book templates and the contents of individual books. Legacy formats include the following: CSV, DBF, SYLK, DIF. XLS has been superseded by the XLSX, XLSM and XLSB extensions. After replacing the XLS files, Excel 2007 retained its backward compatibility status, which means that the XLS format is still quite common.

More information about the XLS file format

The spreadsheet format is incredibly convenient for all cases when you need simple calculations, budgeting or, for example, accounting for a home budget. It often happens that you need to view or edit the .xls, .xlsx or .csv files, but a full-fledged Microsoft Office, Open Office or Numbers are not at hand. Fortunately, technologies do not stand still, and more and more “standard” “desktop” applications find their online counterparts.

So, a selection of excellent and free services for viewing and editing Excel online: working with formulas, formatting, data in cells, sheets and much more.

1.

An example of a complex document for accounting for the budget and taxes

. Easy to use, allows you to easily edit, organize into folders, import, export and publish tables. There is an online viewer that supports many formats, including XLS, XLSX, CSV, ODS. Needless to say, there are rich possibilities in terms of building graphs, charts and histograms.

Advanced users will definitely appreciate the ability to write their own functions / macros in ActionScript, as well as deep integration with others Google services through formulas. For example, the formula = GOOGLEFINANCE () allows you to use data on the stock exchange and economy with flexible configuration.

This online Excel editor is included in a free cloud package that also offers many tools for working with documents, presentations, drawings and more.

2.online

Microsoft in style

3.

Just drag and drop a finished CSV or Excel XML (.xlsx) document onto the page and it is immediately imported into EtherCalc. Or you can create a new document with the click of a button. EtherCalc seems to be no less convenient and functional than Google Sheets and other similar programs. In the comments of the repository on Github, the author explains that EtherCalc is a Node.js port of the SocialCalc application. The program can be installed locally to work offline.

4.

. The simplest of all the above online services... Zoho Sheet is a viewer office documents with the most basic set of tools: charts and standard formulas. Intuitive, in general, but not as clear in setting up filters as Google's spreadsheet.

ExcelArt.ru - if you came to this post from social networks

Alexey Shelkovnikov, designer and lawyer, looks at the world in his own way. Cells in Excel mean almost nothing to him. It gives a completely different meaning to paths, smart objects and bucket fills. Alexey looks sideways at bookkeepers and uses spreadsheet applications from creative motives, transferring modern and sometimes sick reality into three-dimensional illustrations.

XLSX and XLS are Excel spreadsheet formats. Considering that the first of them was created much later than the second, and not all third party programs it is supported, it becomes necessary to convert XLSX to XLS.

All XLSX to XLS conversion methods can be divided into three groups:

• Online converters;
• Tabular editors;
• Conversion programs.

We will dwell in detail on the description of actions when using two main groups of methods that involve the use of different software.

Method 1: Batch XLS and XLSX Converter

Let's start considering the solution to the problem by describing the algorithm of actions using the shareware Batch XLS and XLSX Converter, which converts both from XLSX to XLS and vice versa.

1. Start the converter. Click on the button "Files" to the right of the field "Source".

   

   Or click on the icon "Open" in the form of a folder.



2. The spreadsheet selection window is launched. Change to the directory where the source XLSX is located. If you got to the window by clicking on the button "Open", then be sure to move the switch from the position in the file formats field Batch XLS and XLSX Project in position "Excel File", otherwise the desired object will simply not be displayed in the window. Highlight it and press "Open"... You can select multiple files at once, if necessary.



3. A transition to the main window of the converter takes place. The path to the selected files will be displayed in the list of items prepared for conversion or in the field "Source"... In field Target specifies the folder where the XLS outbound table will be sent. By default, this is the same folder where the source is stored. But if desired, the user can change the address of this directory. To do this, press the button "Folder" to the right of the field Target.



4. The remedy is opening "Browse folders"... Move in it to the directory in which you want to store the outgoing XLS. Having selected it, press "OK".



5. In the converter window in the field Target the address of the selected outgoing folder will be displayed. Now you can start the conversion. To do this, press "Convert".



6. The conversion procedure starts. If desired, it can be interrupted or paused by pressing the buttons, respectively. "Stop" or "Pause".



7. After the conversion is complete, a green check mark will appear to the left of the file names in the list. This means that the conversion of the corresponding element is complete.



8. To go to the location of the converted object with the XLS extension, click on the name of the corresponding object in the list with the right mouse button. In the drop-down list, click "View Output".



9. Starts up "Conductor" in the folder where the selected XLS table is located. Now you can make any manipulations with it.

The main disadvantage of this method is that Batch XLS and XLSX Converter is paid program, the free version of which has a number of limitations.

Method 2: LibreOffice

A number of spreadsheet processors can also convert XLSX to XLS, one of which is Calc, which is included in the package.

1. Activate the LibreOffice startup shell. Click "Open file".

   

   You can also use Ctrl + O or go through the menu items "File" and "Open…".



2. The table opener starts. Navigate to where the XLSX object is located. Having selected it, press "Open".

   

   You can open and bypass the window "Open"... To do this, drag XLSX from "Explorer" to the LibreOffice startup shell.



3. The table will open through the Calc interface. Now you need to convert it to XLS. Click on the triangle-shaped icon to the right of the floppy disk image. Choose "Save as…".

   

   You can also use Ctrl + Shift + S or go through the menu items "File" and "Save as…".



4. The save window appears. Choose a location to store the file and move there. In the area of "File type" select an option from the list Microsoft Excel 97 - 2003... Push "Save".



5. A format confirmation window will open. In it you need to confirm that you really want to save the spreadsheet in XLS format, and not in ODF, which is "native" for Libre Office Calc. This message also warns that the program may not be able to preserve some formatting of elements in a "foreign" file type. But do not worry, because most often, even if some formatting element fails to be saved correctly, general view this will have little effect on the table. So press "Use Microsoft Excel 97-2003 format".



6. The table is converted to XLS. It will be stored in the location that the user specified when saving.

The main disadvantage in comparison with the previous method is that using the spreadsheet editor it is impossible to perform bulk conversion, since you will have to convert each spreadsheet separately. But, at the same time, LibreOffice is an absolutely free tool, which is undoubtedly a clear plus of the program.

Method 3: OpenOffice

The next spreadsheet editor that you can use to reformat an XLSX table to XLS is.

1. Launch the initial Open Office window. Click "Open".

   

   For users who prefer to use the menu, you can use successive pressing of items "File" and "Open"... For those who like to use "hot" keys, we offer the option to use Ctrl + O.



2. The object selection window appears. Navigate to where the XLSX is placed. Highlighting this file spreadsheet, click "Open".

   

   As in the previous method, the file can be opened by dragging it from "Explorer" into the program shell.



3. The content will open in OpenOffice Calc.



4. To save the data in the desired format, click "File" and "Save as…"... Application Ctrl + Shift + S works here too.



5. The save tool starts. Move in it to where you planned to place the reformatted table. In field "File type" select a value from the list Microsoft Excel 97/2000 / XP and press "Save".



6. A window will open with a warning about the possibility of losing some formatting elements when saving to XLS of the same type that we saw in LibreOffice. Here you need to press "Use current format".



7. The table will be saved in XLS format and placed in the previously specified location on disk.

Method 4: Excel

Of course, the spreadsheet is able to convert XLSX to XLS, for which both of these formats are "native".

1. Start Excel. Go to the tab "File".



2. Next click "Open".



3. The object selection window starts. Navigate to where the XLSX spreadsheet file is located. Having selected it, press "Open".



4. The table opens in Excel. To save it in a different format, go to the section again "File".



5. Now click "Save as".



6. The save tool is activated. Navigate to where you plan to contain the converted table. In the area of "File type" select from the list Excel 97-2003 workbook... Then press "Save".



7. A window, already familiar to us, opens with a warning about possible problems compatibility, only having a different look. Click in it "Proceed".



8. The table will be converted and placed in the place that the user specified when saving.

   

   However, this option is only available in Excel 2007 and later. Earlier versions of this program built-in cannot open XLSX, simply because at the time of their creation this format did not exist yet. But the indicated problem is solvable. To do this, you need to download and install the compatibility pack from the official Microsoft website.

   After that, XLSX tables will open in Excel 2003 and more earlier versions normally. By launching the file with this extension, the user can reformat it to XLS. To do this, just go through the menu items "File" and "Save as…", and then in the save window select the desired location and type of format.

You can convert XLSX to XLS on a computer using converter programs or spreadsheet processors. Converters are best used when you need to perform bulk conversions. But, unfortunately, the vast majority of programs of this type paid. For a single conversion in this direction, free table processors included in LibreOffice packages and OpenOffice. The most correct conversion is performed by Microsoft Excel, since both formats are "native" for this spreadsheet processor. But, unfortunately, this program is paid.

File extension	.xls