All about XLS Files

The XLS file type is primarily associated with Excel.

XLS	File extension: XLS
	File type:	workbook

What is an XLS file?

XLS files mostly belong to Excel by Microsoft. An XLS file is a spreadsheet (usually called a workbook) saved in the proprietary format used by Excel versions released between 1995 and 2007. The format is commonly called Excel Binary File Format. A single XLS spreadsheet contains a collection of records and structures organized into worksheets (tables) with data fields and formulae for computing numeric data. XLS remained the default Excel spreadsheet format until 2003 after which Microsoft adopted XLSX as Excel's default format in 2007. Current versions of Excel still allow users to create, read, and edit XLS spreadsheets. Some users save comma-separated values as XLS files.

How can I open an XLS file?

You need a suitable software like Excel to open an XLS file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your XLS file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a XLS file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online XLS File Viewer

Choose your .xls file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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How to convert XLS files to XLS, XLSX, ODS, CSV, TXT, PDF, ...

1. Just click the "Choose your .xls file to view" button on this page.
2. Your XLS file will then be displayed in the browser.
3. Now click on "Save as..." at the top of the page.
4. Then choose the desired spreadsheet format (e.g. XLS, XLSX, ODS, CSV, TXT, PDF, ...).
5. Download the converted file.

XLS file format:

Why is it important to know the file format? This is the only way to find out which program to use to open the file. Each file format has a unique extension and almost always a unique signature. For example, Microsoft Word documents have the extension .docx and the signature (usually the first 3 characters in this file) PK. Nonetheless, different programs can utilize the same file extension to represent distinct file formats. Double-clicking on the file often results in an error when opening. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. Our evaluation of the XLS files is as follows:

The XLS extension is very commonly found and includes various formats for various programs. The file formats most commonly found in XLS files are:

• 65% of all XLS files utilize the Microsoft Compound File format, which is also known by the name OLE2 Compound Document Format or Composite Document File Format. This is a complex container format used by earlier versions of Microsoft Office and other Windows programs. Compound files begin always with signature bytes D0 CF 11 E0 A1 B1 1A E1 (ÐÏࡱá). XLS files contain an app name Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Macintosh Excel, WPS Office or WPS Spreadsheets. There is also a unique Windows component object identifier (CLSID) which is 00020820-0000-0000-c000-000000000046 or 00020810-0000-0000-c000-000000000046. The data in this file is stored in streams whose names are Workbook, SummaryInformation and DocumentSummaryInformation. XLS files are between 13 KB and 730 KB in size. The file type is old but is used even today. These files are attributed to data, list, report, template, export, reports, excel and form.
• 4% of all XLS files are based on the zip format, i.e. an XLS file contains several compressed files. An XLS file contains 2 to 27 files, the average being 12. File names inside are [Content_Types].xml, \_rels\.rels, \docProps\app.xml, \docProps\core.xml, \xl\_rels\workbook.xml.rels, \xl\sharedStrings.xml, \xl\styles.xml and \xl\workbook.xml. If you want to see the included files and images, simply rename the file extension to .zip and double-click it. The average file size is 32 KB with most files being between 7 KB and 800 KB in size. The following keywords are characteristic: [Content_Types].xml. Such files are related to completed.

The remaining 31% of all XLS files are different files with different signatures, frequently e.g. Microsoft Excel XML spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel worksheet, HTML, UTF-16 (LE), XML, PDF, MIME, LNK, JPG, table and rtfd. They are often associated with book, sheet, summary, format, search or order. You can get all the details of your XLS file by dragging it onto this page or by clicking the button "Choose your .xls file to view" above.