Opening XEL Files

The XEL file type is primarily associated with SQL Server Mangement Studio.

XEL	File extension: XEL
	File type:	extended events

What is a XEL file?

XEL files mostly belong to SQL Server Mangement Studio by Microsoft. XEL filename extension is mainly used to store data collected by the Extended Events database performance monitoring utility in SQL Server, a relational database management system. The information stored in such XEL files are used to debug and fix performance bottlenecks in an SQL database. Contents of the file include the name of each event and timestamps for event start times and end times. The XEL file may be accessed, analyzed, or exported to CSV, XML, or a different data format with SQL Server Management Studio. XEL filename extension is also associated with the live video encoding presets (settings) file used to encode media files in Expression Media Encoder, a video transcoding program. The contents of XEL presets files are written in XML syntax and include configuration information as well as references to media files used to transcode each file.

How to open a XEL file

You need a suitable software like SQL Server Mangement Studio to open a XEL 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 XEL file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a XEL file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online XEL Text Viewer

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Programs that open and convert XEL files:

SQL Server Mangement Studio by Microsoft
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. XEL files are often referred to as SQL Server Mangement Studio databases because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Excel (extended events) by Microsoft
Excel is a versatile spreadsheet application with an extensive toolkit for data entry, manipulation, programming, charting, and data visualization. Extended events data exported from an SQL database as XEL or CSV can be opened with Excel. This file format is classified as Database. Related links: Import XML data
Expression Encoder (live video encoding presets) by Microsoft
Expression Encoder is a discontinued program for transcoding live and locally stored videos. It saved the presets for transcoding live video streams such as webcasts in XEL files. This file format is classified as Video.

XEL file extension format:

If you know the file format, you can also find out how to open or edit the file. The file format can be deduced from the file extension and the signature. If the file extension does not match the file format, double-clicking on the file will cause an error upon opening. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. In the following you will find our evaluation of the XEL files:

The XEL file ending mainly uses a defined XEL format. But the following two file formats are common:

85% of all XEL files use the same file format, which have the signature Z7«ï . These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. Most of these files are 7 KB to 42 MB in size. The file type is very recent. These files can be linked to health, system, event, hkengine, backup, events, deadlock, managed, sqldiag and trace.
9% of all XEL files have the same signature mLxz4. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. The average file size is 2 MB with most files being between 88 KB and 2 MB in size. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. mLxz4. The file name xigncode.xel is typical for these files.

All other XEL files (6%) have different formats, frequently e.g. DOC. Tagged as deadlocks, query, analysis, capture, timeout, always, admin, prsql, smart, ttgna or lock. If you want to find out what your XEL file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.

Technical Data for XEL File Extension

File classification:

Database

Related files:

xlsx, xem, sqlaudit, doc, trc, xls, out, glb, max, zip, rdl, mdf

a xel extended event is a special file format by Microsoft and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with XEL files

Associate the XEL file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open extended events. Because only the current version supports the latest XEL file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Microsoft manufacturer website after an available SQL Server Mangement Studio update.
To make sure that your XEL file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .XEL file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.