User case: What is the real difference between a .xls vs .xlsx file?
"Hi, can anyone explain the real difference between XLS and XLSX files in detail? I have many .xls files. I begin using Office version 2019 recently and wonder if it is useful to change them all to .xlsx instead of still saving them to .xls format. Will I lose anything?" - A user from answers.microsoft.com
XLS is the file format generated by Excel 2003 and before, while XLSX is the file format created by Excel 2007 and later.
XLS is a Microsoft Excel worksheet, which is a very commonly used spreadsheet format. The .xls file can be opened with Microsoft Excel. In addition, Microsoft has developed a special viewer Excel Viewer for users who do not have Excel installed.
You can use Microsoft Excel to convert XLS format tables into multiple formats: XML tables, XML data, web pages, text files separated by tabs (*.txt), text files separated by commas (*.csv), etc.
XLSX is the file extension of Microsoft Office Excel 2007/2010/2013/2016/2019 documents. .xlsx is used from Office 2007, it replaces its current proprietary default file format with a new XML-based compressed file format, and adds the letter x after the traditional file name extension to make it occupy a smaller space, for example .docx replaces .doc, .xlsx replace .xls, .pptx replaces .ppt, etc.)
.xls vs .xlsx, which is better? You can learn the differences, advantages, and disadvantages from the two from the following aspects.
Comparison | XLS | XLSX |
---|---|---|
Format | XLS is a proprietary binary format | XLSX is based on Microsoft Office Open XML format. |
Version | 2003 and older versions | versions since 2007 |
File size | XLS files are larger | XLSX files are smaller |
Capability | XLS is compatible with older versions before 2003 | XLSX does not work well on some older software and systems |
Ability | XLS can store fewer data than XLSX. | XLSX has more rows and columns capacity than XLS. |
Comparison summary: What's the best format to save Excel files? XLS is a newer table file format than XLS. Compared with XLS, apart from being incompatible with old versions of Excel and some old data systems, it has all its merits. Therefore, if there is no compatibility consideration, it is recommended that you use the .xlsx format.
Yes, you can convert an XLSX file to an XLS file or vice versa easily by taking the ways below.
Step 1. Open the XLSX file that you want to convert with Excel 2007 or later.
Step 2. Click File at the top left corner. Click on "Save As", and set a location for the file.
Step 3. Click the drop-down menu of Save as type, and choose Excel 97-2003 Workbook(*.xls).
Step 4. Rename the file and click on Save. Then, the XLSX file will become XSL.
This is another way to convert an XLSX document to XLS without opening the file.
Step 1. Press Windows + E keys to open the file explorer.
Step 2. Go to the folder in which the file is stored.
Step 3. Right-click on the XLSX file, and select "Rename". Change .xlsx to .xls.
Step 4. Click "Yes" to save the change.
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Here are more related readings about XLSX VS XLS.
.xlsx replaces the previous .xls file format with a new XML-based compressed file format and adds the letter x after the traditional file name extension. .xlsx is actually compressed to make it take up less space. You can change the XLSX file to a zip and open it with an unzip tool.
Yes, you can convert a file between XLS and XLSX. Just open the file in Excel, and use the Save as feature to change the file to XLS or XLSX format.
CSV is a text file that can be opened with Notepad, while XLS is a binary file that can only be opened with Excel.
XLS or XLSX files are the file format for Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. CSV is the most common file format and can be easily imported into a variety of PC tables and databases. In a CSV file, one row is one row of the data table. Generate data table fields separated by half corner commas.
CSV files will be smaller, easier to create, distribute and read, and suitable for storing structured information, such as record exports, traffic statistics, and so on. The default way to open a CSV file on Windows is Excel, but it is essentially a text file.
In this tutorial, we cover all the basic information about XLS and XLSX. They are all file formats for Microsoft Office Excel and are suffixes for different versions of files. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, and you can choose the most suitable format for your specific application.
We also show you the way to convert a file between XLS and XLSX. You can do it the way we taught you. It's easy. Besides, you can learn to use Qiling data recovery tool to recover deleted Excel files and fix corrupted Excel documents effectively.