Xlsx to xls - detailed instructions for converting. Unsupported sheet functions

xlsx file is a spreadsheet document Excel programs 2007. Documents with this extension appeared with the release of the office suite Microsoft Office 2007 and came to replace the old xls format.

Excel spreadsheets are used mainly at workplaces by accountants, analysts, marketers, directors of various levels, in contrast to documents text editor Word, the use of which is widespread both at home and, especially, by students in their studies. The transition to the new xls format brought with it a lot of inconsistencies in the work of companies. Excel 2003 version could not open xlsx documents sent by business partners.

How to open xlsx

Microsoft was reluctant to distribute solutions to this problem, hoping to get more profit by switching users to the new version of Microsoft Office 2007. But, nevertheless, there is a solution at no cost. If you have Office 2003 or XP installed, then to open xlsx files in it, do the following:

After the xlsx, docx and pptx file converter is installed, you can open xlsx files in Excel 2003 and earlier versions of the program.

Alternative Solutions

If the download and installation of the converter fails, then all that remains is to ask the creator of the xlsx file to re-save it in the old xls format and send it to you again. To save in xls format, do the following:


The file will be saved in the old xls format, which can be opened by all versions Microsoft Excel. The operation of saving to a compatible Excel format is very simple, but in the course of work, users constantly forget to do this and “automatically” click on the floppy disk - the save icon. To work around this forgetfulness, you can set Excel 2007 to save all of its workbooks in the default Excel 2003 format.

  • Click on the round "Office" button and select "Excel Options" in the menu that opens.
  • In the Excel Options window on the left, switch to Save.
  • On the right side of the window, in the "Saving books" area, set the "Save files in the following format" option as " Excel workbook 97-2003". Then click OK.

Video - Change the default save format in Excel 2007

Hello friends! Today I will share with you the secret of how to open an xlsx file, but first, let's get acquainted with what kind of file format it is. So, the xlsx file is an ordinary document spreadsheet editor Excel, but not in the 2003 version, but in 2007. It has become a replacement for the xls format familiar to many users. Just like the docx file replaced the 2003 doc version. All changes are related to the release of the new office suite Microsoft Office 2007.


I think that the appointment of electronic Excel tables everyone knows. They are used for miscalculations, determining dynamics, calculating formulas, etc. While Word is used as a typing and editing of texts. Such extension changes brought a lot of inconvenience to users. After all, those who had the version of Excel 2003 installed did not have access to documents in the xlsx format.

Imagine if this is an important work document that needs to be completed immediately. In general, there are many nuances. And of course, it was beneficial for Microsoft to have users install a new paid version Microsoft Office, therefore, did not pay due attention to this problem. But today I will try to help you in this matter.

If on your PC working version Office 2003 or XP, then to open the xlsx file, you will need to download the xlsx file converter. By the way, it's great for docx and pptx files. Before starting the converter, you need to close all open programs. And now you can run the converter. For its successful operation, you must accept the license agreement and check the appropriate box. Then click on the " Accept".

It will take a few minutes and after the installation is complete, click "OK". If unclosed programs interfere with the installation, the installer will warn you with a pop-up window.

The converter program will help in solving the problem of how to open xlsx file . Once the converter has been successfully installed on your PC, any of these formats will be available to you:

  • xlsx,
  • and pptx.

If there are problems with the converter, I can offer one of the alternative solutions to this problem. Just contact the person who sent you the file in an unavailable format and ask him to resave the file in xls format and send it again.

How to do it?

AT Excel document 2007, find the big button at the top left " Office", And in the menu that opens, select " Save as"And the sub-item" Book Excel 97-2003".

To in new version Office 2007 file has always had an xls extension, follow this path:

  1. - "Office"
  2. - "Excel Options"
  3. - switch to the item "Save".

In the window that appears on the right in the area " Save books"You need to set:" Save files in the format " Book Excel 97-2003». At the end, click OK. Now all Excel 2007 version files will be automatically saved in xls format. From experience I can say that this will not affect the normal operation of the program.

On a note, I want to offer you something, if you want to receive my articles to your mail, then enter your email at the end of the article and I will send each new record by mail. Please note that in this case you will read it very first.

Now you know how to open an xlsx file, I hope all your problems about this are in the past! As always, I look forward to your comments and ready to answer them. I will not refuse thanks if you click on the social buttons. All health and goodness!

With Uv. Evgeny Kryzhanovsky

In 2007, with the release of Microsoft Office 2007, Bill Gates' company introduced the public to a new universal format for working with spreadsheets - Microsoft Excel Open XML Spreadsheet (xlsx for short). The introduction of this format was intended to unify the workflow between various software environments from different manufacturers and developers. xlsx files are opened by many software products, such as Microsoft Works, Corel WordPerfect Office, Panergy docXConverter, OxygenOffice Professional, OpenOffice, PlanMaker Viewer, Gnumeric, Ability Spreadsheet, Corel Quattro Pro and others. However, the main program originally designed to work with xlsx files and fully support them is Microsoft Excel. It is Excel that is able to fully reveal the potential opportunities this standard and use it to the fullest.

How to open xlsx files in Microsoft Excel 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007?

The latest versions of Excel open xlsx files like any other containers, since this is its "native" format, and it has full support for this universal standard. If you are still wondering how to open an xlsx file in Excel, here you are detailed instructions, how to do it.

This completes the procedure for opening the xlsx file. After the above steps, the file will be immediately opened and ready for work.

How to open xlsx files in Excel 2003?

In older versions of Excel, working with xlsx objects is a little more difficult. Since the software environment does not support these files by default, since at that time this standard was still under development and was not presented to the public, it is not initially possible to open them in Excel 2003. Nevertheless, Microsoft provided the ability to work with these containers in Excel 2003 and created a special modular package "Compatibility Pack" designed to facilitate the task. So, go to this link and download the executable file from the web page that opens.

We install it on the computer, after which a new application "Compatibility Pack" will appear in the list of installed programs. Next, open the xlsx file in Excel 2003 like any other regular file - the navigator will see the xlsx files in the list available for opening.

That's all about working with xlsx containers in the Excel software environment. Incidentally, the Compatibility Pack will make it possible to open new XML-based files in both Word and PowerPoint (docx, pptx) as well. So keep this in mind when you install the package on your computer.

XLSX is a file format designed for spreadsheets. Currently, it is one of the most common formats of this direction. Therefore, quite often users are faced with the need to open a file with the specified extension. Let's see what software can be used to do this and how.

An .xlsx file is a type of zip archive containing a spreadsheet. It belongs to the series open formats Office Open xml. This format is the main one for the Excel program, starting from the version of Excel 2007. In the internal interface of the specified application, it appears as such - “Excel Book”. It is natural that Excel can open and work with XLSX files. A number of other spreadsheet processors can also work with them. Let's look at how to open XLSX in various programs.

Method 1: Microsoft Excel

Open format in Excel, starting with Microsoft versions Excel 2007 is quite simple and intuitive.


If you are using a version of the program before Excel 2007, then by default this application won't open XLSX books. This is due to the fact that the indicated versions were released earlier than given format. But owners of Excel 2003 and earlier programs will still be able to open XLSX workbooks if they install a patch that is specifically designed to perform this operation. After that, it will be possible to run documents of the named format in a standard way via menu item "File".

Method 2: Apache OpenOffice Calc

In addition, XLSX documents can be opened using Apache OpenOffice Calc, which is a free alternative to Excel. Unlike Excel, Calc does not have the XLSX format as the main one, but, nevertheless, the program copes with its opening successfully, although it does not know how to save books in this extension.


There is also an alternative opening.


Method 3: LibreOffice Calc

Another free alternative to Excel is LibreOffice Calc. This program also does not have XLSX as the main format, but unlike OpenOffice, it can not only open and edit files in the specified format, but also save them with this extension.


In addition, there is another option to launch an XLSX document directly through the LibreOffice main window interface without first switching to Calc.


Method 4: File Viewer Plus

File Viewer Plus is specially designed to view files of various formats. But documents with the XLSX extension, it allows not only viewing, but also editing and saving. True, you should not flatter yourself, since the editing capabilities of this application are still significantly reduced in comparison with previous programs. Therefore, it is better to use it only for viewing. It should also be said that the free period of using File Viewer is limited to 10 days.


There is a simpler and fast way launching the file in this application. You need to select the name of the file in Windows Explorer , hold down the left mouse button and simply drag it into the File Viewer application window. The file will be opened immediately.

Among all the options for launching files with the XLSX extension, the most optimal is to open it in Microsoft program Excel. This is due to the fact that this application is "native" for the specified file type. But if for some reason you don't have Microsoft package Office, you can use free analogues: OpenOffice or LibreOffice. In functionality, they almost do not lose. In extreme cases, the File Viewer Plus program will come to the rescue, but it is advisable to use it only for viewing, not editing.

Microsoft Excel is the most popular and demanded program in the world, which is installed on the PC of almost all users. It doesn't matter who you are, an accountant, economist, politician, statistician, psychologist, sociologist or a simple teacher - using Excel you can not only calculate data, sum up monthly and annual results, but also build graphs, charts and other useful visual elements.

However, users of Office 2003 and earlier versions, having received an xlsx file, often ask themselves the question: what format is it and how to open xlsx?

xlsx files are spreadsheets, graphs, mathematical functions and formulas that are created in Microsoft Excel 2007-2013 using the OpenXML standard. To open such a file, you need to do a number of simple operations.

How to open xlsx in excel 2003

First option how to open xlsx or how to open xlsx in excel 2003. If you have Microsoft Excel 2003 installed and the xlsx format is not readable, download the Compatibility Pack from the Internet. On the Microsoft website in the "Support" section there is the necessary software for reading new formats (link to the section http://support.microsoft.com/kb/924074/en). By downloading and installing extensions for Office 2003, you can view information not only from Excel 2007-2013, but also from Word, Publisher, PowerPoint.

Second option suitable for those who are unable to download the Microsoft Compatibility Pack or do not have the administrative rights(work computer). In this case, you need to create an account on the google.ru service and open xlsx online. Next, upload the xlsx file to Google Docs. Open it from a browser window and save it in Excel 2003 format.

We go to the site https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/ and create new document. Next, open the document for this, go to File and Open.

Everything can now work with the file, then don't forget to save it to your computer.

Convert xlsx to doc online

Third option open xlsx online using online converter. There are many sites on the Internet where you can convert a file from one format to another. In this case, you do not need to register and create an account. It is enough to open the page in the browser, specify the file and its storage location, click start, and when the conversion is completed, click "Save as ..". The file is ready in just a couple of seconds.

For example, you can use the wonderful online-convert.com service. And so we go to the site and look for the Document Converter item. Select the desired format from the list and click Start.

After the file conversion process is over, it will download itself to your computer.

Remember that when you save and send documents from newer versions of Microsoft Office to users whose software version you don't know, it's best to save files in common 97-2003 file formats. So, you will save time and save nerves not only to the addressee, but also to yourself.

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