.xlsx files
.xlsx file
Excel Workbook (Open XML)
The standard Excel spreadsheet since 2007, with a million-row limit per sheet.
What opens a .xlsx file
- Windows
- Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, WPS Office
- macOS
- Microsoft Excel, Numbers (built in), LibreOffice Calc
- Linux
- LibreOffice Calc, OnlyOffice, Gnumeric
- In a browser
- Google Sheets, Excel for the web
What a .xlsx file is
XLSX is the Office Open XML spreadsheet format: a zip of XML parts holding sheets, formulas, charts and formatting. It caps out at 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns per sheet, which is why very large data sets end up as CSV or Parquet instead. Google Sheets, LibreOffice Calc and Numbers all open it; complex formulas, pivot tables and conditional formatting are where non-Excel apps drift.
Converting it
A .xlsx file is commonly converted to .csv, .pdf, .xls, .ods or .json. It is a binary format, so a text editor will show unreadable characters rather than its contents.
Details
- Extension
- .xlsx
- Full name
- Excel Workbook (Open XML)
- Category
- Documents
- MIME type
- application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
- Created by
- Microsoft
- Format
- Binary
Common questions
- How do I open a .xlsx file?
- On Windows use Microsoft Excel; on macOS use Microsoft Excel; on Linux use LibreOffice Calc. The standard Excel spreadsheet since 2007, with a million-row limit per sheet.
- What is a .xlsx file?
- Excel Workbook (Open XML). XLSX is the Office Open XML spreadsheet format: a zip of XML parts holding sheets, formulas, charts and formatting. It caps out at 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns per sheet, which is why very large data sets end up as CSV or Parquet instead.
- Can I convert a .xlsx file?
- Yes. It is usually converted to .csv, .pdf, .xls, .ods or .json, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.
Related pages
- .pdf — Portable Document Format A fixed-layout document that looks identical everywhere — the format for anythin
- .docx — Word Document (Open XML) The standard Word document since Office 2007 — a zip archive of XML underneath.
- .pptx — PowerPoint Presentation (Open XML) The standard PowerPoint deck since 2007.
- .txt — Plain Text File Text with no formatting at all — the format that will still open in fifty years.
- .doc — Word Document (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Word format — still readable, but Microsoft would rather you conver
- .xls — Excel Workbook (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Excel format, limited to 65,536 rows.
- .ppt — PowerPoint Presentation (legacy binary) The pre-2007 PowerPoint format.
- .md — Markdown Document Plain text with a light formatting convention — headings with #, bold with **.
- .rtf — Rich Text Format A formatted document format readable by every word processor since 1987.
- .pages — Apple Pages Document Apple's word processor format — Apple devices and iCloud only.
- .odt — OpenDocument Text The open-standard word processor format, native to LibreOffice.
- .eml — Email Message A single saved email, headers and all, in the standard internet message format.
Sources
- Media Types Registry — IANA
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place