What happens when you convert XLS to TXT
- Each row becomes a line of text, with a tab between cells, so it reads cleanly in any text editor and pastes straight back into a spreadsheet with every value in its own cell.
- Every sheet is written in turn, under its own name, with a blank line between sheets. Cells show their values as displayed, with their number formats, and formulas become their results. Charts, images and formatting are left out.
- The file is read by SheetJS running in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to convert XLS to TXT online
- Press "Choose XLS files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to TXT". The spreadsheet library, about 900 KB, loads the first time and then workbooks convert in a moment.
- Save each TXT with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert XLS to TXT?
XLS files usually come from older Excel files and systems that still export the legacy format. People convert them to TXT because plain text opens everywhere and is easy to search, copy, edit and paste into other tools.
In short, XLS is good at what it was made for, and TXT is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. XLS opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice Calc, while TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone.
How to convert XLS to TXT on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your XLS files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TXT is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the XLS files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TXT files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose XLS files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TXT appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose XLS files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TXT is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for XLS to TXT
There are no settings: cells are separated by tabs and rows by line breaks, in UTF-8, which every editor reads.
To get a single sheet only, delete or move the other sheets in your spreadsheet program first, or convert to CSV, which keeps the first sheet.
XLS vs TXT: the differences
| XLS | TXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Excel 97 to 2003 workbook | Plain text |
| Type | spreadsheet | document |
| Created by | Microsoft | no single author |
| First released | 1997 | 1963 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| What it holds | several sheets with values, formulas and formatting in a binary file | characters only, with no formatting |
| In a browser | opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice Calc | opens in every browser, text editor and phone |
| Common uses | older Excel files and systems that still export the legacy format | notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-excel | text/plain |
About XLS and TXT files
What is an XLS file?
XLS is the binary Excel format used before 2007. It is limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns per sheet, far fewer than XLSX allows.
What is a TXT file?
A TXT file holds nothing but characters: no fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually UTF-8, which covers every language.
XLS to TXT not working? Common problems
- Columns do not line up in the editor. Tabs line up only when the values are short; the columns are still correct, and paste back into a spreadsheet perfectly.
- Dates look like numbers. Spreadsheets store dates as numbers underneath; apply a date format to the column in your spreadsheet program before converting.
- The file will not open. Password-protected workbooks are encrypted, so they cannot be read without the password; remove the password in Excel first.
Convert XLS to TXT from the command line
LibreOffice Calc saves a sheet as tab-separated text from the command line:
soffice --headless --convert-to "txt:Text - txt - csv (StarCalc):9,34,76" input.xlsThe converter on this page does the same job in your browser, without installing anything.
XLS to TXT converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting XLS to TXT?
The values are kept as they are displayed. Formulas, formatting and charts are not, because plain text has none.
Why is the TXT a different size from the XLS?
Usually much smaller than the XLS, because plain text holds nothing but the values.
Are my XLS files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using the open-source SheetJS library, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page and converter engine have loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several XLS files to TXT at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TXT file?
TXT opens in every browser, text editor and phone. TXT is common for notes, logs, extracted text and anything that must open everywhere.
Is this XLS to TXT converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert XLS to TXT on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.