Spreadsheets to plain data
Excel files are great for people but awkward for software. Import tools for e-commerce platforms, email services, CRMs, accounting packages and databases almost always want CSV – plain text with one row per line. This Excel to CSV converter opens your workbook in the browser and exports the sheet you need.
Reads: XLSX (Excel 2007 and later), XLS (older Excel), ODS (LibreOffice and OpenOffice) and CSV.
Output formats
| Save as | Use it for |
|---|---|
| CSV (comma) | Most import tools, databases, Google Sheets, scripts |
| CSV (semicolon, European Excel) | Excel in countries that use a decimal comma |
| TSV (tab) | Data with lots of commas, pasting into other apps |
| JSON (array of rows) | Developers and web apps |
| Excel .xlsx (re-save) | Convert old .xls or .ods into modern .xlsx, or clean a CSV into a workbook |
Choosing the sheet
Workbooks often have several sheets. Choose the one to export in Sheet; the preview shows the first rows so you can confirm it’s the right data. Because CSV holds a single table, export each sheet separately if you need them all.
What is exported
- Values, not formulas. A cell with
=SUM(A1:A10)exports as its calculated result. - Displayed dates and numbers. Values are exported as they appear in the sheet, so dates stay readable.
- No formatting. Colours, fonts, borders, merged cells and charts don’t exist in CSV.
- Blank rows are skipped, so gaps in the sheet don’t produce empty lines.
- UTF-8 with a byte-order mark. CSV and TSV files start with a BOM so Excel detects the encoding and accented letters, currency symbols and non-Latin scripts display correctly.
If a sheet has a title or notes above the header row, delete them in Excel first, or remove those lines from the CSV, so that import tools find the headers on the first line.
Commas versus semicolons
CSV means “comma-separated values”, but Excel follows your system’s regional settings. Where the decimal separator is a comma (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Brazil and more), Excel uses semicolons to separate columns. If a comma CSV opens with everything in column A, choose the semicolon option. If an online service rejects your file, it almost certainly wants comma.
Importing CSV back into Excel safely
Opening a CSV by double-clicking can mangle data – long numbers turn into scientific notation and leading zeros vanish. Use Data → From Text/CSV in Excel and set columns like phone numbers and IDs to Text.
Old XLS and ODS files
Spreadsheets saved by Excel 97–2003 (.xls) or by LibreOffice and OpenOffice (.ods) open just as well. Choose Excel .xlsx (re-save) to turn them into a modern workbook that current versions of Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers handle without compatibility warnings. The same option turns a CSV into a proper .xlsx file to share with colleagues.
Large files
Workbooks with tens of thousands of rows convert fine on a laptop. Very large files (hundreds of megabytes) depend on your device’s memory; if the browser struggles, delete unneeded sheets or columns in the original first.
Next steps
- Convert the CSV to JSON with options like nesting and number conversion using CSV to JSON.
- Count words or check text in a column with Word Counter.
- Convert XML exports with XML to JSON.
Privacy
Spreadsheets often contain customer lists, payroll and financial data. Files are read in your browser with SheetJS and never leave your device.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an Excel file to CSV?
Open the .xlsx or .xls file here, choose the sheet, keep CSV (comma) selected and download. No Excel installation is needed.
How do I convert all sheets?
CSV holds one sheet at a time. Choose each sheet in turn and download it.
When should I use semicolon CSV?
In countries where the comma is the decimal separator – much of Europe and South America – Excel expects semicolons between columns. Choose CSV (semicolon, European Excel) so the file opens in the right columns.
Are formulas kept?
CSV stores values, not formulas. The last calculated result of each formula is exported.
Why do special characters look wrong when I open the CSV in Excel?
CSV files from this tool are saved as UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, which Excel uses to detect the encoding, so accents and non-Latin scripts normally display correctly. If an old app still shows garbled text, import with Data → From Text/CSV and choose UTF-8.
Is my spreadsheet uploaded?
No. SheetJS opens the file in your browser and nothing is uploaded.