Excel Viewer (XLSX / XLS)
Open an Excel workbook in your browser, even if you do not have Excel installed. Switch between sheets, sort and filter rows, click any cell to see its address, raw value and formula, and export a sheet to CSV. The file never leaves your device.
How to use the Excel Viewer (XLSX / XLS)
- Open a workbook. Drop an .xlsx, .xls, .xlsm, .ods or .csv file on the box, or click to choose one.
- Pick a sheet with the tabs above the grid. The first worksheet opens automatically.
- Inspect cells. Click any cell to show its address, value and formula in the bar above the grid.
- Sort and filter. Click a column letter to sort, type in the filter boxes, or search all cells at once. Tick First row is header to keep the titles on top.
- Export. Press Export CSV to download the current sheet as shown, or Copy sheet to paste it elsewhere.
Spreadsheet file formats you can open
| Extension | Format | Created by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| .xlsx | Office Open XML workbook (a ZIP of XML files) | Excel 2007 and later, Google Sheets, Numbers | The default Excel format today |
| .xlsm | Office Open XML with macros | Excel | Macros (VBA) are never run by the viewer |
| .xlsb | Excel binary workbook | Excel | Smaller and faster for very large sheets |
| .xls | BIFF8 binary workbook | Excel 97–2003 | Limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns |
| .ods | OpenDocument Spreadsheet | LibreOffice, OpenOffice | ISO/IEC 26300 open standard |
| .csv | Comma-separated values | Almost every program | A single sheet of plain text without formulas or formatting |
Modern .xlsx sheets can hold up to 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns (A to XFD). The viewer draws 200 rows at a time, so long sheets stay responsive.
How column letters work
Excel names columns with a base-26 style system that has no zero: A to Z are columns 1 to 26, then AA (27), AB (28) … AZ (52), BA (53), up to ZZ (702), then AAA (703). The last column in current Excel is XFD, column 16,384. A cell address joins the column letters and the row number, so C7 is the third column of row 7.
| Column number | 1 | 26 | 27 | 52 | 53 | 702 | 703 | 16,384 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letters | A | Z | AA | AZ | BA | ZZ | AAA | XFD |
Values, formats and formulas
An Excel cell stores up to three things, and the cell details line under the formula bar shows each of them:
- The raw value: a number, text, TRUE/FALSE, an error such as
#DIV/0!, or a date. Excel stores dates as serial numbers (days since 1900), which is why a date column can sort correctly as numbers. - The displayed text: the value after its number format, such as
20.95%for 0.2095 or12,400for 12400. The grid and the CSV export use this text, matching what you see in Excel. - The formula, if any, for example
=SUM(B2:E2). The value next to it is the result Excel calculated when the file was last saved; the viewer does not recalculate it. Cells with formulas have a faint green tint in the grid.
Merged cells are shown as their top-left cell, and charts, images, comments and conditional formatting are not displayed. Hidden sheets are listed with a "(hidden)" label so nothing in the workbook is missed.
Frequently asked questions
How can I open an Excel file without Excel?
Drop the file on this page. The workbook is read by SheetJS, an open-source spreadsheet library, directly in your browser, and every sheet is shown as a grid. You do not need Microsoft Excel, an account or an upload.
Which file types are supported?
Excel 2007+ workbooks (.xlsx, macro-enabled .xlsm and binary .xlsb), older Excel 97-2003 files (.xls), OpenDocument spreadsheets (.ods) and plain .csv files.
Can I see the formulas?
Yes. Click a cell that contains a formula and the formula bar shows it (for example =SUM(B2:B9)) next to the value that Excel last calculated and saved in the file. Formulas are not recalculated by the viewer.
Why is a value different from what I see in Excel?
The grid shows the formatted text saved in the file where available. A few custom number formats, conditional formatting and charts are not reproduced. Click the cell to see the raw stored value.
Can it open password-protected workbooks?
No. Encrypted workbooks cannot be read without the password, and the viewer shows an error. Open the file in Excel, remove the password, save it and try again.
Is my spreadsheet uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read with JavaScript on your device. Only the SheetJS library itself is downloaded from a public CDN the first time you open a file.
Can I edit the file?
This is a viewer: you can sort, filter and export to CSV, but the original workbook is not changed. Use the exported CSV in any spreadsheet app if you need to edit the data.