Convert Excel XLSX To XLS

excelThe XLSX format is a Microsoft Excel 2007 format that is not compatible with older versions of the said application. Luckily, there are alternatives to converting a 2007 Excel document to an older version of it. I prefer the online way but there is also a compatibility pack for MS Office that does the trick. The format is currently not supported by GMail attachment viewer or any of the online office suites like Google Docs so you have no choice but to have it converted to an old format else you will not be able to view it.

However, you can easily convert .xlsx spreadsheet to the traditional .xls format using the Microsoft Office compatibility Pack available here. This will help you open, edit, and save .xlsx files in Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003. More details on Office 2007 FAQ.

Alternatively, you can convert .xlsx to .xls or other text formats online using the Zamzar.com service here. Unlike the Microsoft compatibility pack, the Zamzar .xlsx to .xls conversion services will not require a copy of Microsoft Office on your computer.

And if you have OpenOffice, Zamzar can also convert the XLSX file to OpenDocument spreadsheet format.

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37 Responses to “Convert Excel XLSX To XLS”

  1. 1
    Convert Excel XLSX To XLS Says:

    [...] Maulana Sheikh Nazim al-Haqqani wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptI prefer the online way but there is also a compatibility pack for MS Office that does the trick. The format is currently not supported by GMail attachment viewer or any of the online office suites like Google Docs so you have no choice … [...]

  2. 2
    Arunkumar Says:

    i am having set of xlsx and pptx files, need to convert those to xls and ppt. but the command line is not doing any help.

    for the the xlsx i tried

    c:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12>excelcnv -oice c:\xl.xlsx c:\xl.xls

    it gives out a xl.xls but its just the copy of my input xlsx file when i open that file in the office 2000 it gives error. i just renamed the xl.xls to xl.zip, now i can see the xmls inside. so it just created the copy of my input file and renamed it to xl.xls.

    Any help on this highly appreciated.

    Thanks

  3. 3
    tech Says:

    why dont you try using zamzar website service to convert xlsx to xls as stated in my post. the link is there :)

  4. 4
    Shreekant Says:

    I came across an amazing site which converts xlsx to xlx in seconds and its free, http://www.sheetconvert.com

    Do try that

  5. 5
    tech Says:

    cool. thanks for that

  6. 6
    Shreekant Says:

    Anytime…

  7. 7
    Nisha Says:

    I tried http://www.sheetconvert.com

    Its really amazing

    Thanks a lot

    -Nisha

  8. 8
    Sno2005 Says:

    http://www.sheetconvert.com does not work

  9. 9
    tech Says:

    i guess this will do for now lolz. or, if we’re too lazy we can always use google’s free online service. i think it can also do that

  10. 10
    Shreekant Says:

    Huh, I keep using http://www.sheetconvert.com everyday, no problem whatsoever, try checking now

  11. 11
    Nisha Says:

    Hi, http://www.sheetconvert.com does work for me
    :)

  12. 12
    matteo Says:

    sheetconverter seems to be broken.

    Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 16777216 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 65 bytes) in /var/www/sheetconvert/Classes/PHPExcel/Worksheet.php on line 966

  13. 13
    tech Says:

    that is one mighty big file. it may have a limit. you could email them and ask

  14. 14
    Nadira Says:

    Thanks a lot Shreekant…U have made my work simple…

    Thanks buddy

  15. 15
    Shreekant Says:

    Anytime Nadira:)

  16. 16
    Don Says:

    Hey thanks buddy. This really helped me out a lot! I needed to send information to some co-workers but the compatibility wasn’t the same. Thanks for bridging the gap.

  17. 17
    tech Says:

    hey my pleasure dude … glad it helped ya in big ways

  18. 18
    Josie Says:

    Thanks very much for the conversion, it was a lifesaver. Makes life so much easier. It has helped many people in AZ to get their results for a big race much faster. js

  19. 19
    tech Says:

    great to hear that josie :)

  20. 20
    Alex Says:

    I installed the compatibility pack but it doesn’t work in converting to the xls file. Not helpful.

  21. 21
    tech Says:

    if it works for others, there is no reason why it should not work for you. you must be using something different

  22. 22
    Michael Says:

    There are some online converters like http://xlsx.oconvert.com

  23. 23
    Meg Says:

    This post was super helpful. My past experience with Zamzar wasn’t very favorable, so I went with the MS compatibility pack. The download took seconds, and when I opened the .xlsx file it took just seconds more to convert. Usually I try to remember to save my 2007 files (at work) in compatability mode BEFORE I plan to access them from home - but this is just as quick and I dont have to worry about forgetting. Thanks!

  24. 24
    tech Says:

    you are welcome. please do not forget to rate the post and subscribe to my feeds for other tips and tricks. thanks

  25. 25
    Deborah Says:

    Couldn’t get http://xlsx.oconvert.com/ to work! Just gave me the .xlsx file I was trying to convert to .xls in the same unreadable/incompatible format as when I tried to open it in Excel. What did I do wrong?

  26. 26
    tech Says:

    perhaps something is wrong with your xlsx file? i never had problems with mine

  27. 27
    Rick Says:

    My boss dosent have XLXS and need to convert mine back xls.Ive got vista and he doesnt.What do i do?

  28. 28
    tech Says:

    i dont understand. your boss needs XLSX converted to XLS?

    this post tells you exactly how to do it. there is a link there of a website that can convert XLSX to XLS

  29. 29
    Chacalom Says:

    How do you use it in c# or visual basic for example to convert xlsx to xls?

  30. 30
    tech Says:

    sorry. i dont know how ;)

  31. 31
    Abby Pharis Says:

    much appreciated lots, I must say your website is excellent!

  32. 32
    ovi Says:

    very much appreciated! briliant idea! thanks!

  33. 33
    tech Says:

    thanks!

  34. 34
    Dan Rufo Says:

    what about office 97 it still works great

  35. 35
    tech Says:

    this is for those without ms office ;)

  36. 36
    Chand Sohail Says:

    What Office 97 is better than old version?

  37. 37
    tech Says:

    @chand: i’d think that nobody uses versions lower than office 97 these days …

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