Extract text from Works spreadsheets (WLS)
To convert WLS spreadsheets to another format, you need Microsoft Works or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Multi-format Data File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Works or a similar tool.
A .wls file serves several distinct functions depending on the software that created it. Most frequently, it stores Spectrophotometer wavelength scan data generated by laboratory instruments and software like UVWinLab or Scinco M.Wave. Another common historical use is as a legacy Microsoft Works Spreadsheet or 602 Spreadsheet, relying on the older Microsoft Compound file structure. Finally, developers and mathematicians use .wls for Wolfram Language shell scripts.
The massive disadvantage of the .wls format is its extreme fragmentation. Spectrophotometer files are proprietary binary blobs locked into niche scientific software; you cannot open them natively in modern data analysis tools. Microsoft Works spreadsheets are completely obsolete, and most modern office suites drop support for them, forcing users to hunt for legacy tools just to read historical data. Wolfram scripts are text-based but require specialized engines to execute.
To make this data usable, conversion is necessary. Lab data and legacy spreadsheets should ideally be converted to universal formats like CSV or XLSX. Wolfram scripts can simply be saved as TXT or M files to preserve the code.
Because .wls files come from completely different ecosystems - ranging from laboratory hardware to obsolete 90s software - standard online converters almost always fail or corrupt the data. If our analysis detects a recognized underlying text or Microsoft Compound format, we will help you extract the data safely.
Convert.Guru analyzes your WLS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DOCUMENT FROM BS, QUA, TXT, INP, FP3, PDO, MP4, SLDPRT, JPG, AAE, BIN and CRDOWNLOAD files.
If you want to convert WLS file to BASE64, HEX, BIN, ENC, CRYPT, AES, DES, RSA, PGP, GPG, ASC or KEY, you can use Microsoft Works or similar software from the "Scientific Data & Spreadsheets" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert CER, BIN, PEM, DER, KEY, P7S, PFX, ENC, P12, BASE64, P7B or HEX files to WLS, try Microsoft Works or another comparable tool in the "Scientific Data & Spreadsheets" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our WLS converter.