Extract text from Excel spreadsheets (XL)
To convert XL spreadsheets to another format, you need Microsoft Excel or other Spreadsheet software.
To convert other file formats to the "Legacy Spreadsheet File" file type, you need software like Microsoft Excel or a similar tool.
The .XL extension usually refers to an older or alternative format of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. While modern Excel files use XLSX (based on ZIP and XML) or legacy XLS (based on the Microsoft Compound File Binary Format), .XL files are often older Excel 95 workbooks or temporary spreadsheet files. You can open these with Microsoft Excel or open-source alternatives like LibreOffice Calc.
In other contexts, a .XL file is an Absolute Database file used by the ComponentAce Absolute Database engine for Delphi developers, or an ArchiveXL mod manifest file used to add localized text and items to the game Cyberpunk 2077.
The main disadvantage of the .XL format is its extreme ambiguity and reliance on specific proprietary software. Legacy Excel formats are prone to compatibility issues and trigger security warnings in modern environments. Absolute Database files require specialized Delphi components to read, making them completely inaccessible to standard database tools. ArchiveXL mod files are configuration data but require a specific game engine loader to interpret correctly.
For Excel data, the best conversion targets are XLSX for modern spreadsheet features, CSV for universal tabular data compatibility, or PDF for static sharing. Mod manifests can often be treated as plain text.
Because .XL can represent highly distinct proprietary formats - from compiled binary databases to legacy spreadsheets - it is notoriously difficult to open without the exact original software. Standard online converters almost always fail because they misidentify the file type. Even if the format is closed, our analysis detects supported embedded formats or raw text to help you extract your data safely.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XLS, XLSX, PDF, JPEG, PXL, XLX and WORKBOOK files.
If you want to convert XL file to XLS, XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, ODS, CSV, TSV, TAB, DIF, SLK, WK1 or WK3, you can use Microsoft Excel or similar software from the "Spreadsheet Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert WQ1, XLSM, NOTES, QPW, WK3, WB2, WKS, XLSB, 123, XLS, WB1 or XLSX files to XL, try Microsoft Excel or another comparable tool in the "Spreadsheet Data Storage" 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 XL converter.