List of supported file formats in Excel 2002

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Summary

Microsoft Excel supports opening and saving files in many different file formats. This article contains a list of these file formats, including version numbers where applicable.

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More information

File Formats for Earlier Versions of Excel

The following table lists the supported file formats in which the entire Excel workbook is saved.

                                              File name extension
   Formats that save the entire workbook      (Windows only)
   -------------------------------------------------------------

   Microsoft Excel Workbook                   .xls
   (Microsoft Excel 97-2002)

   Template (Microsoft Excel 97-2002)         .xlt

   Workspace (Microsoft Excel 97-2002)        .xlw

   Microsoft Excel 97-2002 & 5.0/95 Workbook  .xls

   Microsoft Excel 5.0/95 Workbook            .xls

   Microsoft Excel version 4.0 workbook       .xlw
   (saves only worksheets, chart sheets,
   and macro sheets)

   HTML                                       .htm
   
   Web Archive                                .mht

   XML Spreadsheet                            .xml

The following table lists the supported file formats in which only the active Excel worksheet is saved.

                                             File name extension
   Formats that save only the active sheet   (Windows only)
   -------------------------------------------------------------

   Microsoft Excel version 4.0 sheet         .xls, .xlc, .xlm
   formats (including Microsoft Excel
   macro or international macro sheets)

   Microsoft Excel version 3.0 formats       .xls, .xlc, .xlm

   Microsoft Excel version 2.x formats       .xls, .xlc, .xlm

File Formats for Lotus 1-2-3

When you open a .wk1 or .wk3 file in Microsoft Excel, Excel applies the formatting in the associated .fmt, .fm3, or .all file. If you save a Lotus 1-2-3 file in Microsoft Excel format, Microsoft Excel saves the spreadsheet data and formatting in a single workbook file.

The WK1 (1-2-3) (*.wk1) and WK3 (1-2-3) (*.wk3) formats save only limited worksheet formatting. To save a Microsoft Excel workbook in Lotus 1-2-3 format and retain borders, cell shading, fonts, and other formatting, select a Lotus 1-2-3 file format that stores formatting in a separate .fmt, .fm3, or .all file.

The following table lists supported Lotus 1-2-3 file formats.

   Lotus 1-2-3 file format     Version         Note
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   WK4 (*.wk4)                 4.0             Saves the entire workbook

   WK3 (*.wk3)                 3.x and         Saves only worksheets and
   WK3, FM3 (*.wk3)            Lotus 1-2-3/W   chart sheets

   WK1 (*.wk1)                 2.x             Saves only the active sheet

   WK1 (FMT) (*.wk1)           1.0 and 1.0A    Saves only the active sheet
   WK1 (ALL) (*.wk1)
   WKS (FMT) (*.wks)

   .PIC (when included in      3.x and Lotus   Open but cannot save this
   an .All file)               1-2-3/W         format

Text File Formats

The following table lists the text formats that you can use to open and save files.

   Text file format                           Note
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Formatted Text (Space-delimited) (*.prn)   Lotus space-delimited format.
                                              Saves only the active sheet.

   Text (Tab-delimited) (*.txt) (Windows)     If you are saving a workbook
   Text (Macintosh)                           as a tab-delimited or comma-
   Text (OS/2 or MS-DOS)                      delimited text file for use
   CSV (comma delimited)(*.csv) (Windows)     under another operating
   CSV (Macintosh)                            system, select the
   CSV (OS/2 or MS-DOS)                       appropriate converter to
                                              ensure that tab characters,
                                              line breaks, and other
                                              characters are interpreted
                                              correctly. Saves only the
                                              active sheet.

   DIF (data interchange format) (*.dif)      Saves only the active sheet.
   SYLK (symbolic link format) (*.slk)        Saves only the active sheet.

IMPORTANT: If you save a workbook in text format, all formatting is lost.

Other Spreadsheet Programs and Databases

The following table lists the other file formats that Excel 2002 also supports.

 Format          Program                   Notes
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   DBF 2, DBF 3,   dBASE II, III,            Opens and saves only the
   DBF 4 (*.dbf)   and IV                    active worksheet

   WQ1 (*.wq1)     Quattro Pro for           Opens and saves only the
                   MS-DOS                    active worksheet

      .wb3            Quattro Pro               Opens only and Converter
                   version 7.0 for Windows   required**

   .wks            Microsoft Works version   Opens only Microsoft Works
                   2.0 for Windows or        2.0 for Windows and
                   Microsoft Works for       Microsoft Works for MS-DOS
                   MS-DOS.                   spreadsheets.

**Download the Quattro Pro 7.0 Converter available from Microsoft at the Tools on the Web Web site. Quattro Pro for Windows 8.0 wb3 files are not supported.

NOTE: Although Excel supports these file formats, certain features may not be available when you open or save files in these formats; for example, some file formats do not support embedded charts or formatted text.

Clipboard Formats

You can paste the following Clipboard formats into Microsoft Excel by using the Paste or Paste Special command on the Edit menu.

   Format                       Notes
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Picture                      Picture (Windows enhanced metafile, EMF)
                                Note: If you copy a Windows metafile (WMF)
                                picture from another program, Excel pastes 
                                the item as an EMF picture.

   Bitmap                       Bitmap (BMP)

   Microsoft Excel formats      Binary file formats for Excel versions 3.0,
                                4.0, 5.0/95, and 97-2002 (BIFF, BIFF3,
                                BIFF4, BIFF5, and BIFF8)

   Symbolic link format         SYLK

   Lotus 1-2-3 Release 2.x      .wk1
   format

   Data interchange format      .dif

   Text (tab-delimited) format  Text

   Comma-separated values       .csv

   Formatted text (only from    Rich Text Format (RTF)
   Microsoft Excel)

   Embedded Object              Excel objects, objects from properly
                                registered programs that support OLE 2.0
                                (OwnerLink), and Picture or another
                                presentation format

   Linked object                OwnerLink, ObjectLink, Link, Picture, or
                                other format

   Office drawing object        Office drawing object format or picture
                                (Windows enhanced metafile format, EMF)

   Text                         Display Text, OEM Text

   HTML                         .htm

                                NOTE: when you copy text from another
                                program, Excel pastes the text in HTML
                                format, regardless of the format of the
                                original text.

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References

For more information about supported file formats in Microsoft Excel 2002, click Microsoft Excel Help on the Help menu, type file format converters in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

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