How to Open Excel Files Without Excel (XLSX, XLS, CSV)

To open an Excel file without Excel, use the free Excel Viewer: drop your .xlsx, .xls, .ods or .csv file onto the page and every sheet appears as a table, with tabs to switch sheets. You can search, sort, see a column's totals and export the sheet as CSV. It runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded.

Which spreadsheet files does it open?

Format	Made by
.xlsx, .xlsm	Excel 2007 and later (xlsm has macros; they don't run)
.xls	Excel 97–2003
.xlsb	Excel binary workbooks
.ods	LibreOffice and OpenOffice Calc
.csv, .tsv	Exports from banks, shops, CRMs and databases

Files up to 50 MB work on a computer; phones with little memory have a lower limit.

How do I view a spreadsheet step by step?

1. Open the Excel Viewer.
2. Drop the file onto the box, or click to choose it.
3. Switch sheets with the tabs above the table.
4. Tick First row is headings if the top row holds column names, so it stays on top when sorting.
5. Tick Freeze first column to keep names visible while scrolling sideways.
6. Large sheets show the first 500 rows; press Show more or Show all to see the rest.

How do I find, sort and total data?

• Find in sheet: type in the search box to highlight matching cells, then jump between them with the arrows.
• Sort: press the small arrow next to a column letter. Press again for descending, a third time to go back to the original order. Sorting only changes the view, never your file.
• Column statistics: press a column letter to see the count, sum, average, minimum and maximum of its numbers.
• Formulas: click a cell to see its formula in the formula bar above the table; the cell shows the calculated value.

How do I export or copy the data?

• CSV downloads the current sheet as a CSV file that opens in any spreadsheet program. Accented letters are kept.
• .xlsx saves the whole workbook as a fresh Excel file, useful for turning a CSV or .ods into .xlsx.
• Copy table puts the visible rows on your clipboard as a table, so they paste neatly into Excel, Google Sheets, Word or an email.

When is a viewer better than opening the file in an app?

• You're on a phone, a work computer without Office, or a Chromebook.
• Someone emailed a spreadsheet and you only need to check it.
• The file comes from an unknown source and you'd rather not open it in a full Office app.
• You need a quick total or search across a large export.

What isn't supported?

• Editing cells and saving changes back to the file.
• Running macros in .xlsm files (they're ignored, which is also safer).
• Charts and pictures inside the workbook.
• Password-protected workbooks: remove the password first.
• Very wide sheets: only the first 200 columns are shown; export CSV to get all of them.

Troubleshooting

• "This file can't be read": the file may be damaged or not really a spreadsheet. Download it again.
• Dates look like numbers: some CSV exports store dates as plain numbers. Check the original app's export settings.
• Strange characters in a CSV: the CSV may use an old text encoding. Re-export it as UTF-8 if you can.

Is it safe for confidential spreadsheets?

Yes. The workbook is read by code running in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. Payroll, customer lists and bank exports stay on your device.

Open your file in the Excel Viewer. For Word documents, use the Word Viewer and see how to open DOCX files without Word. Need a PDF? Try Word to PDF.