This document describes the structure of the Excel Binary File Format (.xls), the binary file format utilized by Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft Excel 97, Microsoft Excel 2000, and Microsoft Excel 2002.
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Date: 16 May 2023
10.7 Protocol Revision
Minor Revision Class
Date: 2/21/2023; Class of Revision: Minor; Protocol Revision: 10.6
Let’s examine the distinctions between XLS and Excel files.
Spreadsheets created in Microsoft Excel, which is a component of the Microsoft Office Suite, are saved with the XLSX and XLS file extensions. Data such as numbers, formulas, text, and drawing shapes are stored in XLSX/XLS files.
Introduced with Office 2007, XLSX is a component of the Microsoft Office Open XML specification, also referred to as OOXML or OpenXML. A compressed file format based on XML is called XLSX. When creating a new spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel 2007 and later versions, the default file format is XLSX.
The default format for Office 97–2003 is XLS. Microsoft’s exclusive Binary Interchange File Format is called XLS. Additionally supported are the loading and saving of legacy XLS files. All versions of the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format, from Office 97 XLS to the most recent XLSX, are supported by LEADTOOLS.
Now let’s examine the distinction between XLS and .XLSX.
Excel spreadsheets are frequently utilized for data organization, analysis, manipulation, and visualization, particularly in educational and corporate settings as well as for private home usage. When Microsoft Excel was first released in 1987, the XLS format was also unveiled.
Microsoft Office 2007 included the letter "x" to a number of its file extensions in an update. These consist of ‘ppt’ for PowerPoint files and ‘docx’ for Word files. Additionally, its Excel files were upgraded from "xls" to "xlsx." Because XLSX can run on software other than Windows, including MacOS, Android, and iOS devices, it is recognized to be more versatile than other operating systems.
Excel operations beyond the basic data provided by XLS alone are also included in XLSX. These consist of more complex charts, formats, and formulas. Microsoft Excel’s XLS and XLSX files have similar functionality and can be used for financial applications like storing data for financial reports and using mathematical models.
XML files make use of .zip compression methods to enhance the device’s data storage capabilities. Because of this, XLSX is intended to have a smaller file size than XLS files with its latest updates.
Let’s examine what Excel is short for, XLS.
The acronym XLS stands for "Excel spreadsheet." Unlike many other file extensions, it is not an acronym or initialism even though it consists of three capital letters. Every single letter does not represent a specific word.
The XLS format was king. However, everything good has to end. This was partially the case for XLS files when Microsoft introduced Office 2007 along with Windows Vista, at a time when almost a billion people used personal computers in their daily lives.
Even though they are currently retired, from 1985 until 2007, the primary file extension for Excel workbooks was the XLS file format. Consequently, you may have used an XLS file for anything you created using Excel.
The primary flaw in the Microsoft essentially discontinued the XLS format in 2007 and replaced it with .XLSX.
Therefore, you must use the Microsoft Compatibility Checker to determine whether an older .XLS file you’re working with in Excel is compatible.
Microsoft took the place of Excel with Office 2007 uses the XLS format with XML as the preferred file format. You can still access your, though .XLS files in more recent Excel versions because of backward compatibility.
To put it simply, an XLS file in a more recent version of Excel is the original workbook file extension for Microsoft Excel. It established the appearance of an Excel’s formatting. XLS is replaced by XLSX. The XLSX format, which debuted with Office 2007, is based on XML. Later on, it developed to include XLSM, a macro-enabled version.