XL2000: List of Supported File Formats in Microsoft Excel 2000
ID: Q179886
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The information in this article applies to:
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.
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 97-2000)
Template (Microsoft Excel 97-2000) .xlt
Workspace (Microsoft Excel 97-2000) .xlw
Microsoft Excel 97-2000 & 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)
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 2000 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
.wb1 Quattro Pro Opens only
version 5.0 for Windows
.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.
Note that 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 97-2000 (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.
Additional query words:
XL2000
Keywords : xlloadsave
Version : WINDOWS:2000
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto