About the Excel Viewer
You got an Excel file — a price list, a timetable, a report — and there is no Excel on this computer or phone. This free Excel viewer opens it in your browser and shows it the way Excel does: a grid with column letters and row numbers, and every sheet as a tab.
Click a cell to see its full value and its formula. Search the whole sheet, copy it, or print it. Big files with thousands of rows scroll smoothly.
The file is never uploaded. It is read on your own device.
Features
- XLSX, XLS, XLSM, XLSB and ODS — new and old Excel files, and LibreOffice sheets
- Every sheet as a tab — hidden sheets are marked
- Values as Excel shows them — dates, money and percentages in the file's own format
- Formulas — click a cell to see the formula behind the number
- Merged cells and frozen header — merged areas are drawn merged; the header rows stay in view
- Find — every match in the sheet, one by one, and how many are on the other sheets
- Copy and print — copy a cell or the whole sheet, print the sheet
- Fast with big files — only the rows on the screen are drawn
Why an Excel file will not open
An .xlsx file is a ZIP package of XML files; an old .xls file is a binary format from Excel 97–2003. Without Microsoft Office, Windows and most phones have no program that understands them. The file shows as an unknown icon, or opens as a mess of symbols in a text editor.
This viewer reads both formats with a spreadsheet engine that runs inside your browser.
What you see, and what you do not
| In the file | Shown here? |
|---|---|
| Numbers, text, dates, times | Yes, formatted as in Excel |
| Formula results | Yes — the value saved in the file |
| The formula itself | Yes, when you click the cell |
| Merged cells | Yes |
| Frozen rows and columns | Yes, as set in the file (else the top row) |
| All sheets, also hidden ones | Yes, as tabs |
| Colours, borders, fonts | No |
| Charts, pictures, shapes | No |
| Macros (.xlsm) | Never run — only the cells are shown |
Formulas are not calculated here. The viewer shows the result that Excel saved in the file. A file made by another program sometimes has formulas with no saved result; those cells show the formula in grey, and the line under the grid counts them.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open an XLSX file without Excel?
Drop the file on the box at the top of this page. Each sheet becomes a tab and you can scroll, search, copy and print. You do not need Excel, an account or an app.
Does it open old .xls files?
Yes. Excel 97–2003 .xls files open the same way as .xlsx. So do .xlsm (with macros — the macros never run), .xlsb and LibreOffice .ods files.
Can I edit the cells?
No, this is a viewer. To change the file you need a spreadsheet program, such as LibreOffice Calc (free), Google Sheets or Excel. Use Copy sheet and paste the cells into one of them.
Why does a cell show a formula in grey?
The file has a formula in that cell but no saved result. That happens with files made by programs, not by Excel. Excel would calculate it when it opens the file; this viewer does not calculate formulas.
Is my spreadsheet uploaded?
No. The file is read by your own browser and is never sent to a server.
Can it open Apple Numbers files?
It tries. The spreadsheet engine can read the tables of some .numbers files. If yours does not open, use Pages to PDF to see the preview picture inside it.
Related tools
- Excel to PDF — print-ready PDF of a sheet, every row
- Excel to CSV — save a sheet as CSV text
- CSV Viewer — sort and filter a CSV file
- Compare Two Excel Files — see what changed between two versions
- DOCX Viewer — open a Word file without Word
How to use it
- Drop your Excel file on the box, or click it to choose the file
- Click a tab to switch sheets
- Click a cell to see its full value and formula; use the arrow keys to move
- Type in Find and press Enter to jump from match to match
- Copy sheet puts the cells on your clipboard; Print prints the sheet
- For a PDF, click Save as PDF and drop the same file on Excel to PDF
