What is XLS? Easily explained

The term "XLS" is often used in connection with Excel and Office. In this practical tip, we explain what the name is all about and where you can find the abbreviation everywhere.

XLS: The outdated Excel format

• "XLS" is used in the Microsoft Office suite as the file extension for "Excel Spreadsheets". Save your Excel files in this format so that you can open them again later using the Office tool.
• However, the format was replaced by "XLSX" from Office 2007 and is therefore out of date. In the Office versions up to 2003 the format was still standard and you could save every Excel document in it.
• Microsoft itself has also discontinued support for Outlook 2013. The file format is no longer very compatible and you should better use the successor "XLSX".
• If you only have an old version of Office, you can of course save a document under a newer version than "XLS" and open it again in the old programs. In the screenshot you can see the extension under Office 2013.

In the next practical tip we will show you how you can convert XLS to CSV format.