Knowing now that Google Sheets is a powerful, portable, and, most of all, free alternative to Microsoft Excel, the remaining question is: how can you convert Excel files to Google Sheets? Google Sheets is an online format by Google. While you cannot download it as a file with a unique extension, here are two ways you can open Excel files in Google Sheets.
Method 1: Upload and Open
This method, well, is pretty simple. Google Sheets can automatically read Microsoft Excel files! You have the option to upload the original file to your Google Drive, and once you open it, Google Sheets will load it on the platform.
Method 2: Import the File on A Blank Spreadsheet
If you don’t want to upload the entire file, you can opt to import it to a blank spreadsheet. Click File then Import:
A window will appear, giving us options for importing spreadsheets. Click the Upload tab.
The Upload tab allows us to add the file either by dragging it to the space above or by clicking on the Select a file from your device. Choose whichever option is applicable.
Google Sheets will read the file and ask you if you want to Create a new spreadsheet, Insert new sheet(s) to the open spreadsheet, or Replace the spreadsheet. Choose whichever option you want. For this case, the Replace spreadsheet is selected. Click Import data.
The data values are now added to the spreadsheet! The conditional formatting and formulas are also preserved.
How to Google Sheets to other Spreadsheet Formats
Sometimes we need to convert or export our Google Sheets to other spreadsheet formats for offline use. To do so, simply click the File option on the main menu, and then click Download on the drop-down menu.
You can export the spreadsheet workbook as Microsoft Excel file (.xslx), OpenDocument spreadsheet file (.ods), PDF document (.pdf), web page (zip file containing html files), CSV file (.csv) and tab-separated values file (.tsv). For the CSV and TSV files, only the current sheet will be exported. Your browser will then download the file after choosing the file format.
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