Does this produce a real binary .xls file?

No. It produces an HTML table saved with a .xls extension, a well-known technique Excel itself supports: Excel detects the HTML content and opens it as a spreadsheet regardless of the extension's usual binary format. This project has no binary spreadsheet-writing library, so this is the client-side-friendly alternative.

Will the downloaded file open correctly in Excel?

Yes, Excel recognizes HTML content inside a file with a .xls extension and opens it as a normal spreadsheet, with your data laid out in rows and columns.

What about other spreadsheet apps, like Google Sheets or Numbers?

Google Sheets and most modern spreadsheet apps also open HTML tables correctly regardless of file extension, but behavior can vary; if you hit issues, try renaming the download to .html first, or use the XML to CSV Converter instead for maximum compatibility.

How are rows detected?

The same way as the XML to CSV Converter: repeated sibling elements, either directly under the root or one level under a single wrapping element, become rows.

XML to XLS Converter - Convert Online

Overview

Introduction

Sometimes you just need XML data to open directly in Excel with minimal friction.

This tool produces a file Excel already knows how to open.

What Is XML to XLS Converter?

A converter that detects row-shaped structure in XML and flattens each row's fields into columns.

It renders an HTML <table> document saved with a .xls extension, a technique Excel has supported for opening spreadsheet-shaped HTML for a long time.

How XML to XLS Converter Works

XML is converted to JSON, and repeated row elements are unwrapped the same way the XML to CSV Converter does it.

Each row is flattened into columns, and an HTML table with those columns and rows is generated and offered as a .xls download.

When To Use XML to XLS Converter

Use it when you want XML data to open directly in Excel without an intermediate CSV import step.

It's also useful for producing a quick spreadsheet view of an XML export for a non-technical colleague.

Often used alongside XLS to XML Converter, XML to CSV Converter and XML to Table Converter.

Features

Advantages

Opens directly in Excel with no import dialog.
No binary spreadsheet library needed, everything happens client-side with plain HTML.
Uses the same row-detection as the XML to CSV Converter.

Limitations

This is not a real binary .xls file, just HTML that Excel recognizes; some strict spreadsheet tools might not accept it. Use XML to CSV Converter for a more universally compatible format.
Very large row counts can make the HTML table slow to render inside a spreadsheet app compared to a native binary format.

Examples

Converting repeated rows

Input

<rows><row><id>1</id><name>Ada</name></row><row><id>2</id><name>Alan</name></row></rows>

Output

An HTML table with columns id/name and two data rows, saved as a .xls file that opens directly in Excel.

Each repeated <row> element becomes a spreadsheet row.

Best Practices & Notes

Best Practices

If a spreadsheet tool rejects the .xls file, try renaming the download's extension to .html, since the content genuinely is HTML.
Use XML to CSV Converter instead when you need maximum compatibility across spreadsheet tools.
Preview the shape first with XML to a Table if you're unsure how your document's rows and columns will come out.

Developer Notes

Row/column flattening reuses the same `extractXmlRows` helper as `xml-to-csv-converter.ts`, only the rendering target (an HTML `<table>` document vs. CSV text) differs.

XML to XLS Converter Use Cases

Getting XML data to open directly in Excel without a CSV import step
Producing a quick spreadsheet view of an XML export for a non-technical colleague
Sharing tabular data extracted from XML as a familiar spreadsheet file

Common Mistakes

Expecting a true binary .xls file, this is HTML that Excel recognizes, not the binary spreadsheet format.
Assuming every spreadsheet app handles this trick identically, behavior can vary outside of Excel.

Tips

Use XML to CSV Converter instead if you need maximum compatibility across spreadsheet tools.
Check the FAQ above if the output doesn't look like what you expected.

XML to XLS Converter