Google Sheets is fully compatible with the Excel .xls and .xlsx formats which gives you the advantage to import and open the Excel file in it.
Sometimes you get the Excel file but you do not have Microsoft software installed on your system to open it or you prefer to work in Google Sheets, that time you can import and open that file online within Google Sheets without affecting any data and formulas in that.
Once the file gets imported into Google Sheets, you just have to give access to the others you want and share only the file link with them to work on that sheet simultaneously.
In this tutorial, you will get to know how to open Excel files within Google Sheets.
Steps to Import and open an Excel file in Google Sheets
- First, if you have the Google Sheets already opened, click on the “File” tab, and then click on “Import”.
- Otherwise, open the browser and enter the “docs.google.com/spreadsheets” in the URL bar and then click on the folder icon to choose and open the file within Google Sheets.
- After that, click on the “My Drive” tab if you have that Excel file already added to your Google Drive, and then choose and open it.
- Otherwise, click on the “Upload” tab to import the Excel file from your local system and then click on the “Browse” button.
- Now, choose the Excel file which you want to open in the Google Sheets and then click on “Open”.
- Here, selects the option “Create new spreadsheet” if you want to insert the Excel file as a new Google spreadsheet or “Insert new sheets” if want to import as new sheets only within the current Google spreadsheet.
- Once done, click on “Import data” and the Excel will get imported into the Google Sheets and get saved into your Google Drive.
- In the end, click on “Open now” to open the imported Excel file.
Here, you can see the “QTR_Sales” Excel file opened within the Google Sheets.
Import Excel file Attachment within Google Sheets from Gmail
- Open the email that has an Excel file attached and click on the “Edit” icon on the attachment and the Excel file will get added to your “Google Drive”.
- After that, go to your Google Sheets and then click on the “File” tab, and then the “Open” option.
- Now, under the “My Drive” tab, you will find that email attachment Excel file added in the Excel format and Google Sheets format.
- Just click on the Google Sheets format file and then click on “Open” and it will get opened in the Google Sheets.
Open Excel File Automatically within Google Sheets
- First, in your Chrome browser, download the Google Chrome Plugin “Office Editing for Docs, Sheets & Slides” from the Chrome Web Browser.
- Once you get it installed make the Chrome browser your default browser to open the Excel files directly in the Chrome browser.
- Now, when you open any Excel file and it will get opened in Google Sheets in “View Only” mode.
- If you want to enable the editing mode, click on the “File” tab and then choose “Save as Google Sheets”.