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Differences between old and new Excel file format

I got asked what the differences between XLS and XSLX formats are for our LibXL functionality. Some of the features are only available if you opted for the new or old format. In general we nowadays prefer the newer XLSX format based on XML.

Here is a table to compare:

WhatXLSXLSX
File FormatBinary Interchange File Format (BIFF)Office Open XML Format
CompatibilityReadable by all Microsoft Excel versionsReadable by Excel 2007 and later versions
Rowsup to 65,536 rowsup to 1,048,576 rows
Columnsup to 256 columnsup to 16,384 columns
FormulasSupports older Excel functionsBetter compatibility with newer Microsoft Excel functions
(such as IFERROR, XLOOKUP, TEXTAFTER)
Maximum Number of Fonts50465429
Conditions Formatsnoyes
Picturesyesyes
Picture Linksnoyes
Cell Commentsyesno
Auto Filternoyes
Data Validationnoyes
Form Controlsnoyes

Check out the XL functions for our MBS FileMaker Plugin and the XL classes in our MBS Xojo Plugins, which allow you to read and write Microsoft Excel files using LibXL library.

The biggest plugin in space...
04 02 25 - 08:32