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:
What | XLS | XLSX |
---|---|---|
File Format | Binary Interchange File Format (BIFF) | Office Open XML Format |
Compatibility | Readable by all Microsoft Excel versions | Readable by Excel 2007 and later versions |
Rows | up to 65,536 rows | up to 1,048,576 rows |
Columns | up to 256 columns | up to 16,384 columns |
Formulas | Supports older Excel functions | Better compatibility with newer Microsoft Excel functions (such as IFERROR, XLOOKUP, TEXTAFTER) |
Maximum Number of Fonts | 504 | 65429 |
Conditions Formats | no | yes |
Pictures | yes | yes |
Picture Links | no | yes |
Cell Comments | yes | no |
Auto Filter | no | yes |
Data Validation | no | yes |
Form Controls | no | yes |
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.
