XLS to CSV

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CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a universal exchange format for tabular data. Unlike proprietary Excel formats such as XLS, CSV files can be opened (with a different display even with text editors), processed and imported with almost any software.

Separators: comma, semicolon, tab or others?

The name "Comma-Separated Values" already implies that commas are used as column separators – in contrast to tsv, for example, which uses tabs. However, other separators are also frequently used in practice.

The comma (,) is the international standard according to RFC 4180 for CSV files. Programming interfaces (APIs) and most programming languages use the comma.

The semicolon (;) has established itself as the de facto standard in Central Europe. The reason for this is simple: in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, unlike in Anglo-American countries, for example, the comma is used as the decimal separator in numbers. To avoid conflicts here, German versions of Excel automatically use the semicolon for CSV exports.

Character encoding: UTF-8 or Latin1?

The choice of encoding determines how umlauts and special characters are displayed. If there are problems here, it often helps to try the other format, as these are the two most widely used formats (in the Windows world).

UTF-8 is the modern standard and should be the first choice. UTF-8 supports the display of many languages and is the standard on the web and in modern operating systems.

Latin-1 (ISO-8859-1) is an older Western European standard. It was used by older versions of Office and also Windows by default. Many older documents are still available in this standard. Latin-1 supports German with umlauts in particular.

1.7/5(3 votes)

Last updated on 28. February 2026 by Sören with the experience of more than 128,103,994 converted files since 2013.

How to convert XLS to CSV online?

Why are my umlauts displayed incorrectly in the CSV file? This is usually due to the file encoding. In Microsoft Excel, you can select the character set in the import dialogue box. Libre Office queries the character set when opening the file. UTF-8 offers the best compatibility; if this does not work, Latin-1 can also be used.
Comma or semicolon, which separator should be used for CSV files? The international standard for CSV files is actually the comma (comma-separated values). In Europe, however, the semicolon has become established as the column separator. Therefore, in order to comply with the standard, it is usually best for other programmes to choose the comma, while the semicolon is also frequently used for exchanges in Europe.
Is data lost during conversion? When converting XLS to CSV, only the first worksheet is converted, as CSV files cannot contain multiple sheets. No content data is lost, but all formatting (bold, underlining, etc.) is removed. The CSV file format does not support any formatting and only contains raw data.
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Currently we support the following conversions with XLS files:

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Information about the extensions for the conversion from XLS to CSV

From: XLS

XLS is a file format used for spreadsheets created in Microsoft Excel and related applications. It has been an industry standard format for many years, and can be created using many different spreadsheet software products. A typical file will consist …

File extension: .xls
More information and converters for XLS

To: CSV

CSV is the abbreviation for "Comma Separated Values". This format is a standard format for spreadsheet documents such as online banking overviews. CSV files can easily be converted into ODS or XLS files, if the right encoding and the right …

File extension: .csv
More information and converters for CSV

Frequently asked Questions

Why are my umlauts displayed incorrectly in the CSV file?

This is usually due to the file encoding. In Microsoft Excel, you can select the character set in the import dialogue box. Libre Office queries the character set when opening the file. UTF-8 offers the best compatibility; if this does not work, Latin-1 can also be used.

Comma or semicolon, which separator should be used for CSV files?

The international standard for CSV files is actually the comma (comma-separated values). In Europe, however, the semicolon has become established as the column separator. Therefore, in order to comply with the standard, it is usually best for other programmes to choose the comma, while the semicolon is also frequently used for exchanges in Europe.

Is data lost during conversion?

When converting XLS to CSV, only the first worksheet is converted, as CSV files cannot contain multiple sheets. No content data is lost, but all formatting (bold, underlining, etc.) is removed. The CSV file format does not support any formatting and only contains raw data.

Video-Tutorial: XLS to CSV

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