Excel to Text
DataExtract plain text from Excel files. Tab-separated or custom delimiter output. Batch process multiple sheets. Client-side only.
About Excel to Text
This Excel to text extractor uses SheetJS to pull plain text from xlsx and xls spreadsheets locally. The output uses tab or custom delimiters for columns and newlines for rows, producing flat text openable by any editor. It supports batch processing of multiple worksheets. Plain text is suitable for legacy system imports, command-line pipelines, grep/awk searching, and version-control diffs.
How to Use
- Open the Excel to Text tool page
- Enter or paste your data into the input area
- View the real-time results and use the copy button to get the output
Use Cases
- Command-line processing — Convert Excel data to tab-separated text for searching and processing via grep, awk, and sed.
- Legacy system import — Transform Excel data to plain text for import into legacy systems or AS400 terminals that do not support Excel.
- Version control diff — Convert Excel config data to text for Git management, using diff to track each data change.
- Quick data preview — Extract Excel content to plain text for quick browsing without installing Office software.
- Log format conversion — Convert Excel-maintained error code tables to text for embedding in log analysis scripts as reference.
FAQ
What delimiter does the output use?
Tab is the default column delimiter; you can customize it to comma, semicolon, pipe, or any character. Newlines separate rows.
How are dates displayed?
SheetJS converts Excel date serial numbers to ISO 8601 text strings (e.g. 2024-01-15) for readability.
Can it handle multiple worksheets?
Yes. You can select a specific worksheet or process all worksheets, each output as an independent text block.
What information is lost in plain text?
Plain text does not preserve cell styles, formulas, charts, or merged cells; only data values and row-column structure are retained.
Are files uploaded?
No. All parsing runs locally via SheetJS; files never leave your device, safe for sensitive spreadsheets.
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