Need the text and values from an Excel workbook without copying cells one by one? This free Excel to text converter extracts readable content from XLSX and XLS files in saved worksheet order and turns it into structured plain text. It covers Excel to TXT, XLSX to TXT, XLS to TXT, and “extract text from Excel” in one workflow. Review, copy, or download the UTF-8 TXT result in your browser.
How to Convert Excel to Text or TXT Online
- Upload one XLS or XLSX workbook. Drag it into the upload area or select it from your device.
- Start the extraction. Select Create after the upload finishes. The page creates a task and displays its progress below the uploader.
- Review the result. Each worksheet has a heading, each populated row appears on a new line, and cells are separated with tabs.
- Copy, download, or continue with audio. Copy the text, download it as a TXT file, or send supported content to Echora Text to Speech.
The converter is free and does not require an account or credits. Check important totals, dates, formulas, identifiers, and business data against the original workbook before relying on the result.
How XLS and XLSX Are Converted to Text
XLSX files are read directly by the extraction service. Because XLS is an older binary format, the service first converts it to XLSX in a server-side spreadsheet environment and then applies the same extraction rules.
Worksheets are processed in their saved order. Visible, hidden, and very hidden worksheets are included; hidden worksheet headings receive a [hidden] or [veryHidden] marker so concealed data is clearly identified.
Corrupted, encrypted, password-protected, renamed, or unsupported files may fail. Changing another file's extension to .xls or .xlsx does not create a valid Excel workbook.
What the Excel-to-TXT Output Looks Like
The downloaded .txt file uses UTF-8 encoding and a simple TSV-style structure. It is plain text with tab-separated cells, not a CSV file.
=== Sales ===
Name Amount
Alice 100
=== Archive [hidden] ===
Status Closed
Worksheet headings separate sections. Each populated row becomes one line, while tabs preserve leading and intermediate empty columns through the last populated cell. Completely empty rows are omitted, but an empty worksheet still keeps its heading.
Line breaks and tabs inside a cell are changed to spaces so they do not disrupt the structure. Merged cells appear once from the top-left master cell instead of being duplicated across the merged range.
How Formula Cells Are Handled
The converter does not run Excel's calculation engine. It reads the displayed or cached result saved for a formula cell. If no result was saved, the formula itself is included with a leading = instead of dropping the cell.
Cached results can be outdated when a workbook was saved without recalculation. External links, data connections, macros, and custom functions are not refreshed. When current formula results matter, open, recalculate, and save the workbook in Excel or another compatible application before uploading it.
What Excel Content Is Preserved and Removed?
The plain-text result preserves:
- worksheet names, order, and hidden-status markers;
- row order and basic column positions using tabs;
- displayed text, numbers, dates, booleans, errors, rich text, and hyperlink labels.
It does not preserve:
- visual formatting and layout settings, including fonts, colors, borders, fills, alignment, number formats, row heights, column widths, frozen panes, filters, print settings, and conditional formatting;
- images, charts, shapes, pivot-table layouts, comments, notes, revision history, or embedded objects;
- macros, scripts, external data connections, data validation rules, or spreadsheet interactivity.
Text in hidden rows and columns can appear in the result, but their hidden state is not marked. The output is intended for reading, searching, and reusing text—not for rebuilding the original spreadsheet.
When to Extract Text from an Excel File
Search Across a Workbook
Combine values from several worksheets into one result and use ordinary text search to find a name, code, date, label, or phrase. Return to the workbook to verify the surrounding cells.
Prepare Spreadsheet Content for Review
Use plain text to proofread labels, collect notes, prepare translation input, or review content outside Excel. The tool extracts content but does not summarize, translate, or analyze the data automatically.
Copy Tables into Another Workflow
Tab-separated cells help basic columns remain aligned when rows are pasted into editors or spreadsheet applications. Complex layouts, formulas, and formatting do not transfer with the text.
Turn Short Spreadsheet Text into Speech
The result card can send up to the first 5,000 characters to the Text to Speech workspace. Download the complete TXT separately when the workbook contains more content.
File Limits
Upload one .xls or .xlsx file at a time, up to 50MB. This page does not accept XLSM, XLSB, CSV, ODS, or other spreadsheet formats.
The service returns up to 50,000 characters and marks longer results as truncated. Split a large workbook or remove unneeded worksheets if you need content beyond that limit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Excel to text converter free?
Yes. You can extract text from one supported XLS or XLSX workbook without signing in or spending credits.
Can this tool convert TXT back to Excel?
No. It extracts readable content from Excel into plain text; it does not rebuild a spreadsheet from a TXT file.
Why can a formula result look outdated?
The converter reads the result last saved in the workbook and does not recalculate formulas. Recalculate and save the file in a compatible spreadsheet application before uploading it again.
Why might part of a workbook be missing from the result?
The output stops at 50,000 characters, completely empty rows are omitted, and unsupported objects such as charts or images are not converted to text. The page displays a notice when the character limit truncates the result.
If you need a readable, reusable version of an Excel workbook, return to the converter above, upload an XLS or XLSX file, and copy or download the extracted text.