How to Read an XLS File Without Excel. XLS files are spreadsheet files created by Microsoft Office Excel. An Excel spreadsheet can contain anything from images and plain text to graphs and tables ...

You don't necessarily need Microsoft Excel to work with an .xlsx file Reviewed by Ryan Perian This article explains what XLSX files are, how to open them, and which programs are able to convert ...

After the MS16-088 patch is applied, though, Excel refuses to open XLS files, showing a blank screen instead of a workbook. Poster conker123 on the TechNet Office forum described the problem ...