Files with the.xls extension are spreadsheets created using Microsoft Excel, which is part of the widely used Microsoft Office software package.
What is xls
. Xls resolution is for files created by Microsoft Excel 2003 or earlier. Beginning with the 2007 version, Excel uses a different format, OOXML, and table files have the.xlsx resolution.
The progenitor of Excel, like many other spreadsheet editors, was the Visicalc program, developed by Software Arts in 1979. In total, about 700 thousand copies were sold.
The first Excel was released in 1985 for the Mac, and the Wndows version appeared three years later. Excel provided the user with features that no one else had ever offered. For example, the ability to change the fonts and appearance of the table.
An interesting innovation was the "smart" recalculation of table values - the values of cells affected by changes were updated, while other editors recalculated the entire table, which could take a significant amount of time.
In 1993 Excel was merged with Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint to form the Microsoft Office suite.
How to open
In addition to Microsoft Excel, there are a number of programs with which you can open.xls files for viewing and editing.
Microsoft Excel Viewer is a free utility from the manufacturer Excel that allows you to view and print tables.
Microsoft Excel up to version 2003 has its own binary format - BIFF. In 2008, the company published a format specification that was 349 pages long.
OpenOffice is an office suite similar to Microsoft, but freely distributed under the Apache license. Development at different times was carried out by corporations
LibreOffice is also a free office suite. Part of the OpenOffice developers, due to administrative differences, founded their own project, distributed under the GNU LGPL license.
Gnumeric is a cross-platform spreadsheet editor released under the GNU GPL license, that is, it is free software.
Kingsoft Office is a proprietary office suite developed by the Chinese developer Kingsoft. There are free versions of the programs for personal use.
They are actively developing applications for viewing and editing Excel files for mobile OS - Android and iOS.
For example, Calc XLS or Office HD can be installed on an Apple device. OfficeSuite, Docs To Go, Kingsoft Office are good options for Android OS.
