# .xls Files on Julia

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** package\
**Created:** [January 30, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245 "2021-01-30T02:16:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Rodrigo\_Roa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/rodrigo_roa/32/21114_2.png) [@Rodrigo\_Roa](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Rodrigo_Roa)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 2:16am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/1 "2021-01-30T02:16:01Z")

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Hi, im looking for a package that allows you read a .xls file, if possible similar to the ones that works whit .xlsx.

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**Author:** ![mkitti](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/mkitti/32/12459_2.png) [@mkitti](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mkitti)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/2 "2021-01-30T04:46:22Z")

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Try [GitHub - aviks/Taro.jl: Read and write Excel, Word and PDF documents in Julia](https://github.com/aviks/Taro.jl)

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**Author:** ![mkitti](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/mkitti/32/12459_2.png) [@mkitti](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mkitti)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 4:46am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/3 "2021-01-30T04:46:41Z")

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Also [Home · XLSX.jl](https://felipenoris.github.io/XLSX.jl/stable/)

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**Author:** ![js135005](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/js135005/32/8219_2.png) [@js135005](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/js135005)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/4 "2021-01-30T15:18:27Z")

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I use XLSX.jl fairly extensively. However I doubt that it can handle what the OP requested directly. My understanding is that it handles the XML based file format used in .xlsx files but not those in the older .xls format.

If the requirement is to handle only a small number of xls files, then they could be read in by a recent Excel version and written back out as xlsx files. However this would be impractical for a large number of files.

As suggested above, Taro.jl may be a better alternative but from reading its documentation, I’m not sure if it will read xls files.

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**Author:** ![Rodrigo\_Roa](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/rodrigo_roa/32/21114_2.png) [@Rodrigo\_Roa](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Rodrigo_Roa)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 6:16pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/5 "2021-01-30T18:16:42Z")

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Thanks for the advices, but i needed a package that works only whit julia, so used Taro.jl was not in my intentions.  
I founded that ExcelFiles.jl can open this old format .xls, and im using it right now.

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**Author:** ![js135005](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/js135005/32/8219_2.png) [@js135005](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/js135005)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/xls-files-on-julia/54245/6 "2021-01-30T21:45:32Z")

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I wondered about that. Its documentation states that, like Taro, it uses an external reader but a different one than Taro,