Convert FMP12 to XLS

A legacy accounting system, reporting tool, or older Excel installation may require an .xls workbook instead of a FileMaker database. The conversion exports selected records for spreadsheet use; it does not reproduce the complete FileMaker solution.

What the FMP12 format is

.fmp12 is FileMaker Pro's native database format, introduced with FileMaker Pro 12 and used by subsequent FileMaker Pro releases. A file can contain tables, fields, records, layouts, relationships, calculations, scripts, accounts, privileges, value lists, and container data such as images or documents. Companies commonly encounter it when migrating an older FileMaker solution, sharing business data, or extracting records for another application.

What the XLS format is

.xls is Microsoft's legacy binary Excel workbook format, associated mainly with Excel 97–2003 and older import systems. It supports worksheets, formulas, formatting, and charts, but each worksheet is limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns. Use it only when the receiving program cannot accept the newer .xlsx format or specifically requires Excel 97–2003 files.

Export with FileMaker Pro

1. Open the database in FileMaker Pro and go to the layout that provides the fields and records to export.
2. Find the required records. FileMaker normally exports the current found set, not necessarily every record in the table.
3. Choose File → Export Records....
4. Enter a filename and select Excel Workbook (*.xlsx), if available. FileMaker Pro generally exports the modern Excel format rather than the older binary .xls format.
5. In the field-order dialog, remove unwanted fields and arrange the remaining fields as spreadsheet columns. Include related fields only when the relationship returns the intended related record.
6. Complete the export and open the resulting .xlsx file in Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc.

For text exports such as CSV, choose an appropriate character encoding in FileMaker's export options. Excel workbooks normally preserve their own text encoding; encoding settings are not a substitute for checking non-Latin characters after export.

Save the workbook as XLS

In Microsoft Excel, choose File → Save As, select Excel 97–2003 Workbook (*.xls), and accept the compatibility warning. In LibreOffice Calc, choose File → Save As, select Excel 97–2003 (*.xls), and retain the selected format when prompted. Reopen the saved file and check dates, times, formulas, long text, character encoding, and column types.

If FileMaker Pro is unavailable, ask the database owner to export the required found set as .xlsx or CSV. General-purpose online services rarely interpret the proprietary .fmp12 structure correctly. After the data has been exported, a service such as CloudConvert can convert a non-confidential .xlsx file to .xls, but local Excel or LibreOffice avoids uploading business records and usually gives better control over compatibility warnings.

Quality and compatibility limits

This is a data export, not a database conversion. Layouts, scripts, relationships, portals, accounts, privileges, value lists, field definitions, and FileMaker-specific calculations do not become equivalent XLS features. Calculated fields are normally exported as their evaluated results rather than reusable FileMaker calculations or Excel formulas.

Dates, times, numbers, and decimal separators can change according to FileMaker values, regional settings, and the destination application's interpretation. Export identifiers, postal codes, telephone numbers, and other values with leading zeroes as text where possible; otherwise Excel may remove the zeroes. Check formulas and special characters after saving to .xls, because older Excel format compatibility can alter unsupported features.

Container fields are not preserved as native spreadsheet cells. Export documents or images separately when they must remain available, and verify how FileMaker handles each container field before deleting the source database. A dataset larger than the XLS row or column limits must remain in .xlsx, be split into multiple files or worksheets, or be delivered in a database-oriented format. Do not upload confidential FMP12 files to an online converter: the database may contain records, container files, account-related metadata, and other information beyond the visible table data.