Convert XLSM to XLS

Older spreadsheet programs, reporting systems, and embedded devices may accept only the legacy .xls format. Converting an .xlsm workbook can also simplify sharing with users whose software cannot open newer Office formats, but legacy conversion can change or remove workbook features.

What the XLSM format is

.xlsm is Microsoft's macro-enabled Office Open XML workbook format, introduced with Excel 2007. It is a ZIP-based XML package that stores worksheets, formulas, formatting, charts, tables, and a VBA project, usually as an embedded binary component.

Excel users employ XLSM for automated reports, financial models, inventory systems, and workbooks containing buttons, event procedures, or other VBA automation. Excel blocks or restricts macro execution according to its security settings; enable macros only in files from a trusted source.

What the XLS format is

.xls is Excel's older binary workbook format, used primarily by Excel 97 through Excel 2003. Current Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, Apache OpenOffice Calc, and many legacy business applications can open it.

Its main advantage is compatibility with older software and import systems. XLS worksheets are limited to 65,536 rows and 256 columns, compared with 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns in modern Excel workbooks. XLS also lacks native support for some newer Excel features and objects.

How to convert XLSM to XLS

Microsoft Excel desktop

1. Make a backup copy of the original workbook.xlsm; keep the original unchanged.
2. Open the copy in Microsoft Excel desktop. Do not enable macros unless the file is trusted and macro testing is necessary.
3. Choose File → Save As, select a destination, and set the file type to Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls).
4. Save the file as workbook.xls. When Excel displays the compatibility warning, select Continue or open Check Compatibility to inspect affected features.
5. Close and reopen the XLS file. Check formulas, formatting, charts, print settings, external links, controls, and any required VBA procedures.

Some Excel versions expose the same format through File → Export → Change File Type. Select Excel 97-2003 Workbook (*.xls) there. Unlike XLSM, an XLS file can retain a VBA project; conversion does not automatically remove macros, although Excel may alter or reject code that depends on newer object-model features.

LibreOffice Calc

Open the workbook in LibreOffice Calc, choose File → Save As, select Excel 97-2003 (*.xls), and confirm the legacy-format warning. Calc can convert ordinary worksheets, formulas, and formatting, but VBA preservation and Excel-specific object compatibility are less reliable than in Excel. Use Excel when macros, controls, data connections, or complex formatting must remain functional.

Online converters

CloudConvert and Zamzar provide browser-based XLSM-to-XLS conversion. Upload the workbook, choose XLS as the output format, start the conversion, and download the result. Use online services only for non-confidential files: uploads may expose payroll data, customer records, proprietary formulas, credentials, or VBA source code to a third party. Review retention and deletion terms, and assume that macros and Excel-specific objects require verification after conversion.

Compatibility and data loss

Saving as XLS can discard or alter features without a complete legacy equivalent, including some newer chart types, conditional-formatting rules, tables, slicers, external connections, data-model content, threaded comments, and worksheet objects. Excel's compatibility checker identifies many potential changes before saving.

Modern formulas, including newer dynamic-array and recently introduced functions, may be converted, lose dynamic behavior, or produce compatibility errors in older Excel versions. Check for formula errors, changed date and number formats, altered named ranges, broken external links, shifted page breaks, lost print areas, and damaged protection settings.

If the workbook contains data beyond 65,536 rows or 256 columns, move or split that data before conversion. Excel may warn that out-of-range cells will be lost, and the resulting XLS cannot represent them. Test every macro, form control, protected sheet, chart, and linked data source in the converted file before replacing the XLSM original.