When a large number of old .xls Excel files pile up in a folder, opening each one and saving it as .xlsx can be a huge waste of time. This article uses HeSoft Doc Batch Tool as an example to explain how to use the Excel to Xlsx conversion feature in Excel tools to batch import spreadsheet files, confirm the processing list, set the save location, and complete the conversion. The article includes illustrations of before-and-after effects, operation steps, and precautions, making it suitable for office users who need to organize Excel files such as financial statements, business ledgers, and statistical data.
Many office scenarios encounter this problem: there is an entire folder of Excel spreadsheets in the computer, all with the .xls extension, but now they need to be uniformly changed to .xlsx. For example, historical company financial statements need to be archived, project materials need to be delivered to clients, business systems require uploading the new version of Excel workbooks, or the team wants to standardize the format of spreadsheet templates. If you manually open each file and then choose Save As XLSX, not only are the steps repetitive, but it is also very easy to miss processing a few files among a large number of them.
This article introduces a method more suitable for batch office work: use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to convert many Excel spreadsheet files to the XLSX format at once. This software is a batch file processing tool for office tasks, offering categories like Excel Tools, Word Tools, PDF Tools, and PowerPoint Tools in its interface, suitable for handling tasks that are highly repetitive and involve a large number of files. This article will combine screenshot illustrations, from selecting the function to importing files, then saving and processing, to help you quickly complete batch XLS to XLSX conversion.
Applicable Scenarios: Why Batch Convert Old XLS to XLSX
XLS is an earlier Excel file format, and many historical files, reports exported from old systems, or early office templates might use this format. XLSX is now the more common Excel workbook format, better aligning with modern office habits in daily editing, transfer, data organization, and system compatibility. Therefore, batch conversion of xls to xlsx is common in the following scenarios.
- Historical Data Organization: Files accumulated over the years by a company, such as reports, ledgers, inventory sheets, and sales details, need a unified format for easier archiving and retrieval.
- Financial Document Submission: The finance department, when submitting monthly, quarterly reports, or audit materials, might need to uniformly convert old Excel files to XLSX.
- Cross-departmental Collaboration: Different personnel may use different Excel versions; unifying to xlsx can reduce compatibility mode prompts and format inconsistency issues.
- System Import Requirements: Some platforms or business systems are better suited to receiving xlsx files, requiring format conversion before uploading.
- Reduce Manual Operations: Batch conversion avoids repeatedly executing the open, save as, and close operations, especially suitable for processing tasks involving dozens or more files.
If your need is to batch convert the format of Excel files, rather than modify the spreadsheet content, then using a dedicated batch processing tool is more direct, more stable, and easier for verifying the processing results than manual operation.
Result Preview: From a Batch of XLS Files to a Batch of XLSX Files
Before Conversion: File Extensions are all .xls
The screenshot below shows a typical folder scenario: there is a batch of Excel files named Financial Statements, numbered 1 to 30, all with the .xls extension. They are old-version Excel files. If converted manually, the same operation would need to be repeated for 30 files.
This situation is very common in office environments. The number of files might not seem exaggerated, but once each file needs to be opened, wait for it to load, saved as, the format confirmed, and the window closed, the overall time consumption increases significantly. If there are even more files, the efficiency of manual processing drops further.
After Conversion: Files with Same Names Uniformly Generated as .xlsx
In the post-processing screenshot, the same batch of files has been changed to the .xlsx format. The filenames still retain the "Financial Statements" plus numbering format, only the extension changed from xls to xlsx. This result makes it easy for users to quickly confirm whether the conversion is complete and also facilitates the continued use of the original naming rules for file management.
This comparison shows that the core goal of batch conversion is not to change the file content name, but to uniformly upgrade the file format. For users who need to standardize office materials, batch submit spreadsheets, or organize historical data, this processing result is easier to manage.
Operation Steps: Batch Convert XLS Files to XLSX
Step 1: Open the Software and Enter Excel Tools
After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can see the left navigation bar. As this task belongs to Excel file format conversion, you need to enter the Excel Tools category. In the screenshot, Excel Tools on the left is already selected, and the right side shows many function cards related to Excel.
Among these functions, find Excel to Xlsx. In the screenshot, this function is at position number 12, with the description "Batch convert Excel files to Xlsx format". The interface also highlights this function entry in red, indicating it is the one to use for this task.
The purpose of this step is clear: locate the correct Excel conversion tool among all the software's functions. After selecting this function, the subsequent process will specifically revolve around Excel to XLSX conversion, avoiding misoperation in other conversion functions, such as Excel to PDF, Excel to CSV, or Excel to XLS.
Step 2: Enter the Excel to Xlsx Page
After clicking Excel to Xlsx, you enter the processing page for this function. The top of the page displays the current function name, and there is a Return to main panel button on the left, indicating that if the wrong function was selected, you can return to the main interface to choose again.
The middle of the page shows the process progress: Step 1 is to select records to process, Step 2 is to set the save location, and Step 3 is to start processing. This process is suitable for batch file tasks because it breaks the processing down into three stages: importing files, determining the output location, and executing the processing, allowing users to check correctness at each stage.
Step 3: Import XLS by Adding Files or Importing Files from a Folder
In the upper right corner of the conversion page, you can see the Add File and Import Files from Folder buttons. Which one to choose depends on how your files are stored.
- If the files to be converted are chosen from different locations, you can click Add File to add the specified Excel files to the list.
- If the .xls files to be converted are all in the same folder, it is recommended to click Import Files from Folder to import all files from that folder at once.
In the example, a batch of Financial Statements files are stored centrally, so using Import Files from Folder is more suitable. After import, the list will display each file's sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, modification time, and operations.
As seen in the screenshot, the extensions in the list are xls, indicating these files are precisely the old-version Excel files to be converted in this task. Users can first check here whether the files are imported completely. If any files that do not need processing are found, they can be removed via the delete icon in the operation column; if imported incorrectly, the clear button at the top can be used to reorganize.
Step 4: Check Pending Records to Avoid Misses or Wrong Selections
Before batch processing files, checking the list is very important. Because the software executes conversion based on the list, the files in the list are the ones that will ultimately be processed. It is recommended to focus on checking the following:
- File Quantity: Verify that the imported quantity matches the target number of files in the folder.
- File Names: Verify that they are all Excel spreadsheets needing conversion, without mixing in unrelated files.
- File Paths: Verify that the paths come from the correct directory to avoid processing the wrong folder.
- Extensions: Verify that the extensions are xls or other Excel file types needing conversion to xlsx.
The interface also provides filtering and sorting buttons, which can be used to view the list when there are many files. However, the core operation in this article remains importing Excel files and confirming the processing records.
Step 5: Click Next to Set the Save Location
After confirming the file list is correct, click the Next button at the bottom of the page. According to the interface workflow, the next stage is Set Save Location. The save location determines where the converted XLSX files will be output.
For easier management, it is recommended not to save the converted files randomly to the desktop or multiple different directories, but to create a dedicated output folder. For example, it could be named "ConvertedXLSX", "ExcelNewVersionFiles", "FinancialStatementsXLSX", etc. This way, once processing is complete, you can go directly into that folder to check the results and avoid mixing them with the original xls files.
If your files involve finance, contracts, personnel information, or other important data, it is recommended to keep the original files. Before batch conversion, you can back up the source files first, and after conversion, spot-check some XLSX files to ensure the data, worksheets, and formatting meet expectations.
Step 6: Start Processing and View Conversion Results
Once the save location is set, continue to Step 3, Start Processing. The software will batch execute Excel to Xlsx conversion based on the records in the list. Compared to manual "Save As", the advantage of this method is that users only need to complete the setup once, and the software automatically processes the entire batch of files subsequently.
During processing, it is recommended to keep the source file locations unchanged, do not delete or move files, and do not close the software window. After the task is complete, go to the previously set save location to view the output results. The post-processing result image has already shown the final outcome: the original Financial Statements 1.xls through Financial Statements 30.xls have been correspondingly converted to Financial Statements 1.xlsx through Financial Statements 30.xlsx.
Frequently Asked Questions and Precautions
1. Can I just change the suffix .xls directly to .xlsx?
It is not recommended to only manually change the suffix. The file extension is just part of the name; the actual format conversion needs to be processed by software. Directly changing .xls to .xlsx might cause the file to fail to open normally or have format recognition issues. Using the Excel to Xlsx function better meets the actual conversion needs.
2. Will the converted files overwrite the original files?
Whether they overwrite depends on the save location and file management method. For safety, it is recommended to save the converted files to a separate directory and keep the original .xls files. This way, even if comparison is needed later, you can always find the source files.
3. Does a long filename or one containing spaces affect the conversion?
As seen in the example, the filename Financial Statements contains spaces and could still enter the processing list. In actual operation, it is recommended to keep filenames standardized and avoid using overly special symbols to reduce compatibility issues between different systems or software.
4. How many files is batch conversion suitable for?
From the screenshot example, 30 files can be imported and processed at once. In actual use, the greater the number of files, the more the value of batch processing is demonstrated. For particularly important or very large numbers of files, it is recommended to test the conversion effect with a small sample first, then process the entire folder.
5. How should I check after the conversion is complete?
You can check from three aspects: First, check whether the number of output files matches the number of source files; second, check if the extensions have all changed to .xlsx; third, randomly open a few files to confirm that the spreadsheet content, worksheets, and key formatting are normal. For financial files, you can also specifically check formulas, amount columns, and summary data.
Summary: Leave Repetitive Excel Save As Tasks to Batch Processing Tools
Converting a large number of old-version Excel files to XLSX is essentially a typical repetitive office task. While manual processing is feasible, it is inefficient and prone to errors. Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can centrally complete the import, confirmation, saving, and conversion processes through the Excel to Xlsx function in Excel Tools, significantly reducing repetitive operations.
For users who frequently organize reports, archive materials, and process system import files, batch converting XLS to XLSX makes file formats more uniform, subsequent collaboration smoother, and saves a lot of mechanical operation time. It is recommended that you first gather the Excel files to be converted into one folder, open the software and select the corresponding function, follow the steps in this article to complete the import and processing, and you can quickly obtain a batch of standard XLSX files.