Excel file is one of the most popular spreadsheets and it is developed by Microsoft. The file extension is accessible on various operating streams, like macOS and Windows. Furthermore, it is accessible on android operating systems, like iOS and Android. This ease of adaptability makes it even more popular.
The file comes with various features and these features make it an essential tool for both personal and professional uses. Many businesses find it useful for various accounting and inventory purposes also. The tool can be used for various calculations. It can also be used for graphic purposes via its numerous graphics tools.
Some other tools accessible on this platform are below:
- It features a macro programming language referred to as Visual Basic for Applications
- Pivot tools
- It also features various graphic tools
- Furthermore, it has calculation tools
The first version of the file was created in 1993 and named as version 5. This was the version of the spreadsheet that came after Lotus 1-2-3, which was formerly the standard spreadsheet. The excel files do not come as a single file; rather, they come as a part of the Microsoft Office suite.
The file was first released in 1987 and it gets a regular update from the company. The macOS version of the file was first released in 1865, September 30 to be precise. The Mac version also gets a regular update by the company. It is proprietary commercial software with incomparable features and functions. Furthermore, Microsoft Corporation released the android version of the file at a much later date and this version equally gets a regular upgrade from the company.
As hinted earlier, an excel file is a spreadsheet and it uses a grid of cells and each cell bears a number. The arrangement of the cells is in columns and rows. The columns bear alphabets, while the rows bear numbers. The spreadsheet can perform various functions and you can use it to display data in the form of a graph, chart or histograph. However, the spreadsheet has a rather limited 3D graphical display. You can use it to section data so that you can easily view how it depends on various factors for varieties of perspectives with the aid of scenario manager and pivot tables.
The Visual Basic for Applications also has a programming aspect. The programming aspect allows the end-user to solve mathematical physics, differential equations and also handle various numerical methods. The interactive features of the excel file also make it even more functional. You can use the excel files to also create show slides; you can equally send any document you have created on the excel spreadsheet via email very easily. Be that as it may, you cannot use them as a database.
The excel file has various add-ins that make the spreadsheet even more functional. Some of the add-ins are highlighted below:
- Solver add-in: It functions for solving equations and for optimization.
- Euro Currency Tools: It can format and convert euro currency
- Analysis ToolPak VBA: It functions for the Analysis ToolPak.
- Analysis ToolPak: It offers various tools for data analysis that can carry out various engineering and statistical analysis; some of the analysis include regression analysis and analysis of variance.
After creating an excel file, you can decide to password-protect it so that no other person will have access to the file; this is very important if the file contains very important information that you do not want a third party to access. Microsoft Excel offers various types of password protection; you can check below for the types:
- Password to protect workbook sharing
- A Password to protect your excel workbook
- Password to modify any excel document
- Password to open any excel document.
If you do not want to password the workbook or document anymore, you can easily remove the password any time you feel like removing it. Removal of a password is very easy on any version of Microsoft excel for that matter. However, it is not possible to remove the password to open a document; you can use this particular type of password mainly to share the work on a given document. An excel document under the protection of password does not need encryption.
Microsoft Excel File extensions available
The excel files come with different extensions, but they all work for the same purpose. Check the highlights below for the available extensions:
All the available formats here.
The XLSX is the current default extension for an excel file; this came in 2007. However, XLS was the first excel file extension to be used and it ceased in 2007. The two of them are different in some ways. The XLSX is an XML-based file format, while the XLS is a proprietary format from Microsoft. Be that as it may, many of the newer versions of excel documents are accessible and can also be saved using the XLS extension. The use of the XLS extension improves compatibility to other excel extensions and several other Microsoft extensions.
XML is an extensible markup language. It has a strong relationship with HTML, which is the acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. This latter extension is a web page extension. Check below for some of the advantages of the XML extension:
- It ensures easier detection of tiles that contain macros.
- It ensures a better and faster recovery of information from any of your files already damaged.
- The file size is small and this ensures easier transfer and storage.
The XLTX or the XLTM is excel file extensions for a template file. They come with excel files that you store as a template file, which are files that you can use as starter files when you open a new excel workbook. The templates contain saved settings and you can check the highlights below for some of the default settings:
- The number of sheets in each workbook
- Custom toolbars
XLTM and XLTX have several features in common, but the two of them differ in that the XLTM extension can store XML macro code and VBA.