There are several spreadsheet programs you can choose from these days, yet most people use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. Those who feel more comfortable using Excel swear by it, while those who love Sheets prefer its features and menus. So, what can you do to bridge the gap between the two programs?
This article will go into depth on:
- How to convert Google Sheets to Excel
- How to open the file in Excel
We will also examine whether the functions from one spreadsheet software work in the other. Read on to master this important part of collaborating on spreadsheet programs.
Table of Contents
Why Sync Google Sheets to Excel?
If you’re working in a large organization, there are several reasons why you would want to convert Google Spreadsheet to Excel and vice versa.
Here are a few of the most common reasons to save a Google Sheet to an Excel file:
- People in your team may prefer one spreadsheet software over the other.
- Team members do not wish to be a part of the Google ecosystem.
- Policies dictate that you have to send in work as an attachment rather than a link.
- One software doesn’t have the functions that your company needs.
- Sheets lose their performance when working with larger spreadsheets which is why the company needs the responsiveness of Excel.
- Sometimes it’s easier to import a .csv file into Google Sheets, then copy the .xlsx file to Excel to work with it.
How to Convert a Google Sheet to Excel
Thankfully, Google Sheets lets you download your spreadsheets in a .xlsx file (Excel format). Microsoft Excel supports this file type. So you’ll never have to make a definitive decision about which spreadsheet program is better.
Here are the steps you need to follow to convert Google Sheets to Excel:
- Open the spreadsheet you wish to download to your computer.
- Click on File in the top bar. This will open a dropdown menu containing a list of options.
- Here, click on Download. This will open another sub-menu allowing you to choose the file format. We aim to download the file in a .xlsx format.
- In the menu, click on Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)
This will download the file to your computer. You can usually find the file in the download folder of your web browser.
How to Convert a Google Sheet to Excel Automatically
You can automatically download your spreadsheets as Excel files by simply changing the URL of the share link. Here’s what you have to do.:
Let’s say we have the following link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DUdeb96x7VmVajnvOMPBod7g4R6vFRhSeXGCGzbui14/edit
All you have to do is replace the edit at the end with export, like so:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DUdeb96x7VmVajnvOMPBod7g4R6vFRhSeXGCGzbui14/export
If you paste this link into your browser, it will download the spreadsheet as an Excel file.
How to Convert a Google Sheet to Excel with Google Apps Script
You can also use App scripts to automatically convert Google Sheets to Excel. This script uses the file link you created above to convert and export your spreadsheet as Excel to your email.
This might look like a complicated method, but it’s actually not. All you need to do is copy the script and tweak it to match your Google spreadsheet.
Select an advanced Google service and click Add.
- Go to Extensions > Apps Script.
- On the left of the script window, click Editor code (<>).
- Click the + sign next to Services.
- Select Drive API and click Add.
Here’s how to import Google Sheets into Excel:
- Go to Extensions > App Scripts.
- In the new window, remove the text already there and copy paste the following script:
function getFileAsBlob(exportUrl) {
let response = UrlFetchApp.fetch("https://docs.Google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wYCDKtyw41uqCRp-ceZZWWfcwdvI6529hac0RO6OrZ4/export", {
muteHttpExceptions: true,
headers: {
Authorization: 'Bearer ' + ScriptApp.getOAuthToken(),
},
});
return response.getBlob();
}
function testExportSheet() {
let blob = getFileAsBlob("https://docs.Google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wYCDKtyw41uqCRp-ceZZWWfcwdvI6529hac0RO6OrZ4/export");
blob.setName("Sheet to Excel");
Logger.log("Content type: " + blob.getContentType());
Logger.log("File size in MB: " + blob.getBytes().length / 1000000);
}
function exportSheetAsPDFToDrive() {
let blob = getFileAsBlob("https://docs.Google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wYCDKtyw41uqCRp-ceZZWWfcwdvI6529hac0RO6OrZ4/export");
let file = DriveApp.createFile(blob);
Logger.log(file.getUrl());
}
function sendExportedSheetAsPDFAttachment() {
let blob = getFileAsBlob("https://docs.Google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wYCDKtyw41uqCRp-ceZZWWfcwdvI6529hac0RO6OrZ4/export");
var message = {
to: "email address",
subject: "Sheet to Excel",
body: "Hi team,nnPlease find the monthly report attached.nnThank you,nName",
name: "Name",
attachments: [blob.setName("Sheet to Excel")]
}
MailApp.sendEmail(message);
}
- Click the save icon to save the script.
- Click Run.
- Click Review permissions. Allow permissions to run the script by choosing your Google account.
- Click the drop-down for the functions and run each function individually.
Once you’re done, App scripts will run the script above and alert you when it has finished. The script converts your spreadsheet into xlsx format and sends it to the email of your choice.
There are 4 functions in this script:
- getFileAsBlob- This converts the spreadsheet into a blob which is a data changing format.
- testExportSheet- This function tests whether you can export your file as xlsx.
- exportSheetAsXLSXToDrive- This function exports the file to your drive.
- sendExportedSheetAsXLSXAttachmnet- This function sends the converted fifle to your email.
How to Save Google Sheets as Excel Using Google Drive
If you’re working on Google Sheets, your data is automatically backed up to Google Drive. If you don’t have access to Sheets, you can also download the file from there.
Here are the steps for how to save a Google Sheet as Excel:
- Open Google Drive in your browser.
- Click on My Drive and scroll down to find the name of the Google Sheets file. Alternatively, you can also search for the name in the search bar at the top of the screen.
- Right-click on the file, which will show a pop-up menu. Click on Download, and the file will download onto your computer locally.
If you follow the above to learn how to download Google Sheets into Excel, then you just click to open the downloaded file in your Windows or macOS file browser.
Do the Functions From Sheets Work in Excel?
Although the functionality of both Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets is similar, there are many incompatible functions in either software, which means importing the spreadsheet file into either software is bound to break some functionality.
Here are some of the formulas that are incompatible between Excel and Google Sheets:
- ADD
- ARRAYFORMULA
- CONCAT
- CONTINUE
- COUNTUNIQUE
- DETECTLANGUAGE
- DIVIDE
- EQ
- FILTER
- GoogleFINANCE
- GoogleTOURNAMENT
- GoogleTRANSLATE
- GT
- GTE
- IMAGE
- IMPORTDATA
- IMPORTFEED
- IMPORTHTML
- IMPORTRANGE
- IMPORTXML
- JOIN
- LT
- LTE
- MINUS
- MULTIPLY
- POW
- QUERY
- SORT
- SPARKLINE
- SPLIT
- TO_TEXT
- TO_PERCENT
- TO_DOLLARS
- TO_DATE
- UMINUS
- UNARY_PERCENT
- UNIQUE
- UPLUS
If your Google spreadsheet uses any of these functions, you should look to remove the formula or replace it with one which is compatible with Excel.
Compatibility Issues When Using Excel Files in Sheets
Although you can load the Excel data into Google Sheets, note that Sheets lacks many of the advanced features that Excel offers, which is why you are bound to face some compatibility issues. Here are a few of them:
- You can not import password-protected Excel files into Google Sheets.
- Google Sheets will ignore any links to other spreadsheets in the file.
- Google Sheets does not support power query, PowerPivot, and other data modeling features of Excel.
- If your Excel file has VBA macros, these won’t have support in Google Sheets. Instead, you can write code in AppScript when working in Google Sheets.
If your Excel file uses any of these functions, find an alternative to those as they won’t work in Google Sheets. If you upload the file into Sheets, they might be deleted or lose functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Open Google Sheets in Excel?
Here’s how to export Google Sheet to Excel:
- Open Microsoft Excel on your computer.
- On the main screen, click on Upload. This will open the local file browser of your operating system.
- Navigate to the locally stored file.
- Select your file and click on Open. This will open a small window in the middle of the screen where you can see the file upload progress. Once the upload is complete, the file will be loaded in Excel.
How Do I Change a Google Sheet to .xlsx?
- Open the spreadsheet you wish to download to your computer.
- Click on File in the top bar. This will open a dropdown menu containing a list of options.
- Here, click on Download. This will open another sub-menu allowing you to choose the file format.
- In the menu, click on Microsoft Excel (.xlsx). The file will then be downloaded to your computer.
How Do I Convert Multiple Google Sheets to Excel?
After selecting the Google Sheets file, click on Add another source file. Choose additional files from My Drive. Select the source tab. The tab should have the same name as the initial source. Click on Finish and Save.
Wrapping Up
Learning to import and export a spreadsheet file into Excel and Sheets can be necessary as it allows you to easily collaborate with your team members no matter what spreadsheet software they use. We hope this article helped you better understand how to save a .xlsx file in Google Sheets and import it into Excel.
Now that you know How to Convert Google Sheets to Excel, you may want to learn more about how to convert Excel files to Google Sheets.
Try a project of your own (like building a golf handicap calculator), or check out some of the related guides below to boost your spreadsheet skills:
ACCESS GOOGLE FORMS & SHEETS MASTERCLASS
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- The Best Google Sheets Add-Ons
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- How To Convert Excel to PDF [Comprehensive Guide]
- How To Use “Does Not Equal” in Excel [Easy 10 Min Guide]
- How To Calculate Age in Excel [12 Easy Examples]
- 4 Easy Examples of Greater Than or Equal To in Excel
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