2020 MB Pro w/ Sonoma 14.2.1 (don't have any MS Office stuff on it). Suddenly unable to open emailed xls files, which usually automatically open for me in Numbers. If the sender changes the file to xlsx for me, it will open right away, in Numbers. Why can't I continue to be able to open xls files?
iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 17
As Badunit points out, xls is old, really old. It's a proprietary binary format. The .xlsx XML-based format was introduced in Microsoft Excel 2007. Tell your sender it's time to stop sending long-deprecated formats that hardly anybody uses any more and may have security flaws.
In a pinch I think you can download a MS Office clone like LibreOffice and open old formats with it, then "save as" in the modern format. But you shouldn't have to do that.
SG
Are these xls files that you have opened previously (and now will not) or are they files received recently that have never opened in Numbers? Are they all from the same person?
The xls format is old. Wasn't it replaced by xlsx twenty years ago? Who is still sending out xls files? With Apple's disdain for backward compatibility I am surprised any xls files can be opened in Numbers.
The xls format is also more than just one format. The '95 version of it and the '97-2004 version are still in the list of file types Excel will save as. I can open '97-2004 xls files in Numbers but not the earlier version. It is also used as an extension when the actual file is not actually in xls format. This used to be reported here kind of frequently regarding tables downloaded from the web in "Excel compatible" format. I think they were actually csv files if I recall correctly.
XLS document cannot be opened to Numbers, get message that it is "not supported"
