How to Export Data in Excel (2 Easy Ways)

Many times, while working in Microsoft Excel, users need to move data from an Excel file to another arrangement. That’s when the users need to know how to export data in Excel. There are several other arrangements in which users can move the data from Excel. But to do that, they need to save the file in the correct format. In this article, I will show you how to export data in Excel.

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2 Easy Ways to Export Data in Excel by Converting Workbook into Other File Formats

I shall discuss in this section the procedures for exporting data in Excel. You can convert your Excel workbook into different formats like CSV, TXT, PRN, and many more. In this article, I will show you two different ways to export data in Excel by converting workbooks into other file formats.

First of all, I will convert the Excel workbook data into text format. Here, you will see three examples of text formats, which are- CSV, TXT, and PRN formats. In the second procedure, I will show the way of converting an Excel workbook into other formats like PDF, webpage (HTML), XPS formats, etc.

For my working purposes, I will use the following sample data set.

1. Converting Excel Workbook to Text Format

When you choose File ➪ Save As and then select the location where your file will be placed, the Save As dialog box will appear, and you can choose your desired format from a variety of text file formats. The three types are:

• CSV: Comma-separated value files.
• TXT: Tab-delimited files.
• PRN: Formatted text, printer text file.

The above three text files are discussed below:

1.1 Converting Excel Workbook to CSV Files

When you export a worksheet to a CSV file format, the data is saved as displayed. Say you are working with a worksheet in Excel. One of your cells (say it is A5) contains this value: 12.8312344. But you have formatted cell A5 in a way that it shows a number with two decimal points. So A5 will show 12.83. Now you want to convert this excel file into CSV format, then A5 will be saved as 12.83, and so on. Cells are delimited with a comma character, and rows are delimited with a carriage return and line feed. The following figures explain to you how to save an Excel workbook in CSV format.

Step 1:

• Firstly, prepare your data set.
• Then, go to the File tab of the ribbon.

Step 2:

• Secondly, you will see the Home window of Excel.
• Then, select the Save As command from the window.

Step 3:

• Thirdly, after choosing the previous command, you will get the option to choose the location of the file for saving.
• Then, click on Browse.

Step 4:

• Fourthly, choose a folder for saving and name the new file.
• Then, in the saving type, choose CSV (Comma delimited) to convert the file.
• Lastly, press Save.

Step 5:

• Fifthly, your Excel file will be converted into a CSV
• Then, open the file with the Notepad software in your computer.

Step 6:

• Finally, the CSV file will look like the following image after opening.

Read More: Extract Text After a Character in Excel (6 Ways)

1.2 Converting Excel Workbook to TXT Files

Exporting a workbook to a TXT file is almost identical to the CSV file format that we described above. The only difference is that cells are separated by a tab character rather than a comma. If your worksheet contains Unicode characters, you must export the file using the Unicode Text. Otherwise, Unicode characters will be saved as question mark characters. The steps for this procedure are as follows.

Step 1:

• First of all, go to the File tab of the ribbon after completing the data set.

Step 2:

• Secondly, save the file by following the steps from the previous methods.
• Here, in the Save as type box, select Text (Tab delimited) as the file format.

Step 3:

• Thirdly, after saving the file, open it with Notepad and the result will look like the following picture.

Read More: How to Convert Excel to Text File with Pipe Delimiter (2 Ways)

1.3 Converting Excel Workbook to PRN Files

A PRN-type file is like a printed image of the worksheet. The cells are separated by multiple spaces. A line can have at most 240 characters. PRN files are not usually used. The process of converting this file type is as follows.

Step 1:

• First of all, go to the File tab of the Ribbon.

Step 2:

• Secondly, again save the file as per the steps shown in the first method.
• In the Save as type box, select the file format as Formatted Text (Space delimited).

Step 3:

• Finally, open the newly converted file with Notepad and see the result like the following image.

Read More: How to Extract Data from Image into Excel (With Quick Steps)

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2. Exporting Excel Workbook to Other File Formats

In the above discussion, I demonstrated the procedure of exporting Excel data by converting them into text format. Now, I will discuss some other formats in which we can export Excel data. By default Excel also lets you save your workbook in several other formats. In DIF format, each element is represented by a 2 or 3-line block.

2.1 DIF (Data Interchange Format)

These files have a DIF extension. They are used by users rarely. It can only store data of a single Excel worksheet at a time.

To store the data of your worksheet in a DIF format, follow the following steps.

Step 1:

• Firstly, save your Excel workbook in DIF (Data Interchange Format).

Step 2:

• Secondly, open the saved file using Notepad to see the following result.

Read More: Transfer Data from One Excel Worksheet to Another Automatically

2.2 SYLK (Symbolic Link)

These files have a .slk extension. They are also not used very often. The .slk  extension or file format does not support Unicode characters. To convert an Excel file into SYLK format follow the following steps.

Step 1:

• First of all, save your Excel file into SYLK format like the following picture.
• Here, the file extension must be .slk.

Step 2:

• Secondly, to see the result, open the new file with Notepad.

2.3 PDF (Portable Document Format)

These files have a .pdf extension. This is a prevalent “read-only” file format. You cannot change any data after turning it into a PDF. The process for turning an Excel file into a PDF is as follows.

Step 1:

• Firstly, use the PDF extension to save the current Excel file.

Step 2:

• Secondly, use a PDF reader to open the newly converted file to see the result.

2.4 XPS (XML Paper Specification Document)

These files have a .xps extension. This one is Microsoft’s alternative to PDF files. Users use this type of format rarely. To read this kind of file, you will need an XPS Reader on your PC.

2.5 Web Page Format

These files have an HTM/HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) extension. By saving your Excel file into this format, you can open the new file in a web browser. To use this file format, go through the following steps.

Step 1:

• Firstly, use the Web Page as a saving type to save the current Excel file.

Step 2:

• Secondly, you will see the Publish as Web Page dialog box.
• Then, in the box, select Publish.

Step 3:

• Finally, you will be able to open the converted file in a pre-installed web browser on your computer, and will look like the following image.

Read More: How to Import Data into Excel from Web (with Quick Steps)

2.6 ODS (OpenDocument Spreadsheet)

These files have a .ods extension. These files are compatible with various open-source spreadsheet programs. You can open ODS files using Google Docs or Open Office.

Conclusion

That’s the end of this article. I hope you find this article helpful. After reading the above description, you will be able to export data in Excel by using any of the above-mentioned methods. Please share any further queries or recommendations with us in the comments section below.

The ExcelDemy team is always concerned about your preferences. Therefore, after commenting, please give us some moments to solve your issues, and we will reply to your queries with the best possible solutions ever.

Happy Excelling 🙂

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