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XLSX to TSV Converter

Turn XLSX files into TSV in a couple of clicks. The modern Microsoft Excel workbook format. Like CSV but tab-delimited — safer for text with commas. Content is pulled out of the source container rather than re-authored.

On your deviceNever uploadedGone when you close the tabHow this works

Drop your files here

XLSX files (.xlsx, .xlsm) · up to 100 MB each

or paste files from your clipboard

Ready when you are

Drop a XLSX file above and FileTools360 will turn it into TSV — right here on your device, without uploading anything.

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How to use it

  1. 1

    Add your XLSX files

    Drag them onto the upload area, choose them from your device, or paste them from your clipboard. You can queue several at once.

  2. 2

    Adjust the settings if you want to

    The defaults suit most people. Open Advanced to control delimiter and header handling.

  3. 3

    Convert and download

    Press Convert. Everything happens on your own device — nothing is uploaded. Download files one by one, or grab them all as a ZIP.

XLSX and TSV explained

XLSX is Excel's modern format — a ZIP of XML holding cells, formulas, formatting, multiple sheets, charts and pivot tables.

TSV is CSV with tab characters as separators. Because tabs almost never appear inside data fields, it sidesteps most of CSV's quoting problems.

Where XLSX files come from
Excel, Google Sheets exports and business reporting systems.
Where TSV is used
Bioinformatics, data pipelines and anywhere fields contain commas.

XLSX vs TSV

The two formats solve different problems, which is why converting between them involves trade-offs rather than a straight upgrade.

XLSX compared with TSV
PropertySourceTarget
CompressionLosslessNone
Introduced2007
Browser supportExcel, Google Sheets, Numbers, LibreOffice.Wide, especially in data tooling.
XLSX is stronger at
Formulas, formatting, charts and multiple sheets in one file. Compact relative to the old .xls. Supported by Excel, Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice.
TSV is stronger at
No ambiguity with commas inside values. Simpler parsing than CSV. Common in scientific data.

Why convert XLSX to TSV?

People make this switch when they run into the limits of XLSX: feeding data into a script, database or another system. TSV is the better fit when your data contains commas and you control both ends of the pipeline.

XLSX limitations that prompt the switch
Harder to parse programmatically than CSV. Formula compatibility varies between applications. Can carry macros in the .xlsm variant.
What you give up
Tabs are invisible, making manual editing error-prone. Less universally recognised than CSV.

What is preserved when converting XLSX to TSV?

Both formats store the content without discarding data, so this conversion preserves it exactly. The file size may change because the two formats compress differently, but the content itself is unaffected.

About these formats

Source

Excel Open XML Workbook

The modern Microsoft Excel workbook format.

Extensions
.xlsx, .xlsm
MIME type
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
Best for
Multi-sheet data · Formulas · Business reporting
Compatibility
Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, LibreOffice.

Target

Tab-Separated Values

Like CSV but tab-delimited — safer for text with commas.

Extensions
.tsv, .tab
MIME type
text/tab-separated-values
Best for
Data pipelines · Text containing commas
Compatibility
Wide, especially in data tooling.

CSV holds exactly one flat table. Formulas become their computed values, and formatting, charts and multiple sheets are dropped.

Good to know

XLSX to TSV Converter — questions

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