Excel to Markdown Table (XLSX, XLS, ODS)

How it works

Tap or click the box to choose your Excel file; .xlsx, .xlsm, .xls and LibreOffice .ods files are accepted. The tool reads the first sheet (or every sheet if you chose "All sheets"), drops trailing empty rows and columns and writes each cell with the text Excel shows: a cell holding 1250.5 with a currency format comes out as $1,250.50, a date cell as 3/15/2023, and a formula cell with its result. The first row becomes the Markdown header row; the second row holds the delimiter marks, and in number columns the mark is right-aligning (---:) so that amounts line up on GitHub. Concrete example: an expense list with 3 columns and 40 rows becomes one table, column widths are padded with spaces, and the .md file is readable even when opened unrendered in Notepad. A pipe inside a cell is written as \| so it cannot break the table, and a line break inside a cell is kept as a <br> tag. In merged cells the value goes to the top-left cell and the rest stay empty; Markdown has no colspan, and the result line tells you how many cells were flattened. The file is read inside your browser and is never uploaded.

This tool is also known as excel to markdown, excel to markdown table, xlsx to markdown, convert excel table to markdown, excel to markdown converter, spreadsheet to markdown table.

What is Markdown table?

A Markdown table is a table built in plain text with pipes (|) and dashes: the first line holds the column headings, the second a --- mark for every column, and the following lines the data. GitHub README files, Obsidian and Notion notes, Jira and many forums recognise this notation and render it as a real table. A cell is a single line and cannot contain another table or a merged area; that is why a multi-line cell coming from Excel is written with <br>, a pipe as \| and merged ranges are flattened.

What is Delimiter row (---, ---:, :---:)?

The delimiter row is the line of dashes directly under the header row of a Markdown table, and it is mandatory: at least three dashes define each column. A colon at the start or end of the dashes sets the alignment of the cells: --- left, ---: right, :---: centred. Right-aligning number columns is an accounting habit; decimals line up and totals can be compared by eye. With "Automatic" this tool right-aligns the columns whose body cells are all numbers and left-aligns the rest; date and text columns do not count as numbers.

What is Displayed text (formatted value)?

Excel stores two things in a cell: the raw value and the way the cell format displays it. The raw value 1250.5 appears as $1,250.50 with a currency format, the number 44,999 appears as 3/15/2023 with a date format, and in a formula cell the raw value is the formula itself while the displayed text is its result. This tool writes the displayed text, because whoever reads the Markdown table expects what they saw in Excel. For region-dependent formats (thousands and decimal separators, short dates) the page language decides: on this page 1,250.50 and 3/15/2023.

What is the difference between converting Excel to Markdown and to an HTML table?

An HTML table is for web pages and e-mail: it is built from tags, keeps merged cells with colspan and rowspan and can carry borders and colours, but it cannot be pasted into a notes app or a README, where it shows up as code. A Markdown table is plain text: GitHub, Obsidian, Notion and Jira render it as a table directly, it is readable even in Notepad and version control shows line-by-line differences; in exchange there are no merged cells, no colours and no vertical alignment. If the data goes into software documentation, a notebook or a work-tracking card, Markdown is the right choice; if it goes into a web page or an e-mail, use the Excel-to-HTML-table tool.

What happens to merged cells, empty rows and multi-line cells?

A Markdown table has no colspan or rowspan. A heading cell that spans four columns in Excel is written into the top-left cell in Markdown and the other three cells it covered stay empty; the row structure survives, but the information that the heading spanned four columns is lost. The result line tells you how many cells were flattened this way; if the number is not zero you may have to rewrite the heading by hand in Markdown. Trailing empty rows and columns are dropped, and completely empty rows in the middle are not written either, because an empty line in Markdown splits the table in two.

Lines broken with Alt+Enter inside a cell become a <br> tag: GitHub and Obsidian show it as a line break, while plain Markdown renderers may print the tag as it is. A pipe inside a cell (for example "A | B") is escaped as \| so it cannot break the table. Emphasis marks such as asterisks and underscores are left alone, so a cell containing *note* renders in italics. Column widths are padded to the longest cell; a 30-column sheet produces long lines, but the table stays valid.

Which option should you choose when?

For a report or list table (first row holds column names) the defaults are right: first sheet, header row, automatic alignment. For raw data without a heading row choose "Data"; since the Markdown header row is mandatory the tool writes the Excel column letters (A, B, C) there and your first data row is not mistaken for a heading. If you want a workbook with several sheets in one .md file choose "All sheets"; every sheet gets a ## heading with its name and its own table.

Alignment is for amounts: "Automatic" right-aligns number columns so that 1,250.50 and 80.00 have their decimal points under each other. If a number column contains even one text cell (for example "n/a") the column is left-aligned; this is deliberate, because right-aligning a mixed column does not line up the numbers. If the result is going into a Word document, use the Excel-to-HTML-table tool instead: Word pastes an HTML table as a real table, but not Markdown.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert an Excel table to Markdown?

Choose the file in the box and press "Convert to Markdown"; no other setting is needed. The table on the first sheet becomes a Markdown table with its first row as the header, and downloads as a .md file. Open it and copy the table, or move the file straight into your Obsidian vault or GitHub repository. The file is read inside your browser and is not uploaded.

Why do the numbers line up on the right on GitHub?

For every column whose body cells are all numbers the tool writes ---: in the delimiter row; GitHub, Obsidian and Notion apply that as right alignment and the decimal points line up. If you do not want this, choose "All left". A column with even one text cell does not count as a number column and is left-aligned.

Are merged cells preserved in Markdown?

No. A Markdown table has no colspan or rowspan; the value of a merged range is written into its top-left cell and the remaining cells are left empty so the column count stays intact. The result line tells you how many cells were flattened. If you need merged headings preserved, use the Excel-to-HTML-table tool.

How are date and currency cells written?

As they appear in Excel: a date cell as 3/15/2023, a currency cell in its format such as $1,250.50, and a formula cell with its result. Because Excel's region-dependent short date format is not stored as text in the file, the page language decides: on this page month/day/year and a decimal point.