How to convert XLS to DBF
- Add your .XLS file - drop it in the box above or click to browse.
- Convert it to .DBF in a few seconds.
- Download your new .DBF file.
What to expect
- DBF field names are capped at 10 characters - longer column headers are silently truncated, and duplicate 10-character prefixes can corrupt the output.
- Only the active sheet is exported per file; if your workbook has multiple sheets, export each one separately to its own
.dbf. - Modern Excel (2007 and later) cannot write DBF - use LibreOffice, OpenOffice, or our converter instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can Microsoft Excel save to DBF?
No. Excel 2007 removed native DBF write support; modern Excel can open
.dbf files for reading but Save As no longer lists dBASE as an option.What happens to formulas during conversion?
Formulas are not stored in DBF - the converter writes each cell's calculated value at export time and discards the formula itself.
How do I convert multiple sheets from one workbook?
DBF holds only one table per file, so export each sheet separately and save each to its own
.dbf file.Will dates and special formats survive the conversion?
Dates recognised as date-typed export correctly; otherwise they become text. Currency, percentage, and time values are flattened to numeric or character fields.
Programs that convert XLS: Full Convert Enterprise · Apache OpenOffice Calc (OpenOffice.org Calc) · PlanMaker · Corel Quattro Pro · NeoOffice · LibreOffice Calc
