How to split an Excel file
- Drop the workbook on the box above. The page reads it in your browser and guesses how many rows at the top are headers.
- Choose how to split: a number of data rows per file, a number of files, one file per value in a column, or one file per sheet.
- Press Split, check the list of files and the report, and download them as a ZIP.
Four ways to split, and when each is right
| Split by | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Rows per file | An upload form or system takes at most so many rows at a time |
| Number of files | You are dividing a list between people |
| A column's value | The sheet is really several lists: one per region, month, branch or customer |
| Each sheet | Every tab should go to a different person as its own file |
What happens to formulas
This is where splitting a spreadsheet quietly goes wrong. A formula in row 205 such as
=E205*F205 is moved to row 107 of the second file. Copied as it is, it now
multiplies whatever is in row 205 of the new file — another order, or nothing. A total
like =SUM(G3:G293) in the last file adds up rows that are no longer there.
We measured it on a 291-row order list with four formula columns, split into three files of 100 rows: 382 formulas changed row number. Copied unchanged, every one of them would have calculated a different row. This tool sorts each formula into one of two groups:
- Kept as a formula, rewritten for its new row: anything that only uses
cells in its own row (
=E5*F5,=IF(C5="",0,D5)), or a cell in the header rows marked with$, such as a tax rate in$B$1. Those still recalculate when you edit the piece. - Written as its result: formulas that use another row (running totals,
SUMover the column), another sheet, a whole column, a named range, or their own position (ROW(),OFFSET,INDIRECT). They keep the value Excel saved with the file, so the numbers you see do not change.
The report gives both counts and names a few examples. In the test file above, 583 formulas stayed live and 582 became values (291 running totals and 291 row numbers), and every value matched what Excel had saved. If a workbook was saved without calculating — common for files exported by other software — some formulas have no saved result; the page tells you how many, so you can open the file in Excel, let it calculate and split again.
What every piece keeps
- The header rows, at the top of every file. Title rows above the column names count too: set how many rows to repeat.
- Number formats: dates stay dates, prices keep their decimals, and codes
with leading zeros such as
00721stay text. - Column widths, row heights, hidden rows and columns, merged cells and links. A merged block that would be cut between two files is unmerged there, and counted.
- The 1904 date system of workbooks made on older Macs. Without it every date in the pieces would move by four years and a day.
What is not copied: fonts, fill colors, borders, conditional formatting and drop-down lists. The open spreadsheet library this page uses reads the values and layout but does not write styling. If colours matter, split here and reapply the table style in Excel, or use Excel's own Move or Copy for a single sheet.
Keeping related rows together
An order with several lines, or an invoice with several items, should not end up in two files. Tick Never split rows that share a value and pick the column that ties them together. A boundary then only falls between groups, so a file may hold a few rows more or less than the number you chose. In the test list, a plain 100-row split cut one order in two; with the option on, none. Rows are never reordered: if the same order number appears in two separate places, the page says so and suggests sorting by that column first.
Everything happens in your browser tab. Payroll, customer and sales workbooks are never
uploaded, and there is no row limit beyond your computer's memory. Pieces are saved as
.xlsx, which Excel, LibreOffice, Numbers and Google Sheets all open, even when
the original was .xls or .ods.
Next steps
For a CSV instead of a workbook, convert the sheet to CSV and then use Split CSV, which can also split by file size. To join CSV files into one workbook, use CSV to Excel.