I want excel files on a website to open in Excel when clicked, not get saved on desktop, or get opened embedded in a browser etc. Now obviously it all depends on how everything is configured for each user, but what’s the best Content-Type and other settings to achieve just that most of the time?
asked May 30, 2010 at 3:54
2
For BIFF .xls files
application/vnd.ms-excel
For Excel2007 and above .xlsx files
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
answered May 30, 2010 at 10:15
Mark BakerMark Baker
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answered May 30, 2010 at 3:57
mikumiku
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Do keep in mind that the file.getContentType
could also output application/octet-stream instead of the required application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet when you try to upload the file that is already open.
CSchulz
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answered Feb 26, 2014 at 20:43
DiTapDiTap
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This topic lists the most common MIME types with corresponding document types, ordered by their common extensions.
The following two important MIME types are the default types:
text/plain
is the default value for textual files. A textual file should be human-readable and must not contain binary data.application/octet-stream
is the default value for all other cases. An unknown file type should use this type. Browsers are particularly careful when manipulating these files to protect users from software vulnerabilities and possible dangerous behavior.
IANA is the official registry of MIME media types and maintains a list of all the official MIME types. This table lists important MIME types for the Web:
Extension | Kind of document | MIME Type |
---|---|---|
.aac |
AAC audio | audio/aac |
.abw |
AbiWord document | application/x-abiword |
.arc |
Archive document (multiple files embedded) | application/x-freearc |
.avif |
AVIF image | image/avif |
.avi |
AVI: Audio Video Interleave | video/x-msvideo |
.azw |
Amazon Kindle eBook format | application/vnd.amazon.ebook |
.bin |
Any kind of binary data | application/octet-stream |
.bmp |
Windows OS/2 Bitmap Graphics | image/bmp |
.bz |
BZip archive | application/x-bzip |
.bz2 |
BZip2 archive | application/x-bzip2 |
.cda |
CD audio | application/x-cdf |
.csh |
C-Shell script | application/x-csh |
.css |
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) | text/css |
.csv |
Comma-separated values (CSV) | text/csv |
.doc |
Microsoft Word | application/msword |
.docx |
Microsoft Word (OpenXML) | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
.eot |
MS Embedded OpenType fonts | application/vnd.ms-fontobject |
.epub |
Electronic publication (EPUB) | application/epub+zip |
.gz |
GZip Compressed Archive | application/gzip |
.gif |
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) | image/gif |
.htm , .html |
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) | text/html |
.ico |
Icon format | image/vnd.microsoft.icon |
.ics |
iCalendar format | text/calendar |
.jar |
Java Archive (JAR) | application/java-archive |
.jpeg , .jpg |
JPEG images | image/jpeg |
.js |
JavaScript | text/javascript (Specifications: HTML and RFC 9239) |
.json |
JSON format | application/json |
.jsonld |
JSON-LD format | application/ld+json |
.mid , .midi |
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) | audio/midi , audio/x-midi |
.mjs |
JavaScript module | text/javascript |
.mp3 |
MP3 audio | audio/mpeg |
.mp4 |
MP4 video | video/mp4 |
.mpeg |
MPEG Video | video/mpeg |
.mpkg |
Apple Installer Package | application/vnd.apple.installer+xml |
.odp |
OpenDocument presentation document | application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation |
.ods |
OpenDocument spreadsheet document | application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet |
.odt |
OpenDocument text document | application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text |
.oga |
OGG audio | audio/ogg |
.ogv |
OGG video | video/ogg |
.ogx |
OGG | application/ogg |
.opus |
Opus audio | audio/opus |
.otf |
OpenType font | font/otf |
.png |
Portable Network Graphics | image/png |
.pdf |
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) | application/pdf |
.php |
Hypertext Preprocessor (Personal Home Page) | application/x-httpd-php |
.ppt |
Microsoft PowerPoint | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
.pptx |
Microsoft PowerPoint (OpenXML) | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation |
.rar |
RAR archive | application/vnd.rar |
.rtf |
Rich Text Format (RTF) | application/rtf |
.sh |
Bourne shell script | application/x-sh |
.svg |
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) | image/svg+xml |
.tar |
Tape Archive (TAR) | application/x-tar |
.tif , .tiff |
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) | image/tiff |
.ts |
MPEG transport stream | video/mp2t |
.ttf |
TrueType Font | font/ttf |
.txt |
Text, (generally ASCII or ISO 8859-n) | text/plain |
.vsd |
Microsoft Visio | application/vnd.visio |
.wav |
Waveform Audio Format | audio/wav |
.weba |
WEBM audio | audio/webm |
.webm |
WEBM video | video/webm |
.webp |
WEBP image | image/webp |
.woff |
Web Open Font Format (WOFF) | font/woff |
.woff2 |
Web Open Font Format (WOFF) | font/woff2 |
.xhtml |
XHTML | application/xhtml+xml |
.xls |
Microsoft Excel | application/vnd.ms-excel |
.xlsx |
Microsoft Excel (OpenXML) | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
.xml |
XML | application/xml is recommended as of RFC 7303 (section 4.1), but text/xml is still used sometimes. You can assign a specific MIME type to a file with .xml extension depending on how its contents are meant to be interpreted. For instance, an Atom feed is application/atom+xml , but application/xml serves as a valid default. |
.xul |
XUL | application/vnd.mozilla.xul+xml |
.zip |
ZIP archive | application/zip |
.3gp |
3GPP audio/video container | video/3gpp ; audio/3gpp if it doesn’t contain video |
.3g2 |
3GPP2 audio/video container | video/3gpp2 ; audio/3gpp2 if it doesn’t contain video |
.7z |
7-zip archive | application/x-7z-compressed |
The content type for .xlsx files is:
application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
Or use this:
Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel"; Response.AppendHeader("content-disposition", "attachment; filename=myfile.xls");
For Excel 2007 and above the MIME type differs
Response.ContentType = "application/application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet"; Response.AppendHeader("content-disposition", "attachment; filename=myfile.xlsx");
Or if you are trying to read the file then try this:
DataSet objds = new DataSet(); string ConnStr = ""; if (FileExtension == ".xlsx") { ConnStr = "Provider=Microsoft.ACE.OLEDB.12.0;Data Source=" + FileName + ";Extended Properties="Excel 12.0 Xml;HDR=No;IMEX=1";"; } else { ConnStr = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=" + FileName + ";Extended Properties="Excel 8.0;HDR=No;IMEX=1";"; } OleDbCommand selectCommand = new OleDbCommand(); OleDbConnection connection = new OleDbConnection(); OleDbDataAdapter adapter = new OleDbDataAdapter(); connection.ConnectionString = ConnStr; string strSQL = "SELECT * FROM [Sheet1$]"; if (connection.State != ConnectionState.Open) connection.Open(); OleDbCommand cmd = new OleDbCommand(strSQL, connection); OleDbDataAdapter da = new OleDbDataAdapter(cmd); da.Fill(objds); connection.Close();
All the best.
—Amit
This article describes MIME Types and the corresponding file extension of the Microsoft Office documents. It will very be useful for document analysis, and you can easily define ContentType for the Microsoft Office associated documents in ASP.NET applications. Also you can use this details to customize MIME types in IIS server configuration.
For Microsoft Office Excel, you can define content type like this example.
Aspx page
<%response.ContentType=“application/vnd.ms-excel”%>
C#
Response.ContentType = “application/vnd.ms-excel”;
The following table lists the MIME types and file extensions that are associated with the Microsoft Office documents.
Extension | MIME Type |
.doc | application/msword |
.dot | application/msword |
.docx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
.dotx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.template |
.docm | application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroEnabled.12 |
.dotm | application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroEnabled.12 |
.xls | application/vnd.ms-excel |
.xlt | application/vnd.ms-excel |
.xla | application/vnd.ms-excel |
.xlsx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
.xltx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template |
.xlsm | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 |
.xltm | application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12 |
.xlam | application/vnd.ms-excel.addin.macroEnabled.12 |
.xlsb | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12 |
.ppt | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
.pot | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
.pps | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
.ppa | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
.pptx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation |
.potx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template |
.ppsx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow |
.ppam | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.addin.macroEnabled.12 |
.pptm | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12 |
.potm | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.12 |
.ppsm | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slideshow.macroEnabled.12 |
Thanks,
Morgan
Software Developer
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) is a media type used to identify a type of data on the Internet or by applications. Its name contains the word «Internet» but it is not only limited to the Internet.IANA is in charge of standardizing and disseminating these MIME classifications.
There are numerous popular extensions available among them. One of them is the Excel MIME type.
Every mime type is divided into two parts, which are separated by a slash (/).
1 Type is a logical grouping of many MIME types that are similar to one another. All Excel files have an application as a type.
2 SubType is specific to a single file type within the «type«.They are unique within the «type».Some of the subtypes for excel files are: vnd.ms-excel,vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet,vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template,vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 etc.
There are various MIME types for Excel for various Excel-related files and their extensions such as. xls,.xlsx,.xlt,.xla, and so on.
Let’s look at Excel file MIME Type and extension used by them in table format.
Extension | MIME Type (Type / SubType) | Kind of Document |
.xls | application/vnd.ms-excel | Microsoft Excel |
.xlsx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet | Microsoft Excel (OpenXML) |
.xltx | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template | Office Excel 2007 template |
.xlsm | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 | Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled workbook |
.xltm | application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12 | Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled workbook template |
.xlam | application/vnd.ms-excel.addin.macroEnabled.12 | Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled add-in |
.xlsb | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12 | Office Excel 2007 non xml binary workbook |
Let’s explain them in brief.
1 .xls
.xls is one of the older file extension of Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.It is created by Excel 97 or Excel 2003. They by default generate .xls format.
MIME Type Supported by .xls file is application/vnd.ms-excel where the application of MIME type and vnd.ms-excel is subtypes and vnd here means vendor-specific which in this case vendor is Microsoft.
If you have an.xls file and want to open it in Excel before prior 2007, you can do so easily because Excel before 2007 recognizes application/vnd.ms-excel and does not require to afford to open it.
Despite the fact that the.xls file format is older, it can be opened in all versions of Excel due to backward compatibility in newer versions.
2 .xlsx
xlsx is the new file extension of the Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. It is created by Excel 2007 and later versions.
If you create an excel file in Excel 2007 or later, it will be saved with the.xlsx extension by default; however, you can also save the same file in.xls format.xlsx is more secure and better for data storage(ie. smaller file size) than xls.
MIME type for .xlsx file is application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet where MIME type is application and subtype is vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
It is a file format based on Office OPEN XML developed by Microsoft for representing spreadsheets. Because xlsx is an open standard, other software application vendors, such as Google (Google Sheets), can use it to interoperate with their spreadsheet applications.
📑 The last «x» in the xlsx file extension indicates that the file is based on the XML Standard.
You can open Xls file in excel 2007 and later and convert them to xlsx and save it.
3 .xltx
Microsoft Excel Template files with the. xltx extensions are based on the Office OpenXML file format specifications. It is used to generate a standard template file that can be used to generate XLSX files with the same settings as the XLTX file.
MIME type for .xlsx file is application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template where MIME type is application and subtype is vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
It is XML based file format developed by Microsoft for representing templates. An XLTX is identical to an XLSX in every way except that Excel creates a new instance of an XLSX if the file opened is an XLTX.
📓 xltx is the replacement for the old .xlt format.
4 .xlsm
An XLSM file is a macro-enabled spreadsheet created by Microsoft Excel that can also be opened with Google Sheets.XLSM files are based on the Office Open XML format, where the last «m» of an xlsm file extension indicates that the file contains macros.Macros can be stored within an xlsm file, allowing users to automate repetitive tasks.
MIME type for .xlsx file is application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 where MIME type is application and subtype is vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12
5 .xlam
An XLAM file extension indicates an Excel Macro-Enabled Add-In file, which is used to provide additional functionality for spreadsheets.
It has the following MIME types:application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12 where MIME type is application and subtype is vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12
Because of the file’s purpose, there is built-in macro support in .xlam files.
6 .xlsb
An XLSB file is an Excel Binary Workbook file that stores data in binary rather than XML format. Because they are stored in binary, the read and write times in xlsb files are faster, and they have been found to be useful for very large and complex spreadsheets for this reason. They are also smaller in size than the XLSM format.
MIME type for .xlsx file is application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12 where MIME type is application and subtype is vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12
FAQ:
How to generate .xls file in C# ?
For generating a .xls file in C# code you have to mention application/vnd.ms-excel MIME types in response header as shown below.
Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.ms-excel";
Response.AppendHeader("content-disposition", "attachment; filename=sample.xls");
How to generate .xlsx file in C#?
For generating a .xls file in C# code you have to mention application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet MIME types in response header as shown below.
Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet";
Response.AppendHeader("content-disposition", "attachment; filename=sample.xls");
If you are generating Excel file target to xlsx file then you have to use above.
What is the replacement of the xla format?
Ans: xlam is the replacement for the old .xla format.
This is a list of the MIME Types of all well known and lesser known file formats and kinds of documents from the Microsoft Office family.
You can find the MIME Types in the table ordered by the corresponding application Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Access as well as the extension of the file.
Microsoft Word
Extension | MIME-Type |
DOC | application/msword |
DOCX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
DOT | application/msword |
DOTX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.template |
DOCM | application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroEnabled.12 |
DOTM | application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroEnabled.12 |
DOCM | application/vnd.ms-word.document.macroEnabled.12 |
DOTM | application/vnd.ms-word.template.macroEnabled.12 |
WORD | application/msword |
W6W | application/msword |
Microsoft Excel
Extension | MIME-Type |
XLS | application/msexcel |
XLSX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet |
XLT | application/msexcel |
XLTX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.template |
XLA | application/msexcel |
XLW | application/msexcel |
XLSM | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.macroEnabled.12 |
XLSB | application/vnd.ms-excel.sheet.binary.macroEnabled.12 |
XLTM | application/vnd.ms-excel.template.macroEnabled.12 |
XLAM | application/vnd.ms-excel.addin.macroEnabled.12 |
Microsoft PowerPoint
Extension | MIME-Type |
PPT | application/mspowerpoint |
PPTX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation |
POT | application/mspowerpoint |
POTX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.template |
PPS | application/mspowerpoint |
PPSX | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.slideshow |
PPA | application/mspowerpoint |
PPAM | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.addin.macroEnabled.12 |
PPTM | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.presentation.macroEnabled.12 |
PPSM | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.slideshow.macroEnabled.12 |
POTM | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint.template.macroEnabled.12 |
Microsoft Access
Extension | MIME-Type |
MDB | application/msaccess |
ACCDA | application/msaccess |
ACCDB | application/msaccess |
ACCDE | application/msaccess |
ACCDR | application/msaccess |
ACCDT | application/msaccess |
ADE | application/msaccess |
ADP | application/msaccess |
ADN | application/msaccess |
MDE | application/msaccess |
MDF | application/msaccess |
MDN | application/msaccess |
MDT | application/msaccess |
MDW | application/msaccess |
Other
Extension | MIME-Type |
CALCX | application/vnd.ms-office.calx |
HLP (Microsoft Windows Help) | application/x-winhelp |
MPP (Microsoft Project) | application/msproject |
THMX | application/vnd.ms-officetheme |
WRI (Microsoft Write) | application/mswrite |
I hope, I could help you with this list. If I should have forgotten something, just write a comment.