Cannot import Excel spreadsheet into Sharepoint Online

Question

We have Office365. I need to import various Excel spreadsheets into SharePoint Online as lists. I have full administrator rights to SharePoint Online.

I have attempted to use the Import Spreadsheet app in all three browsers (Chrome, Edge, and Firefox). Every time I try to import the spreadsheet using this app, I get the following error message, and the spreadsheet won’t upload: "This feature requires a browser that supports ActiveX controls." ActiveX controls are enabled on all three browsers. This doesn't seem to matter. 

Then I tried opening the site in IE 11 and trying again to use Import Spreadsheet, which is what the “Help” dialog  in SharePoint Online tells me to do, and I get this error: "This list cannot be imported because a Microsoft SharePoint Foundation-compatible spreadsheet application is not installed or is not compatible with your browser." I am using the latest version of Excel, but I have saved my data as a.csv, an .xls file, on OneDrive, and finally, stripped any "complex" formulas out of it and tried uploading it as plain data. I get the same error message each time, regardless of how I save or format my data. The "export to Excel" function on SharePoint Online works perfectly.

This should be a standard function of SharePoint Online, and should in no way be this difficult. This is a crucial activity, and I am extremely frustrated by how much time this has taken me so far.

Please tell me how I can upload my spreadsheets?

Answer 1

I am going to close out this issue because I have found a solution, without Microsoft's help.

This is the only effective work-around I've found, and I have to say, it is ridiculous that I've wasted 2 1/2 days trying to fix this issue, and that it turns out, Microsoft was not part of the solution, only part of the problem.

Please fix this baffling issue, MS -- it's been going on at least since 2015. 

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie11-windows\_7/no-choice-but-to-use-chrome-for-sharepoint-imports/8e2da1b0-af01-48af-9993-f56c0a39cb25?auth=1

Answer 2

Hi Kate,

Thanks for sharing your experience and apologize for the trouble caused. We are always committed to improve our products and services for you and others, thus we kindly invite you to submit your feedback in SharePoint UserVoice.

We appreciate your understanding.

Regards,

Joanne

Answer 3

It's utterly incredible  -  Msft can't get SP to work with THEIR OWN RECOMMENDED BROWSER, so we have to use Chrome with an extension that emulates IE?????????????? 

And Msft has no answers to this??????????? At the companies I've worked for, a problem this significant would trigger an immediate investigation and roll back to a "working state" - and probably those responsible would be looking for new jobs. But Msft just ignores the issue as if it doesn't exist. 

If the issue is that SP isn't compatible with IE11 which seems to be the case, I suppose one option would be to remove it and install IE10. But try getting your IT dept to agree to that.