Excel xml file opens in Edge in the incorrect format instead of in Excel

Question

Excel file (.xml format) opens in Edge instead of in Excel when clicked on.

Right-clicking does not have the 'open with' menu option, only 'open'.

Please advise.

Answer 1

Hello,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

Per your description, it seems that you want to open Excel file in Excel desktop application.

To understand the exact scenario and better help you, I would appreciate if you could share with me following information:

1. May I know where is Excel file stored? Is it stored in OneDrive for business or SharePoint Online?
2. May I know if this issue happens when you open a specific Excel file or different Excel files?
3. Could you please share some screenshots about the situation from your side?

I look forward to hearing from you; Please understand that our initial reply may not always immediately resolve the issue. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Thanks for your cooperation and understanding. I hope that you are keeping safe and well!

Sincerely,

Tina | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

Hi Tina,

1. The file is shared on Teams in a zip file, and then extracted (stored in Downloads folder).
2. At this time the issue happens for a specific file; this is a colleague's issue (apologies I did not take screenshots) however they noted that they did not see other files in that format. However, they did experience the same issue last year.

I have also tried sharing the same file but changed the 'open with' app and permissions in the properties window, but this did not resolve the issue.

Answer 3

Hello,

Thank you for posting back and sharing with me the detailed information.

I will try testing from my side and let you know the result when I have any update.

At the same time, I want to confirm the following information:

1.As you mentioned the xml file is stored in the Downloads folder. Is it the Downloads folder on your computer local drive?

2.May I know if you are using Teams on Windows computer?

Thanks for your time and cooperation! I hope have a nice day!

Sincerely,

Tina

Answer 4

Hi Tina,

Thank you!

1. The downloads folder is a local drive; the files are then not saved in a network folder.
2. Yes, Teams is used on a Windows computer.

Kind regards

Answer 5

Hello,

Thank you for sharing with me the detailed information. I will help you further.

Per your description, I understand the scenario is that you have a downloaded .xml file and you want to open it by using Excel app.

Per my test, I found that when I right clicked on a .xml file > chose Open with, I can't choose Excel App, because Excel was not showing as an option from the options list.

I did more tests, there are other ways to open .xml file by using Excel.

1. You may also try steps below:

• Open Excel application first,
• Go to File > Open > navigate to the .xml file, select it and click Open. Select the As an XML table option on the Open XML dialog box that appears, and then click the OK button. A Microsoft Excel dialog box will appear with the message, “The specified XML source does not refer to a schema. Excel will create a schema based on the XML source data.” Click OK, data will load in Excel worksheet.

2. If this is not what you want, you may also try following steps, open xml file in Excel is by using the Get & Transform options in the Data tab.

• Open Excel application first
• Click the Data tab.
• In the Get & Transform Data group, click the Get Data option. This will show you a drop-down with some options.
• Hover the mouse pointer over the From File option and click From XML on the sub-menu.
• In the Import Data dialog box that opens, navigate to the folder where the XML file is saved, select the file, and click on Import button.
• Preview the imported data, click Transform Data
• In the Power Query Editor window, choose Close & Load from ribbon to load the data onto the Excel worksheet.

If my understanding of the scenario is not consistent with yours, feel free to point it out, I will continue helping you.

Thanks for your time and cooperation so far.

Hope you have a nice day!

Sincerely,

Tina | Microsoft Community Moderator