Converting Numbers to Excel on Mac

One of the most widely contested facts is which is better: Numbers or Excel? On one hand, Mac is highly intuitive and the stylus tool – Pencil – may be used most effectively while dealing with accounts. However, Excel has been used for a much longer period of time and many office employees are more familiar with Microsoft as it has dominated the corporate world for many years.

As Microsoft and Macintosh are the most common and widely-used operating systems in the world, it should come as no surprise that one of the more popular searches on Google incorporates the two: how to convert Numbers to Excel.

Fortunately, it isn’t rocket science and anyone with some understanding of secretarial work should be able to figure it out. However, here is a step by step guide on how to convert Numbers to Excel on a Mac:

1. While in In Numbers, head to the menu at the top and look for ‘File’;
2. One of the drop-down menu selections will be ‘Export To’;
3. Click ‘Export To’ and select ‘Excel’;
4. Make the necessary adjustments – for older versions of Excel, go to ‘Advanced Options’ and change the .xlsx extension to .xls;
5. Click ‘Next’;
6. Choose your file destination (where you want to save it to) and click ‘Export’!

Converting isn’t the only option for Mac users to generate a document that is compatible with Windows. In fact, exporting a Numbers file as an Excel sheet is much easier:

1. Open the file in iCloud;
2. Click on the wrench icon;
3. Select ‘View Numbers Tools’;
4. Download a Copy and select ‘Excel’.

What you should know before converting Numbers to Excel:

Converting or exporting files for another operating system isn’t always going to be perfect. The fact is that while they are similar, they are still completely different software apps and their features will not be identical, which means that some formatting issues may arise when you export them into a different format.

Therefore, it should be expected that complicated sheets may not convert well. The formatting and the formulas may not work perfectly. However, with today’s integration of Cloud-based apps, there may be no reason for conversion at all. One may be able to use Google Sheets – an online platform that gives users the ability to do everything they can do on Numbers or Excel and more, as it can be accessed and used on all operating platforms, offering smooth collaboration between team members and eliminating the need for converting.