Convert Excel to SharePoint list

How to import Excel spreadsheets to SharePoint as lists

By João Ferreira May 31, 2020 SharePoint 4 Comments

Excel and SharePoint lists were always connected and have a lot in common however the available methods to transform a spreadsheet into a list were outdated and not compliant with the latest web standards.

During the last Microsoft Build the world was introduced to the new Microsoft Lists, a new application in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem that will leverage the power of SharePoint list. While we dont have the chance to play with Microsoft Lists a new feature to import Excel spreadsheets has landed on SharePoint.

The new import feature takes advantage of the modern SharePoint and has support in all major modern browsers.

How to create SharePoint lists from Excel files using modern SharePoint

The process to create SharePoint lists from Excel file is quite simple yet very powerful, to use it you have to do the following:

1. On your modern SharePoint site go to Site Contents
2. Click on New
3. On the Create a list pane click on From Excel
   
4. Provide a name for your list
5. Upload your Excel file
6. Select one of the available tables in the file
7. Define a column type for each one of your columns, or remove them from the import
   
8. After a few seconds SharePoint will open your new list with the content you had in the Excel spreadsheet

To view the entire process in action check out the video below.

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