Files that contain the XLR file extension are associated with the Microsoft Works office suite of applications. MS Works is an older office suite program which preceded the release of Microsoft Office; however, some people still use MS Works especially if they have a PC with an older operating system. The program is comprised of a word processor, spreadsheet application, and a database program.
XLR files are spreadsheet files created with the spreadsheet application portion in Microsoft Works. The files contain data which is included in spreadsheet cells, formulas, graphs and charts, and other typical spreadsheet elements. Although the files are created with MS Works, it is possible to open and view them using a variety of different methods.
How to Open XLR Files
Since XLR files are spreadsheet files, there is a variety of ways you can open and view the contents of the file if you do not have Microsoft Works installed. First, you can try double clicking on the file you want to view to see if it automatically opens in a default program that you have installed on your PC.
If you have the Microsoft Office installed, chances are the file will open in Excel since XLR files are designed to be imported into newer versions of Microsoft Office. You may lose some of the formatting created by Works; however, you will still be able to view the data contained in the file and perform edits to a certain extent.
If you do not have Office installed, another option is to download OpenOffice from OpenOffice.org. This is an open source suite of office applications which is available as a free download. The spreadsheet application contained in OpenOffice is capable of opening XLR files created by Microsoft Works. OpenOffice also works across the board with the Windows operating system, Mac OS X, and Linux.
You can also opt to change the XLR file extension to another format such as CSV or XLS which makes the file viewable in Excel worksheets. If you happen to use or have access to Lotus, you can change the extension to WK1 which converts it to a Lotus 1-2-3 file. Or, as a last resort, you can try changing the file extension to TXT to open and view the contents in a text editing program such as Wordpad or TextEdit.
To change the extension, simply right click on the XLR file and then choose Rename from the drop-down menu. Change the extension to whatever you choose and then click on Save. Try to open the file in the appropriate program which corresponds with the file extension.
