Excel: Open documents online - here's how to do it

You can open and edit your Excel documents not only locally on your computer, but also online. This is because Microsoft, like other providers, offers a complete office suite for the browser. Find out how you can use Microsoft's free online offering and what alternatives are available.

How to open Excel documents via the browser

You can conveniently use Microsoft's web-based Office suite from anywhere via the browser. All you need is a free Microsoft account to sign in.Follow these steps to open your Excel document with the web version of Excel:

1. Open your browser and go to the URL "www.office.com".
2. Sign in with your Microsoft account.
3. Select Excel from the list of tools.
4. Click the "Upload and Open" option. Navigate to the file you want to open and select it.
5. Finally, click "Open". The file will then be uploaded to your OneDrive online storage so that it can be opened by the Excel web version.

Alternatives to the Office web version

One of the most comprehensive alternatives to Microsoft's web-based Office suite is Google's offering. Like the Microsoft Office suite, you can conveniently access Google's tools via the browser and edit texts, spreadsheets and presentations, for example. To use Google's offer, you need nothing more than a free Google account.