Explain This Spreadsheet
A plain-English summary of a spreadsheet's structure. Upload an .xlsx file to see its sheets, how big each one is, how much of it is formulas versus static data, which functions it relies on, and whether sheets reference each other.
About this tool
Choose an Excel workbook and this explains how it’s built: what each sheet holds, how much is formulas rather than typed-in numbers, which functions are used, which sheets pull values from which, and the tables, named ranges, drop-downs, charts and pivot tables inside. Copies of the same formula filled down a column are grouped, so you can see how many distinct calculations there really are, and the most involved ones are explained in plain English.
The “Before you rely on it” panel flags what’s easy to miss: hidden and very hidden sheets, links to other files, macros, cells showing errors, and cells that break the pattern of the formulas around them, which is often a sign that someone typed over a formula. It reads the values Excel saved with the file and doesn’t recalculate anything.
It reads .xlsx and .xlsm files, not the older .xls format, CSV files or Google Sheets (download those as .xlsx first). Everything happens in your browser and the file is never uploaded. To have every formula explained one by one, or to paste in a single formula, use Spreadsheet Formula Explainer.