How do you convert XLSX to CSV on a Mac, for every sheet and many files?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 31 October 2026

In Excel for Mac, choose File, Save As and pick “CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)”. Excel saves only the active sheet, so a workbook with five sheets needs five saves, and a folder of workbooks needs many more. Free batch routes are LibreOffice in Terminal or a script. Gridhand writes one CSV per sheet for every workbook you add, with the delimiter and encoding you choose.

One sheet, in Excel

1. Click the sheet you want.
2. File, Save As. In the File Format menu choose CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) for modern programs, or CSV (Comma delimited) for older ones that expect Windows or Mac encodings.
3. Save. Excel warns that only the active sheet is saved; that is expected.

Many sheets or files, free

• Every sheet by hand: repeat the steps per sheet and rename each file.
• LibreOffice in Terminal: /Applications/LibreOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice --headless --convert-to csv --outdir out *.xlsx converts each file’s first sheet by default; other sheets need extra filter options.
• A script with Python (openpyxl or pandas) can export every sheet if you maintain it.

What changes in a CSV

• Formulas become their saved results.
• Merged cells keep only the top-left value.
• Dates follow your Mac’s region unless you format them as text or ISO dates.
• A semicolon delimiter is common in Europe; choose the one the receiving program expects.
• Without a byte order mark, some programs misread UTF-8 accents; with one, others show stray characters at the start of the first header.

With Gridhand

Gridhand Convert, in “XLSX to CSV” mode, writes one CSV per sheet for every workbook. You choose the delimiter, the encoding (UTF-8 with or without BOM, UTF-16 LE, Windows-1252), the line endings, whether hidden sheets are included and which sheets to take. Dates are written as yyyy-mm-dd, formulas as their saved result, and merged cells as the top-left value, and the report notes the merged cells. Originals are never modified, and existing file names are not overwritten.

Steps with Gridhand

1. Drop the workbooks, or a folder, into Gridhand and choose Convert.
2. Choose “XLSX to CSV”, then the delimiter, encoding and line endings, and filter sheets if needed.
3. Check the preview, choose an output folder and press Run.

Free for up to 3 files per run; Gridhand Pro is USD 49 once. Download Gridhand

Questions

Does it export all sheets? Yes, one CSV per sheet, and you can leave hidden sheets or specific sheets out.

Which encoding should I pick? UTF-8 for most programs. Pick UTF-8 with BOM if a program that opens the CSV in Excel shows broken accents, and Windows-1252 for old software.

Are formulas kept? The CSV contains each formula’s saved result, not the formula.

Can it read .xls files? No. Open the file in Excel, save it as .xlsx, then convert.

Related guides

• How to batch convert CSV to XLSX on a Mac
• How to merge Excel files on a Mac

Microsoft and Excel are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Gridhand is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.

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