How to Open a PRN File in Excel

A PRN file is a printer file that contains the instructions for printing a document. Excel cannot natively open PRN files, but there are a few ways to do it.

Using the Import Text File Dialog Box

One way to open a PRN file in Excel is to use the Import Text File dialog box. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the File menu and select Open.
2. In the Open dialog box, select the Text Files (*.txt; *.csv; *.prn) option from the Files of type drop-down list.
3. Navigate to the PRN file that you want to open and select it.
4. Click the Open button.

If the Import Text File dialog box doesn’t provide the desired results, you can try the Manual Text Import Wizard. Follow these steps:

• Go to the Data tab.
• Click on Get Data and choose From Text.
• Select the PRN file and click Import.
• Follow the wizard, specifying delimiters and formats to ensure accurate data import.

Using the Power Query Add-in

Another way to open a PRN file in Excel is to use the Power Query add-in. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Data tab and select From Text/CSV.
2. Navigate to the PRN file that you want to open and select it.
3. Click the Import button.

Once you have opened the PRN file in Excel, you can use it like any other Excel spreadsheet. You can edit the data, create charts and graphs, and print the file.

Limitations

There are a few limitations to opening PRN files in Excel.

• The data in the PRN file must be in a format that Excel can understand.
• The PRN file must be saved in a location that Excel can access.
• The PRN file must be less than 1024 kilobytes in size.

Tips

Here are some additional tips for opening PRN files in Excel:

• If the PRN file does not open correctly, try changing the encoding in the Import Text File dialog box.
• If the PRN file is too large, you can try splitting it into smaller files.