How to open xbrl file in Excel
I’m working with esg data at the moment. I need to store them in xbrl files format and I would like to share my experiences with you.
I’ll show you how to open xbrl file in Excel application.
Excel does not natively supprt XBRL files so you need to convert your file to csv, xlsx or xml file formats. There are a few options you are having to work with .xbrl files in Excel.
Table of Contents
Option 1. Using XBRL converters
There are many dedicated software tools that will help you to convert XBRL files into formats that are Excel-compatible. These tools can open an XBRL file and export the data into a format that Excel can read. You can use either online or offline tools to make such a xbrl conversion.
Option 2. Manual conversion
For smaller files you can convert the xbrl file manually. Just open Notepad++, Excel or any other editor and copy and paste the data by yourself. This option is not feasible for big amount of data.
Option 3. Using Excel with VBA
It is possible to use Excel VBA code to import a xbrl file into an Excel application. If you are proficient in VBA, you can write a script to parse the XML data from the XBRL file and place it into your Excel sheet.
Option 4. Using Power Query and XML Parsing (Best for Repeatable Imports)
If you’re regularly importing XBRL data and need a repeatable, in-house solution, Power Query offers a middle-ground approach. Power Query can connect to XML sources and parse hierarchical data into flat tables.
Here’s the workflow: Open Power Query in Excel (Data > Get Data > From File > From XML). Browse to your XBRL file and open it. Power Query’s query editor shows the XML structure. Expand the relevant nodes (finding elements containing financial figures), select the data you want, and configure columns. Power Query flattens the hierarchical XML data into a table. Click Close & Load to return the data to your worksheet.
For example, if you wanted to extract all Revenue figures from an XBRL file across different reporting periods, you’d navigate to the Revenue elements in the XML hierarchy, expand them, select the period and value columns, and Power Query creates a table with periods as rows and revenue values as columns.
Option 5. Using Excel Add-Ins
The last option is to use the Excel Add-In that can parse such xbrl file and import that into Excel worksheet. If you frequently need to work with XBRL files, consider using such an Excel Add-In.
Choose the method that best suits the volume of data you’re dealing with and the frequency with which you need to convert XBRL files to Excel formats. In my case, I will hire a professional company to create and mantain a dedicated VBA code. My case is related to professional service that work with big data volumes.
