Import will automatically import most common file formats as a suitable expression :
In[]:=
Import["ExampleData/cities.xlsx"]
Out[]=
{{{City,Country,Population},{Tokyo,Japan,8.3×
6
10
},{Chicago,United States,2.8×
6
10
},{London,United Kingdom,7.4×
6
10
},{Berlin,Germany,3.4×
6
10
}},{{}}}
IfImportcannotdeterminetheformatofafile,youcanspecifyitexplicity:
In[]:=
Import["ExampleData/cities.xlsx","XLSX"]
Out[]=
{{{City,Country,Population},{Tokyo,Japan,8.3×
6
10
},{Chicago,United States,2.8×
6
10
},{London,United Kingdom,7.4×
6
10
},{Berlin,Germany,3.4×
6
10
}},{{}}}
In[]:=
Import["ExampleData/cities.xlsx","Dataset"]
Out[]=

City
Country
Population
Tokyo
Japan
8300000.
Chicago
United States
2800000.
London
United Kingdom
7400000.
Berlin
Germany
3400000.
,

In[]:=
Import["ExampleData/cities.xlsx","Elements"]
Out[]=
{Data,Dataset,Dimensions,FormattedData,Formulas,Images,SheetCount,Sheets}
Specify which element to import:
In[]:=
Import["ExampleData/cities.xlsx","Images"]
Out[]=

