Setting Gnumeric to Save in Excel Format by Default.

How to set Gnumeric to Save in Excel Format by Default.

Unfortunately we live in a world dominated by Microsoft products, and when we save a file it needs to be in a format that others can use. While Gnumeric is in my opinion a better product, and much more versatile than Excel, the reality is that Excel cannot open a .gnumeric file.

So it often annoyed me to have to select the filetype that I wished to save in and add the .xls extension to my filename as well.

But a little exploration led me to an easy solution if you primarily save files in the Excel .xls format.

All you need to do is locate and edit one file. The location may vary for different distributions (but I believe it should not, if someone finds the file in a different location please let me know and I will update accordingly Vladd44@Vladd44.com).

Locating the file you need to Edit

1. First you will need to know what version of Gnumeric you are using, this will affect where the file is located. To do so, open gnumeric and select Help, About

The example above is Version 1.8.2, and for the demonstration below I will use that value, change accordingly to fit your version.

2. From Terminal you will need to enter the following:
cd /usr/lib/gnumeric/1.8.2/plugins/excel/
If this fails, see the section Additional Help below.

3. Then you will need to open the file plugin.xml.

Use whatever text editor you prefer, below are a few examples for a few common editors.

geany plugin.xml
gedit plugin.xml
vi plugin.xml

If the file opens read-only you will need to precede the command with sudo ie sudo gedit plugin.xml. But this should not be a factor.

4. Find the element that includes the following:
service type="file_saver".

It may also include some or all of the following:
overwrite_files="TRUE" mime_type="application/vnd.ms-excel" id="excel_biff8" format_level="auto" file_extension="xls"

5. Add among them the following:
default_saver_priority="100"

The finished line should look something like this:

6. Save the file.

7. Exit.

Now gnumeric should default to saving in Excel .xls format.

Additional Help

If you cannot locate the file with the above directions, the information listed below may help you find the file via your windows manager.

In /usr/lib/gnumeric/ there should be another folder with the version number of your particular version of Gnumeric. Open it and the next folder to look for is named plugins followed by the last folder which is named excel.

You may be able to simply open the fileplugin.xml with your text editor and then proceed with steps 4-7 above.