read xls file it takes 20 inute to read it the xls backend is on html based can you suggest me the fast way to red read it ?
Hi @Ejaz_Ab
Can you please share more details on how you are reading it currently? Is excel available locally or you are reading it from lan drive?
Probably a screenshot of your workflow as well.
This will help us understand in a better way.
Hey,
Are you using Excel Activities or Workbook activities? if you are using excel activities process usually takes a lot of time to read. can you check with workbook activities?
If you are using Workbook activities and the process still taking a lot of time to read i think you can follow the alternative approach like below
- Rename the file like this
File.xls → File.html - Use Read Text File
- Use HTML parsing. Like below
html = System.IO.File.ReadAllText(“File.html”)
doc = New HtmlAgilityPack.HtmlDocument
doc.LoadHtml(html)table = doc.DocumentNode.SelectNodes(“//table”)(0)
- Then loop through tr / td .
Hope this helps. Try the approach and do let me know
Thanks,
NaNi
it is available on local
when i try to open in through read range my cpu hit 100% and takes to much time
let me check this solution it sounds great
Not working, is there any alternative?
Hi Ejaz,
Let me know if I understood your question correctly. You have an .xls file, and when you try to read it in UiPath it takes around 20 minutes, possibly because the file is HTML-based in the backend rather than a native Excel format.
And you are looking for a faster way to read this file in UiPath.
You could try the following approaches:
Approach 1 : Use Excel activities
- Try using Excel Scope / Use Excel File with Read Range.
- Sometimes the modern Excel activities handle such files better than workbook activities depending on how the file is structured.
Approach 2 : Treat the file as HTML
-
Rename the file
Example: Report.xls to Report.html -
Use Read Text File
- FilePath : “Report.html”
- Output : htmlContent
-
Use Generate Data Table (You might need to have to perform some data cleanups)
- Input : htmlContent
- Output : dt_Output
This approach reads the HTML table and converts it directly into a DataTable
Hope this helps. If possible, please share a sample file , as that would help in suggesting a more accurate solution.
Hi @Ejaz_Ab
Are you please able to share screenshot of your workflow from studio?
We would like to see what activities you are using currently to read excel.
does it take 20 mins using excel activities?
if yes, have you tried to read excel using “read workbook” activity and observed the time taken?
Generally, workbook activities are much more faster than excel activities.
Additionally, directly using closed XML is also an option. Please note that workbook activities also use closed xml internally, so would be better to first try using those.
Write Range Workbook: Data would write out of the sheet.
the data is like this
html> RTF Template .c0 {text-align: center;line-height: 26.588pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left: 6.2pt;margin-right: 6.0pt;} .c1 {font-family: ‘Calibri’;font-size: 20.0pt;color: #000000;} .c2 {line-height: 13.8pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 10.0pt;margin-left: 6.2pt;margin-right: 6.0pt;} .c3 {height: 25.932pt;} .c4 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:2.749%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c5 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 5.4pt;margin-right: 4.699pt;} .c6 {font-family: ‘Calibri’;font-size: 11.0pt;color: #000000;} .c7 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:1.39%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c8 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 6.099pt;margin-right: 4.599pt;} .c9 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:2.529%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c10 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 6.199pt;margin-right: 4.4pt;} .c11 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:1.938%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c12 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 5.4pt;margin-right: 4.599pt;} .c13 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:2.101%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c14 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 6.199pt;margin-right: 4.199pt;} .c15 {border-width: 0.5pt;border-color: #000000;border-style: solid;width:1.922%;background-color: #ffffff;} .c16 {line-height: 12.716pt;margin-top: 0.0pt;margin-bottom: 0.0pt;margin-left: 5.6pt;margin-right: 4.65pt;}
body>
CMPAK Receiving Report
Item Vendor | Item | Description | Category Code | Item Category Desc | ERP Unique Seq | Item Type | Serial Number | Asset Tag | Lot No. | Sitename | Po No. | ATN | Transaction Reason | Transaction Reference | Sub-Inventory | UOM | Transaction Quantity | Available Quantity | Po Currency | Unit Price (PKR) | Project Code | Gl Code |
Hi @Ejaz_Ab
Instead of excel application scope, can you use read range workbook activity and notice the time taken?
You can also try 1 thing. Save your excel file as .csv and then read it using Read csv activity and see how much time it takes.
Hi @Ejaz_Ab
I have also noticed that you have not provided any range in your read range activity.
Can you provide the range?
If you don’t know the end range then only starting range should suffice like “A1”
tried every thing range is not an issue
Hi @Ejaz_Ab,
Since your XLS file is actually HTML-based (which is common with some legacy systems), here are a few approaches that should be much faster than 20 minutes:
1. Use Read Range Workbook (not Excel Application Scope)
- Excel Application Scope loads the entire Excel application which is slow for HTML-based files
- Read Range Workbook reads directly without opening Excel
- This alone could reduce your time from 20 minutes to under 30 seconds
2. Convert to CSV first
- Save the file as .csv instead of .xls
- Use Read CSV activity which is optimized for plain text
- Much faster parsing for tabular data
3. If you must use the HTML structure directly
- Rename .xls to .html
- Use Read Text File + HTML parsing (as @THIRU_NANI suggested)
- HtmlAgilityPack is good for this
My recommendation: Try #1 first - just switch from Excel Application Scope to Read Range Workbook. That’s usually the bottleneck with HTML-based Excel files.
Let me know if that helps!
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