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import - Importing a large Excel file


I'm trying to import a simple Excel file containing 94,000 rows and 52 columns of various types, mostly Reals. It's a 38-MB file. I get this super helpful error message:


Import::fmterr: Cannot import data as XLS format. >>

How can I fix this?



A little googling reveals that for large files Wolfram recommends the approach that RMMA posted:


<< JLink`;
InstallJava[];

ReinstallJava[JVMArguments -> "-Xmx512m"]

But I get the same error no matter how big I make the number in "-Xmx512m", which I assume is the Java heap size. Can anyone recommend a way to import this file ideally without using Excel to convert it to a different format?


Addendum: I appreciate the effective ideas that have been proposed as workarounds. But I'm looking for a way of directly importing Excel files. It will be difficult to explain that my favorite software cannot import Excel files without prior conversion using some external program. If this is the case, I'm truly surprised.




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