How can I convert MS Excel 2.x files into CSV format?

Question

I currently have MS Excel 2.x (BIFF2) files that I receive from a client. They need to be loaded into an ETL system via SSIS. From what I can tell and from my tests, SSIS cannot read these files directly. I have also tried using Aspose.Cells for .NET to open / convert these files in .NET with no luck. Hopefully there is another way to read these files in and convert them to a usable format.

I know of many spreadsheet components on the market for .NET but I'd rather not have to download and test every single one of them to find out if they work with these files. Is there another component, solution or technique that I can use to convert such an old file format for use in SSIS?

Edit: Here is a sample of the file - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7459431/Excel2.xls

Answer 1

Can MS Access import it?

Answer 2

I tested this solution on your file, so I know that it works. I downloaded XLS Converter and ran a batch file with the following code:

xlsconverter.exe c:\excel2.xls csv c:\

This generated a CSV version of the file. At that point I was able to import the CSV file with a standard data flow. It does not appear that you have to install Microsoft Office to get this tool to work. I tried another competing product called Convert XLS, but it appears it can only convert versions prior to Excel 97 if you have Office 2003 installed on the machine.