What Is Textile?

Textile is a lightweight markup language that converts plain text into structured HTML. Developed by Dean Allen for the Textpattern CMS, it uses simple punctuation to represent formatting — similar to Markdown but with a different syntax philosophy.

Textile is the default or supported markup in:

• Redmine — issue tracking and project management (tables in wiki, issues, comments)

• GitLab — wiki pages and issue descriptions

• Basecamp — message formatting

• Textpattern — CMS content authoring

• Jekyll — via the jekyll-textile-converter plugin

• Ruby on Rails — RedCloth gem for text-to-HTML conversion

Textile Table Syntax

Textile tables use pipe characters (|) to separate cells:

|_. Name |_. Age |_. City ||Alice|30|Berlin||Bob|25|Tokyo|

Key syntax elements:

Rendered output for the example above:

Why Convert Excel to Textile?

Manually writing Textile pipe tables for large datasets is error-prone and tedious. A converter automates this:

• Redmine wikis — Paste project data, release notes, or comparison tables directly into wiki pages

• GitLab issues — Include structured data in issue descriptions and merge request comments

• Basecamp messages — Format tabular data in project discussions

• Textpattern articles — Embed data tables in CMS content

• Documentation — Generate Textile tables for Ruby on Rails project documentation

Supported File Formats

Multi-sheet workbooks are supported — a sheet selector appears when multiple worksheets are detected.

Core Features

Table Head Syntax

Enable Table Head Syntax to format the first row as a Textile header row using _. prefix:

|_. Name |_. Age |_. City |
|Alice|30|Berlin|

When disabled, all rows use regular cell formatting:

|Name|Age|City|
|Alice|30|Berlin|

Row Header

Enable Row Header to format the first column of each data row as a row header (bold <th> cell):

|_. Name |_. Age |_. City |
|_. Alice |30|Berlin|
|_. Bob |25|Tokyo|

This is useful when the first column contains row identifiers (names, categories, labels).

Escape Characters

Enable Escape Characters to escape Textile's special syntax characters (|, ., -, ^) in cell values. This prevents accidental formatting when cell content contains these characters.

For example, a cell containing Price: $19.99 could be misinterpreted by the Textile parser. Escaping ensures literal output.

Full Table Editor

After uploading your Excel file, the built-in editor lets you:

• Add, delete, and reorder rows and columns

• Transpose rows to columns

• Remove empty rows and duplicate rows

• Apply case transformations (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Capitalize)

• Find and replace values (with regex support)

Privacy

All processing happens in your browser. Your Excel files are never uploaded to any server.

How to Use the Excel to Textile Converter

Step 1 — Upload Your Excel File

Drag and drop an .xlsx, .xls, or .xlsm file onto the upload area, or click to browse. If the workbook has multiple sheets, select the desired sheet from the dropdown.

Step 2 — Edit (Optional)

Use the toolbar to modify your data. Insert or remove rows and columns, transpose the table, deduplicate rows, or apply bulk case changes.

Step 3 — Configure Options

In the Properties panel:

• Table Head Syntax — toggle on to format the first row as a header

• Row Header — toggle on to bold the first column

• Escape Characters — toggle on to escape Textile special characters

Step 4 — Convert

Click Convert. The Textile markup appears in the Output Data panel.

Step 5 — Copy or Download

Click Copy to Clipboard to paste the Textile into Redmine, GitLab, or Basecamp, or use Download File (Premium) to save the .textile file.

Textile vs Markdown Tables

Textile tables are more expressive than Markdown tables — they support row headers, colspan, rowspan, and per-cell alignment natively.

Use Cases

1. Redmine wikis — Paste project data, sprint summaries, or API parameter tables into wiki pages

2. GitLab issues — Include structured test data or comparison tables in issue descriptions

3. Basecamp messages — Format schedule data, resource tables, or status reports

4. Textpattern content — Embed data tables in CMS articles

5. Ruby documentation — Generate Textile tables for Rails project READMEs and guides

6. Migration from Excel — Move tabular content from spreadsheets into Textile-based platforms

FAQ

• What Excel file formats does the Excel to Textile converter accept?

  The converter accepts .xlsx (Excel Workbook), .xls (Excel 97–2003), and .xlsm (Macro-Enabled Workbook) files. Multi-sheet workbooks are supported with a sheet selector.

• Does the tool upload my Excel data to a server?

  No. All conversion happens entirely in your browser using client-side JavaScript. Your files are never uploaded, transferred, or stored on any server.

• What is Textile markup?

  Textile is a lightweight markup language that converts plain text to HTML using simple punctuation. It is the default markup in Redmine and is supported by GitLab, Basecamp, and Textpattern. Tables use pipe characters (|) for cell separators and _. for header cells.

• What does the Table Head Syntax option do?

  When enabled, the converter wraps the first row with Textile heading syntax (_. prefix), producing header cells. When disabled, all rows use regular cell formatting.

• What does the Row Header option do?

  When enabled, the first column of each data row is formatted as a row header using the _. prefix, producing bold cells. This is useful when the first column contains row identifiers like names or categories.

• What does the Escape Characters option do?

  When enabled, the converter escapes Textile's special syntax characters (|, ., -, ^) in cell values. This prevents accidental formatting when cell content contains these characters.

• What platforms support Textile tables?

  Textile is supported by Redmine (wiki, issues), GitLab (wiki, issues), Basecamp (messages), Textpattern (CMS content), and Jekyll (via plugin). The RedCloth gem provides Textile support in Ruby on Rails applications.

• Can I edit my Excel data before converting to Textile?

  Yes. After uploading your file, a full table editor opens where you can add or remove rows and columns, transpose the table, deduplicate rows, change text case, and find and replace values.