X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a cornerstone technique for material characterization, phase identification, and structural analysis. The XRDML file format (often seen as .xrdml ) was introduced by Malvern Panalytical as a flexible, XML-based standard for storing raw and processed diffraction data. While this format preserves metadata and experimental conditions perfectly, it is not directly compatible with standard data analysis tools like Microsoft Excel, OriginLab, or custom Python scripts.
Last updated: October 2025. This guide is accurate for XRDML version 1.0 and 2.0. For newer versions, check Malvern Panalytical’s documentation.
| Problem | Solution | | :--- | :--- | | | Your file uses spaces or tabs; use Data → Text to Columns → Delimited → Space/Tab. | | Numbers appear as text | Use Value() function or multiply the column by 1. | | Intensity values are huge (e.g., 1e6) | Normalize by dividing all intensities by the maximum (create a normalized column). | | File is >1 million rows | XRDML with ultra-fine steps may exceed Excel row limit (1,048,576). Use Python to bin/average data. | | Error: "File is corrupt" when opening in Excel | The file is not CSV/Excel; you must first convert it using one of the methods above. | convert xrdml to excel
Free XRD viewers like or PowDLL Converter allow you to view and copy data:
If you don't have the original instrument software installed on your office computer, several academic and web-based tools can bridge the gap. PowDLL Converter X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a cornerstone technique for
pip install xrdml
When you convert to Excel, you are primarily extracting the numerical data columns while discarding or selectively saving the metadata into separate sheets or cells. Last updated: October 2025
: If your end goal is plotting in Origin, this app connects Origin directly to XRDML files. Once the data is in Origin, you can easily copy it into Excel if needed. Step-by-Step for Manual Conversion (via .XY format)