Post by drcard on Apr 21, 2021 8:24:47 GMT -5
Open a CSV File in Excel
Overview:
Many applications will export their data as a CSV (Comma-Separated Value) file to be imported by another application. If you open the CSV file with a text editor the data will be spread all over the place with a lot of commas making it not usable. The CSV file format is a delimited spreadsheet where the values are separated by a comma rather than column boundaries. Excel has the ability to open delimited files and separate the data into columns, making the data useful. What follows are instructions to open a CSV file with Excel.
Open a CSV File in Excel
• Open Excel.
• Select File> Open and select the csv file. This will cause the Text Import Wizard to open. The Text Import Wizard consists of 3 Steps (or pages).
• On Step 1 of the Text import Wizard, make sure Delimited is selected and press the Next button.
• On Step 2 of the Text import Wizard under Delimiters, uncheck Tab and put a check for Comma. Comma should be the only Delimiter checked. Press the Next button.
• On Step 3 of the Text Import Wizard in the Data preview box the first column will be selected. A selected column will be black with white lettering. Press and hold the Shift key while using the mouse pointer to move the slide bar at the bottom of the preview box all the way to the right so the last column is displayed in the preview box. While still holding down the Shift key, use the mouse pointer to click the last column in the preview box and release the Shift key. All columns should be black now indicating that all columns have been selected. Under Column Data Format, select Text. You will see the line above each column will change from General to Text. Once all columns have been changed to Text, click the Finish button.
• Excel will divide things into columns making the data useable. You might have to expand some columns to see all the data
Side Note: For sensitive information like passwords kept in an Excel converted csv file I suggest using Excel’s password encryption to secure the file.
Overview:
Many applications will export their data as a CSV (Comma-Separated Value) file to be imported by another application. If you open the CSV file with a text editor the data will be spread all over the place with a lot of commas making it not usable. The CSV file format is a delimited spreadsheet where the values are separated by a comma rather than column boundaries. Excel has the ability to open delimited files and separate the data into columns, making the data useful. What follows are instructions to open a CSV file with Excel.
Open a CSV File in Excel
• Open Excel.
• Select File> Open and select the csv file. This will cause the Text Import Wizard to open. The Text Import Wizard consists of 3 Steps (or pages).
• On Step 1 of the Text import Wizard, make sure Delimited is selected and press the Next button.
• On Step 2 of the Text import Wizard under Delimiters, uncheck Tab and put a check for Comma. Comma should be the only Delimiter checked. Press the Next button.
• On Step 3 of the Text Import Wizard in the Data preview box the first column will be selected. A selected column will be black with white lettering. Press and hold the Shift key while using the mouse pointer to move the slide bar at the bottom of the preview box all the way to the right so the last column is displayed in the preview box. While still holding down the Shift key, use the mouse pointer to click the last column in the preview box and release the Shift key. All columns should be black now indicating that all columns have been selected. Under Column Data Format, select Text. You will see the line above each column will change from General to Text. Once all columns have been changed to Text, click the Finish button.
• Excel will divide things into columns making the data useable. You might have to expand some columns to see all the data
Side Note: For sensitive information like passwords kept in an Excel converted csv file I suggest using Excel’s password encryption to secure the file.