How do I make a CSV file?

• Home
• Productivity

Have you been wondering what is a CSV file? Here's everything you need to know about it, and how to create one.

Comma-separated value (CSV) files are simplified versions of the type of spreadsheets you create with Excel and similar software. However, if you’re trying to share data with people who use different operating systems or programs, the CSV format offers a huge advantage in that most programs can read them easily.

In a nutshell, CSV files do what the name suggests: They contain values separated by commas (indicating columns) on one line, and different rows appear on different lines. You can create a CSV file with programs that include Excel, Google Sheets and OpenOffice Calc, as well as simple word processing programs like Notepad.

Creating CSV File With Excel

If you have Microsoft Office installed, you can easily import or export CSV files from Excel using the method described by Microsoft. To create one, you convert Excel to CSV (comma delimited) format, so you start by populating your spreadsheet in the way you ordinarily would. The only limitations ultimately come from the program that opens the file because some of the formatting options and features of Excel aren’t supported by basic text editing programs.

After you create the spreadsheet, go to “File” and choose “Save As.” Click the drop-down menu labeled “Save as type” in the window that appears and choose “CSV (comma delimited)” from the list. Give your file a name, browse to the correct location, and click “Save” to finish the process. You’ll see a couple of pop-ups, with the first warning that only the currently active sheet will be saved and the other reminding you about compatibility issues, but after this, the file is created.

If you're importing a text (.txt) file, Excel automatically opens the Import Text Wizard that leads you through the process of separating the existing data into a spreadsheet format.

Using OpenOffice or Google Sheets

As explained by ComputerHope, the process for creating a CSV file is basically the same as in Excel on both OpenOffice Calc and Google Sheets. Create your spreadsheet, adding information as you ordinarily would, and go to “File.” On OpenOffice Calc, you choose “Save As” and then edit the “Save as type” field in the same way as on Excel, only this time you choose “Text CSV” from the options that appear.

On Google Sheets, the saving process is automatic, but you can download the sheet in a specific format. Choose “Download as” and select “CSV (current sheet)” from the options that appear. Again, this serves as a reminder that only the currently active sheet will be downloaded in this way since CSV files don’t include multiple sheets by default. If you need to download more than one sheet, you need to do it separately in the same way.

Using Notepad

Because of the simplicity of the CSV format, you can make a CSV file even if you don’t have dedicated spreadsheet software but you want to share one with someone who does, using the method described by Adam the Automator. The two main rules you need to remember are that columns are separated by commas and rows are separated by new lines. So, for example, if you want to create a file that has two columns – one for the type of product and one for total sales – you would type:

Product, Total Sales

Staplers, $55.98

Toner, $358.20

Paper, $183.34

And so on. The only difficulty comes when you have something like an address that contains commas in a single field. In this case, you enclose the whole contents of the field in double quotation marks (“Street, Town”) and any commas within them will be read as actual commas and not as instructions to separate the field into multiple entries. You can do this on Notepad or any simple text editor.

When you save the file, select “Save as type,” but then choose “All Files” and type “.csv” at the end of the file name. This tells your computer how to read the file and avoids Notepad automatically saving it as a .txt file.

Can I create my own CSV file?

What program makes a CSV file?

How do I make a CSV file easy?

How do I convert a PDF to CSV?