Convert Excel Data to Comma Separated Text

Comma Separated Text is actually called CSV or Comma Separated Value text. A Comma Separated Text file format (CSV) is often used to exchange data between applications and computers. CSV (Comma Separated Text) is used when data is transferred between computers where internal word sizes (point sizes), formatting needs and style structures (like bold, typeface and such) are different. Microsoft Excel's file formatting version of CSV has become the standard file format throughout the industry, even in non-Microsoft platforms.

Step 1

Working with a Microsoft Excel file, first save the file as an excel file and name it with the .xls file extension. This will permit you to revert back to the data in it's original form should the conversion fine-tune a quantity of your data that is undesireable.

Step 2

Saving the file again, this time select to save it as a .csv file. It will ask you if you are sure you want to proceed because some data might be altered or deleted. You can go ahead with the save since you have saved the data in step 1 as an .xls

Microsoft Excel often removes preceding spaces and preceding zeros, if this information is necessary to your data, you would need to place the contents within double quotes. Example: "02/43".

Open your .csv file in a different application, Microsoft Word will work fine. Check the data to make sure it converted to a readable file. What you should see is a document with text separated by commas. If the original data contained a comma, that data will be surrounded by quotes. This would be expressed as "Indianapolis, IN". If your data included an empty field, then there would be four commas in a row.

Quotes within the original data would be enclosed within double quotes in the CSV. For example, the original data would read: "Man of Steel"; within the CSV file that same data would read: ""Man of Steel"".

Content that is over five lines long within a data cell would be placed within quotes in the CSV. Basically identifying any content that goes together but might be an exception will be placed within the quote markings.

The conversion is rather simple and easy to follow. The terminology and the explanation can be confusing, which complicates this easy task. Should you find yourself in a situation where this task is being requested, know that it is not complicated to execute.