A spreadsheet or database can store tabular data using the straightforward CSV file format.
Programs like Microsoft Excel that store data in tables may import and export files in CSV format.
Comma-separated values, or CSV, are data files.
It frequently uses commas to divide or delimit its data fields.
CSV file creation
Since a CSV is a text file, any text editor may be used to generate and modify it.
But more typically, a spreadsheet or database in the software that developed it is exported, File -> Export to create a CSV file.
For instructions on how to produce a CSV file with Google Docs, Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, and Notepad, follow the text below.
Microsoft Excel
Open the file you wish to save in CSV format in Microsoft Excel before launching Excel to generate a CSV file.
Once it’s open, select Save As by clicking File.
Depending on your version of Microsoft Excel, choose CSV (Comma delimited) or CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) under Save as type.
You are able to read or manually edit the file once you have saved it by opening it in a text editor.
Google Docs
The spreadsheet you wish to save as a CSV file should be opened in Google Docs.
Select CSV by choosing File -> Download As from the menu of the current sheet.
OpenOffice Calc
Open the file you wish to save as a CSV file in OpenOffice Calc before creating the CSV file.
Once the document is open, click File, pick Save As, and then select Text CSV (.csv) (*.csv) as the Save as type option.
Notepad or other text editor
To generate a CSV file using a text editor, open a new file in your preferred text editor, such as Notepad.
Then, input the text information that you wish to be included in the file, separating each value with a comma and each row with a new line.
Save this document with the .csv extension.
The file may then be opened in Microsoft Excel or another spreadsheet application.
Individual fields of data were separated by commas in the CSV file you produced.
You may safeguard the commas in the data fields in your CSV file by surrounding them in double quotes (“). The commas that delimit the fields themselves are maintained apart from the commas that are a part of your data.
Any fields that have a new line in their data must be encapsulated in double-quotes.
Your internal quotation marks must be doubled in order for them to be properly read if your fields’ data includes double quotes.
Here are the guidelines for formatting data in a CSV file
In these instances, a carriage return and a linefeed are both denoted by the acronym “CRLF.”
There should be a line break between each record (row of data), which should be on a distinct line.
For instance:
xxx,yyy,qqq CRLF
There may or may not be an ending line break in the file’s final entry.
For instance:
xxx,yyy,qqq CRLF aaa,bbb,ccc
The first line of the file could contain an optional header line that has the same structure as regular record lines.
The file’s fields are identified by their names in the header.
It should also have the same amount of fields as the other records in the file.
For instance:
name_field,name_field,name_field CRLF xxx,yyy,qqq CRLF aaa,bbb,ccc CRLF
There may be one or more fields in the header and each record, separated by commas.
The same amount of fields should be included on each line throughout the file.
Spaces should not be disregarded since they are seen as a field.
There must not be a comma after the record’s final field.
For instance:
xxx,yyy,qqq
Double quotes may or may not be used to enclose each field.
If double quotes are not used to enclose fields, double quotes might not show up inside the fields.
For instance:
“xxx”,”yyy”,”qqq” CRLF aaa,bbb,ccc
Double quotes should be used to encapsulate fields with line breaks (CRLF), commas, and double quotes. For instance:
“xxx”,”y CRLF yy”,”qqq” CRLF aaa,bbb,ccc
If fields are enclosed by double quotes, a double quote that appears inside a field needs to be “escaped” by being followed by another double quote.
For instance:
“xxx”,”y””yy”,”qqq”