Converting CSV Files in Excel
It is easy to read the data presented in Comma Separated Values format by opening with excel but scrambled data makes hard to read. There are also a few problems associated, like unexpected data changes, by changing format when the CSV file is opened directly. In this article, different ways to convert the CSV files into excel by covering the following topics.
Excel has a handling feature for a variety of data presented in different formats, including Comma Separated Values (CSV). It contained various useful functions that helpful in importing these kinds of files and easily converting them into excel sheets tables. It is the format most commonly used for transmitting and storing the data related to the contacts, statistical information, and calendar appointments.
This section facilitates the examples of ways to convert the Comma Separated Values files into excel.
Explanation
The data available in CSV format is using for several years. It indicates that data is separated by the comma using the common fields. Different ways are available to convert the CSV files into Excel. Those include
- Direct opening CSV files with Excel.
- Double-clicking and opening the file through the windows explorer option.
- Importing CSV files into worksheets.
The main intention behind the conversion of CSV data into Excel is that supportability. With the conversion, each comma-separated value is placed into each cell to separate easily. The data presented in the CSV format limits the capabilities of a user in generating insights from the data in performing the data analysis.
How to Open, Import & Convert CSV File into Excel?
Let’s discuss some examples of Comma Separated Values file in excel.
Example #1 – Open CSV File in WorkSheet
Step 1: Open the excel worksheet and go to the File menu.
It shows the ‘open’ dialog box, as shown in the figure.
Step 2: Go to the directory of the CSV file is located. Select the ‘all files’ on the right of the File name field.
Select the name of the CSV file. Click on ‘Open’ to open the file with Excel.
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Step 3: It directly displays the data into the new workbook, as shown in the figure.
Data separated by a comma is placed into each cell in the Excel sheet.
Step 4: Apply the formatting to the title fields to differentiate the headers of columns.
Step 5: Use the data for required purposes applying the excel functions and formula.
Example #2 – Using Windows Explorer
Step 1: Go to the directory where the CSV file is located. Right-click on the file and choose ‘open with.’
Step 2: Select the choose default program option on the right side of the ‘Open with’ command, as shown in the figure. Choose the Excel (desktop) among the recommended program.
Step 3: The file is opened, and data is displayed, as shown in the figure.
Example #3 – Import CSV File Through External Data
This method requires a lot of steps to import data when compared to the other two methods. It helps in importing the data into the current worksheet.
Step 1: Open an Excel worksheet and place the cursor into a cell where to want to locate the data by importing from a .txt file or .csv file.
Step 2: Go to the ‘Data’ tab on the ribbon and click ‘from the text’ under the ‘Get External Data’ group, as shown in the screenshot.
Step 3: Browse to the location of the CSV or txt file to import the data. Select the .csv file and click on the ‘Import’ button.
Step 4: When clicking on ‘import,’ the ‘Example CSV File wizard’ is opened.
Step 5: Set the delimiter as “Comma” and click on ‘Load to’ to move to the next step.
Step 6: It opens the ‘Import data’ dialog box. Choose the existing worksheet and place the cell address and click on ‘ok.’
Step 7: The data is imported into the excel sheet, as shown in the screenshot.
We can use the data for various purposes in excel.
How to Use CSV Files into Excel?
- Storing of data and performing the required calculations on the data.
- Improving the security of the files as excel files are not opened by any other software.
- Possible to save the data in tabular format with the extension of .xls and .xlsx.
- Display of data in rows and columns to represent the fields.
- Applying the required format to the data of different types.
- Development of graphs and charts on the numerical data if presented.
- Applying the statistical analysis of the data.
- Applying the programming and macros and developing the data in developer mode.
- Improving the flexibility in reading the large data by applying sorting and filtering.
Things to Remember
- Opening the CSV files is an easy way to convert the CSV data into Excel, and it doesn’t change the file format to .xls or .xlsx
- Default settings are provided for when the .csv file is opened with Excel.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to CSV files into excel. Here we discuss how to open, import, and convert CSV files into Excel along with practical examples and a downloadable excel template. You may learn more about excel from the following articles –
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