How to View, Open, and Edit a .CSV on Windows or Mac

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The easiest and best ways to open and edit CSV files on a PC or Mac

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: October 19, 2024 Fact Checked

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• Microsoft Excel 2016 and Later
|
• Microsoft Excel 2013 and Earlier
|
• Google Sheets
|
• OpenOffice Calc
|
• Video
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

Comma-separated value (CSV) files contain data from a table in a plain text format, separate with commas. The best way to open a CSV file is to import it into a spreadsheet application like Excel or Google Sheets. This wikiHow teaches you how to properly import CSV files into Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and OpenOffice Calc.

Quick Steps

1. Create a new blank Excel file.
2. Click the Data tab.
3. Select From Text/CSV.
4. Select the CSV file and click Import.
5. Click Load.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Microsoft Excel 2016 and Later

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1. 1
   Create a new blank workbook in Microsoft Excel. Open Excel, then click Blank Workbook to start a new file.

   • Follow this method to properly open your CSV file without losing formatting and other data.
   • These steps will work in Microsoft Excel 365, 2019, and 2016.
2. 2
   Click the Data tab. It's at the top of Excel.
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3. 3
   Click From Text/CSV. It's on the left side of the toolbar. This opens the Import window.
4. 4
   Select the CSV file and click Import. This launches the Text Import Wizard, which lets you customize how the file is imported into Excel.
5. 5
   Preview and edit the data table, if needed. You'll see a preview of how the CSV will look once opened in Excel. The commas in the file delimit the data so that it's separated into rows and columns automatically. You usually won't have to make any changes to the settings, but if the data isn't displaying properly, it may be delimited with a different symbol, like a semicolon or pipe.
6. 6
   Click the Load button. This opens the CSV file for viewing and editing in Microsoft Excel.

   • If you make changes to the data and want to save it as an Excel file, click the File menu, select Save As, and make sure "Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)" is selected as the file type.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Microsoft Excel 2013 and Earlier

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1. 1
   Open Excel and click Blank Workbook. It's in the middle section. This creates a new blank spreadsheet.

   • The simple way to open a CSV file is to click Open on the welcome screen, select your CSV file, and then click Open. However, this may not display the data in the CSV as intended. Follow this method to properly open your CSV file without losing formatting and other data.
2. 2
   Click the Data tab. It's at the top of Excel.
3. 3
   Click From Text. It's on the left side of the toolbar. This opens the Import window.
4. 4
   Select the CSV file and click Import. This launches the Text Import Wizard, which lets you customize how the file imports into Excel.
5. 5
   Select Delimited. It's the first option in the upper-left corner of the window.
6. 6
   Click Next to continue.
7. 7
   Check the box next to "Comma." If any other items are checked in the "Delimiters" section, remove those checkmarks now.
8. 8
   Click Next to continue.
9. 9
   Select all of the columns in the preview. Here's how:

   • Click the header of the first column to select it.
   • Scroll to the last column list using the scrollbar if it isn't visible.
   • Hold down the Shift key as you click the last column header. All columns are now selected.
10. 10
    Select Text as the column data format. This is in the upper-left corner.
11. 11
    Click Finish. Now you'll see your CSV file without any unexpected changes to its format.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Google Sheets

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1. 1
   Go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets. If you're already signed in to your Google account, this will display Google Sheets, the free Google alternative to Excel. If not, follow the on-screen instructions to sign in now.

   • Google Sheets is free, but you must have a Google account to use it.
2. 2
   Open a new blank Google Sheets workbook. Go to https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets. If you're already signed in to your Google account, this will display Google Sheets, the free Google alternative to Excel. If not, follow the on-screen instructions to sign in, then click + Blank spreadsheet to create a new file.
3. 3
   Click the File menu and select Import. The "Import file" window will open.
4. 4
   Click the Upload tab. This is the tab you'll need to be on to upload the file from your computer.
5. 5
   Select or drag the file. You can drag the CSV file to the middle of the dotted box to start the upload, or click Browse to select it from your computer.
6. 6
   Select Replace spreadsheet on the "Import file" window. If it's already selected, you can leave it alone.
7. 7
   Select Detect automatically under "Separator type." This tells Sheets to detect the delimiter used to separate the data into rows and columns.

   • In CSV files, delimiters are usually columns, but they may vary by region and purpose. Sometimes you'll see pipe symbols or semicolons instead.
8. 8
   Choose whether to convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas. The option is selected by default, but you can deselect it if you don't want to transform the data in any way.
9. 9
   Click the green Import data button. This imports the CSV into sheets as it was intended to be seen.
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

OpenOffice Calc

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1. 1
   Open OpenOffice Calc. If you have OpenOffice, you can use Calc to open a CSV file.

   • If you don't have Microsoft Office and prefer installing an app on your computer rather than using Google Sheets, OpenOffice Calc is a great free alternative. You can download it https://www.openoffice.org/download.
2. 2
   Click the File menu and select Open. This menu is in the upper left corner and will open a window to browse for files on your computer.
3. 3
   Select Text CSV in the "File type" menu. You may have to scroll a bit down the list to find it.
4. 4
   Select a CSV file and click Open. This opens the "Text Import" screen.
5. 5
   Select the "Separate By" radio button. This is under the “Separator Options” header.
6. 6
   Select the "Comma" checkbox. This tells Calc to use the commas in the CSV file to delineate individual columns.

   • If the data is using a different delimiter, select that instead. If the delimiter character isn't in the list, enter it into the "Other" box.
7. 7
   Click OK. The contents of your CSV file will now appear correctly in Calc.
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Tips

• You can also open CSV files in a text editor if you just want a quick glance at their contents, but the files will not display in a super-readable format.
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