Did you know that there is a specific way of opening a CSV file?

A Comma Separated Values (CSV) file is a plain text file that contains a list of data. These files are often used for exchanging data between different applications.

When you extract data from our system via the 'Data Export' functionality, you will download the data in the form of a CSV.

But if you open a CSV-file with excel, the data often looks strange. That's because there's a specific, and simple process for opening a CSV-file in excel!

Watch the video below or follow the process described underneath the video, and become the master of your company when it comes to opening CSV-files in excel!

Tutorial video:

Process:

Opening data from a CSV file in Excel using the "Get Data" feature (Power Query) involves a few steps. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:

Step 1: Open Excel

Start by opening Excel on your computer.

Step 2: Go to the Data Tab

In the Excel ribbon at the top of the window, click on the "Data" tab. This tab contains various data-related tools and features.

Step 3: Get Data from File

1. Click "Get Data": In the "Data" tab, look for the "Get Data" button. It might be under the "Get & Transform Data" section.

2. Select "From File": Hover over "Get Data" to see a dropdown menu. Select "From File" to expand another set of options.

3. Choose "From Text/CSV": In the expanded options, click on "From Text/CSV".

Step 4: Import the CSV File

1. Select the CSV File: A file dialog window will pop up. Navigate to the location of your CSV file, select it, and click "Import".

2. Preview and Load: Excel will open a preview window showing the contents of your CSV file. You can adjust settings here if needed, such as the delimiter (comma, semicolon, etc.).

3. Click "Load": If everything looks good in the preview, click "Load" to import the data into Excel.

Step 5: Load Data into Worksheet or Power Query Editor

1. Load Options: You can either load the data directly into a worksheet or edit it in the Power Query Editor first.

- Load To Worksheet: If you select "Load", the data will be loaded into a new worksheet.

- Edit in Power Query: If you choose "Transform Data", it will open the Power Query Editor, where you can perform various transformations and cleaning operations on your data before loading it into Excel.

Step 6: Using Power Query Editor (Optional)

If you chose to edit the data in the Power Query Editor, you can:

1. Clean and Transform Data: Use the various options available to clean, filter, and transform your data. This includes removing columns, changing data types, merging tables, and more.

2. Close and Load: Once you're done with your transformations, click "Close & Load" to load the modified data into Excel.

Step 7: Save and Use Your Data

After loading the data into Excel, you can now save your workbook and start working with your data.

That's it! You've successfully imported data from a CSV file into Excel using the "Get Data" feature (Power Query).