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What is a CSV file? How to use it and how it differs from an Excel file
2018-07-12(Updated: 2024-12-23 )

Hello, this is Fujikawa, a sales representative. This time, I would like to introduce "What is CSV?" as an "IT Super Beginner's Guide".



Table of Contents [Hide]

1. What is CSV?
2. Difference between CSV and Excel
3. CSV file notation
3.1.Header Line
Delimiters​
3.3. Line feed code
Double Quotes
4. When to use CSV?
5. When should you use Excel?
6. Notes on using CSV
6.1. Addresses and numbers are converted to manufacturing email list dates
6.2. "Year/Month" is changed to "English month-last two digits of year" format
6.3. The "0" at the beginning of the sequence disappears
6.4. Numbers in brackets are converted to negative numbers
7. What to do if data changes in CSV
8. How is it used in Alara?
8.1. ①You can easily register distribution lists and user attributes to the system using CSV files.
8.2. ② Email effectiveness measurement results can be output in CSV format
9. Summary
What is CSV?
CSV is an abbreviation for "Comma Separated Values" and refers to data in which each item is separated by a comma (,). Literally, it means "separate values ​​with commas."

This CSV data consists of text (characters) and commas (,) as shown in the figure below.

CSV consists of text (characters) and commas (,)

This compilation of data is called "CSV data." We will explain CSV data in detail using the diagram below.

Records and Fields of Information

A file containing multiple records

Each piece of information about Person A, such as "address," "name," "date of birth," etc., is called a "field." Data consisting of all of these fields (all of Person A's information) is called a "record."

Furthermore, a file that contains multiple records (a file that contains all the information for Person A through Person D) is called a "CSV file."



Difference between CSV and Excel
Generally, CSV files are often displayed in Excel. However, behind the scenes in Excel, the data is only text (characters) and commas (,), as explained above.

At this point, some of you may be wondering, "Is CSV the same as Excel?"



CSV data consists only of text (characters) and commas (,), which makes it very difficult for us to read. Therefore, by loading and displaying the CSV data in a different format, such as Excel, we can make it "easy to read" and "easy to use."