My CSV opens with everything in one column
The file opened, but every row sits in a single column with the separators still visible in the text.
Why it happens
- The name of the format promises a comma and the file often does not contain one.
- Which separator a spreadsheet expects when you double-click a file comes from regional settings rather than from the file.
- Some exporters try to settle it by writing a sep= line as the first line of the file.
- A tab-separated file saved with a .csv extension produces the same symptom for the same reason.
What to do now
- Open it through the import dialog rather than by double-clicking: Data → From Text/CSV, where the delimiter is something you choose rather than something you inherit.
- Look at the raw file in a text editor to see which separator it actually uses before choosing.
- Do not fix it by replacing semicolons with commas across the file.
Next time
The delimiter is sniffed per file rather than assumed, and a tab wins over a comma, which wins over a semicolon, so a European semicolon export and a tab-separated paste land the same way a plain CSV does.
Start from the vendor price list template.
Related problems
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