docs:programming:csv:csv_notes [hartungdesign.net wiki]

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====== CSV Notes ======

===== escaping quotes =====
If a value contains a double quote, it should be preceded with another double quote to escape it properly.

===== leading zeros / importing into Excel =====
When a csv file is imported into Excel, the values are parsed and an output format is selected for each cell.  This is usually a "General" format.  The problem occurs when the value is preceded with zeros, such as "001" which becomes "1" in Excel.  An alternative to the standard csv data format is to create a file specifically designed for importing into Microsoft Excel.  If you have a particular field which must remain as "Text" format, you can use the following special formatting to force a "Text" format.
<code>
1,5,10,"=""005""","=""0018""","John Doe"
6,8,29,"=""325""","=""0500""","Jane Doe"
</code>

===== External Links =====
  * http://www.creativyst.com/Doc/Articles/CSV/CSV01.htm#CSVAndExcel