How To Open CSV File In Google Sheets

Last Updated on October 31, 2023 by Jake Sheridan

How To Open CSV File In Google Sheets

Many software packages export data in CSV, or comma separated value, format.

CSV format is a simple spreadsheet format where each row is separated by a line break and each column within the rows is separated by a comma. CSV files cannot contain formatting, formulas, or other more complicated features.

Google Sheets makes it easy to open CSV files, edit them and convert them into formats that support formatting and formulas.

Identifying CSV Files in Google Drive

CSV files will appear in Google Drive with a different icon from Google Sheets Files or Google Docs.

The CSV icons are blue, unlike Google Sheets Icons, and they have a different shape from Google Docs icons:

Opening CSV Files

When a CSV file is double clicked, instead of opening in the Google Sheets editor, it will open in a read-only in the CSV viewer.

If you need to make edits to your CSV file or convert it to another format, follow these steps:

Step 1

Double click on the CSV file in Google Drive to open the CSV viewer.

At the top of the viewer, click on the Open With dropdown and select Google Sheets from the menu:

Step 2

After a few seconds, the Google Sheets editor will open with a new Google Spreadsheet containing the data from your CSV file:

Step 3

All the features of Google Sheets are now available to edit your data, such as formatting, and formulas

Summary

Example GSheets Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet

Example CSV Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet

In this tutorial, I covered how to open a CSV file in Google Sheets. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets Tutorials.