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Do you have a plain text or CSV file you want to convert to an Excel spreadsheet? Whether you want to import a simple list of items or an extensive set of data that's delimited by commas, tabs, or other characters, you can use Excel's handy Text Import Wizard to open and format your data in organized columns and rows. This wikiHow guide will show you how to create a new Excel file from a text or CSV file, and how to import a text or CSV file into an existing workbook.
Things You Should KnowClick Browse (Windows) or On My Mac (Mac). This opens your computer's file browser. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
Advertisement Fair Use (screenshot)Click the drop-down menu and select All Files (Windows only). This allows you to view all files instead of just those ending with Excel-specific formats.
Fair Use (screenshot)Check the box next to "My data has headers" (if your columns have headers). This tells Excel to format the first line as column headers rather than typical cell values.
Fair Use (screenshot)Click Next in the Text Import window. This will take you to the next step, which varies depending on whether you're working with delimited data or fixed width data.
Fair Use (screenshot)Click Finish . Your text file is now imported into Excel. You can now edit the data as you would on a standard worksheet. [6] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
Fair Use (screenshot)Save the file in the XLSX format. Now that you've imported your text file, you can easily save it as an Excel file. Just press Control + S (PC) or Command + S (Mac) on the keyboard to open the Save dialog, choose a file name and location, and click Save. The file will automatically save in Excel's default format.
Advertisement Method 2 of 2:Open your Excel workbook." width="460" height="345" />
Fair Use (screenshot)Open your Excel workbook. If you want to import a text file into a worksheet in an existing workbook, you can easily do so using Excel's built-in data tools.
Fair Use (screenshot)Click the Data tab at the top of Excel. You can find this tab above the toolbar ribbon at the top of your spreadsheet.
Fair Use (screenshot)Select a text file and click Import . This can be any text file, including those which contain comma separated values (CSV). The selected file will open in the Text Import Wizard. [8] X Research source
Fair Use (screenshot)Check the box next to "My data has headers" (if your columns have headers). This tells Excel to format the first line as column headers rather than typical cell values.
Fair Use (screenshot)Click Next in the Text Import window. This will take you to the next step, which varies depending on whether you're working with delimited data or fixed width data.
Fair Use (screenshot)Click Finish . This takes you back to the Import window, where you'll be asked where you'd like to place the imported text. [10] X Research source
a worksheet and click OK." width="460" height="344" />
Fair Use (screenshot)Select a worksheet and click OK . The text file is now imported into your Excel worksheet. You can edit this data as you would any other Excel data, such as using it to create graphs or pivot tables.
Fair Use (screenshot)Save the file. Now that you've imported your text file, you can save it in the Excel format. Just press Control + S (PC) or Command + S (Mac) on the keyboard to save your changes to the workbook you've opened, or click File > Save As to create a new file containing your data. [11] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
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