CSV

A CSV (Comma Separated Values) file contains tabular data (such as found in spreadsheets or databases) in a simple text format. Each value is separated from the next by a comma. Each line is a record and the commas separate the fields or columns. For example:

First name, Last name, Address, City, State
Sally, Smith, 234 A Street, Town, Peace
George, Smithe, 999 Last Lane, Hamlet, Denial
Dim, Witt, By-the-Either, Wave, Outback

These files can be created, viewed and edited with software such as Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc or, if done with care, any simple text editor.

See also

• Wikipedia article on the CSV file format
• Microsoft help tutorial on importing CSV file data into Excel
• UTF-8 and BOM