How to Correctly Paste CSV Data into a Worksheet

Version: Microsoft 365

Last update: 2025-03-05

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1. CSV (Comma-Separated Values) Format

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a widely used file format for storing tabular data in plain text, where each line represents a record and each field is separated by a comma. This tutorial will guide you through the process of correctly pasting CSV data into a worksheet.

2. CSV Example Data

Suppose we have a CSV data file that we want to place into the worksheet.

3. The Easiest Way

Open the csv file directly with Excel. Excel can correctly recognize and display csv.

You can then copy this data to the target worksheet.

4. Be Aware of Data Conversion During CSV Import

Since Excel supports a maximum of 15 digits for numbers, be careful not to convert when encountering numbers with 16 digits or more, as this may result in a loss of precision.

5. Import via Text Import Wizard

When CSV data is copied to the clipboard, directly pasting it into cells will not allow Excel to recognize the comma-separated function.

You can find the Text Import Wizard option in the Home tab to import.

Note that if there is no CSV data in the clipboard, the Text Import Wizard option may not appear.

6. Text Import Wizard - Step One

Since the CSV format is comma-separated, the 'Delimited' option is selected by default; just proceed to the next step.

7. Text Import Wizard - Step Two

Here we select the delimiter as 'Comma' and continue to the next step.

8. Text Import Wizard - Step Three

Here we can choose the data type for each column; the default is General data type.

9. Specifying the Data Format of Imported Columns

Since one column contains 16-digit numbers, we need to manually change its data type to Text to prevent precision loss due to automatic data conversion.

Select the third column and set its data type to Text. Then click Finish.

10. Successfully Pasted CSV Data

Now we have successfully imported the data into the worksheet. Importing via the Text Import Wizard allows for more detailed specification of the data type for each column.

11. 🎉 Finish! 🎉

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