ANS-0837 · CSV IMPORT & DATA MIGRATION
How to Make Excel Use Commas as CSV Delimiters in Windows
This guide explains how to adjust Windows regional settings to ensure Microsoft Excel uses commas for separating values in CSV files, preventing semicolon delimiters.
Short answer
To make Excel use commas as CSV delimiters, adjust your Windows regional settings. Navigate to 'Administrative language settings' (via Control Panel or Settings app), then 'Additional Settings'. Set the 'Decimal symbol' to a period and the 'List separator' to a comma. Apply changes and restart Excel or your computer if needed.
Scenario
Users often encounter issues when exporting or opening CSV files in Microsoft Excel, where values are separated by semicolons instead of the expected commas. This typically occurs due to regional settings on the user's Windows computer, which dictate how Excel interprets and formats data in CSV files. This discrepancy can lead to data parsing errors and incorrect display of information.
Solution
To adjust your computer settings so Excel uses commas as the value separator for CSV files, follow these steps:
Access the regional settings on your Windows computer. This can typically be done by navigating to Settings > Time & Language > Language & Region > Administrative language settings, or by searching for 'Control Panel' and then selecting 'Region'.
In the 'Region' dialog box, click on Additional Settings....
Configure the following settings:Set Decimal symbol to a period (.).Set List separator to a comma (,).It is crucial that both fields are adjusted as specified. If both Decimal symbol and List separator are set to a comma, Excel may still default to using semicolons for CSV files. Ensure these two fields have distinct values (period and comma, respectively) for the desired outcome.
Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.After applying these changes, close all open Excel windows. Open a new Excel document and attempt to save it as a CSV file to verify the change. If the issue persists, a computer restart may be necessary to fully apply the new regional settings.
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