When would you use a CSV file?

Question

CSV files are mostly used for importing and exporting important information, such as customer or order data, to and from your database. A more practical example of this would be an ecommerce business that buys customer data from a social media website.

What applications use CSV files?

A CSV file can be opened in any program, however, for most users, a CSV file is best viewed through a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc, or Google Docs. If you do not have a spreadsheet program installed on your computer, consider using an online spreadsheet.

Why do we use CSV instead of Excel?

While Excel (XLS and XLSX) file formats are better for storing more complex data, CSV files are supported by nearly all data upload interfaces. If you are planning to move your data between platforms, export and import it from one interface to another, you might be better off with the CSV file format.

When should I use CSV vs XLSX?

CSV files are commonly used for data exchange between platforms, making the data “raw” again so it can be processed by different applications. This is the most flexible data format. XLSX is the file extension for a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet.

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