How to Open a CSV File in Google Sheets

Every report produced by ProAbono can be downloaded in CSV format.

Google Sheets does not open a CSV file in place — the file is converted into a spreadsheet, and the separator that splits the data into columns is decided during that conversion. Importing the file explicitly is what exposes that setting; opening the file straight from Google Drive applies a guessed separator with no opportunity to review it.

Procedure

1. Open a blank spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
2. In the menu, select File > Import.
3. In the Import file dialog, select the CSV file downloaded from ProAbono, from Google Drive or from the computer.
4. Set the three options offered:
   • Import location — Replace spreadsheet for the blank spreadsheet opened at step 1, or Insert new sheet(s) to add the data next to existing sheets.
   • Separator type — Detect automatically handles the comma used by ProAbono reports. The dialog shows no preview, so the result is what confirms the choice.
   • Convert text to numbers, dates and formulas — leave the default.
5. Select Import data.

The data is laid out in the spreadsheet and ready to work with. A whole row crammed into column A means the separator was guessed wrongly: repeating the import with Separator type set to Comma, or to Custom followed by the character the file actually uses, corrects it.

Tip

A file already stored in Google Drive can be converted in two clicks: right-click it, then select Open with > Google Sheets. No dialog appears, so the separator is guessed and applied without review — a route that suits a file already known to import cleanly, while File > Import remains the one that exposes the setting.