How to Convert Excel to CSV

Converting an Excel file (.xlsx) to CSV is built into every spreadsheet application — but the default settings can silently damage your data. Here is the safe way to do it.

The basic conversion

Open your workbook and click the sheet you want to convert.
Go to File → Save As (Excel) or File → Download (Google Sheets).
Choose the CSV format:
- Excel: pick "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)" — not the plain "CSV" option, which uses an older encoding that breaks special characters.
- Google Sheets: "Comma-separated values (.csv)" — always UTF-8.
Save. Only the active sheet is converted.

What gets lost in conversion

CSV stores values only, so everything else in the workbook disappears:

Formulas — exported as their last calculated values. Usually what you want, but verify a few cells.
Formatting — colors, fonts, merged cells are gone.
Multiple sheets — each sheet must be converted separately.
Charts and images — not included.

Data damage to check for

The conversion itself can alter values. After exporting, spot-check:

Leading zeros — SKUs like 00123 may have become 123. Fix by formatting the column as Text in Excel before saving.
Dates — rewritten to your system's locale format. If the target system expects a specific date format, format the column as text first.
Long numbers — account or phone numbers can turn into scientific notation (9.87654E+11). Again: format as text before saving.
Special characters — if names with accents or currency symbols look wrong after conversion, the file was saved with the wrong encoding. Re-save using the UTF-8 option.

Converting without opening Excel

If your file is large or the round-trip keeps damaging data, tools that parse the spreadsheet directly can help. CSV Pilot works with CSV files and lets you review the parsed result in a structured preview — so you can see exactly what the data looks like after conversion and fix problems before importing anywhere.

Quick checklist

Correct sheet active before saving.
UTF-8 CSV option selected.
SKU / phone / date columns formatted as text beforehand.
Spot-check the first and last rows of the exported file.
Original .xlsx kept as backup.