Carriage Returns

[mntbighker]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

We are finding that the exported CSV files produced by our database won't open or import correctly in Excel 2008. Many of the carriage returns get interpreted as new cells or they don't display correctly once imported. OpenOffice and Apple Numbers both handle these with no problem. This also seemed to have been working in Excel 2004. So we are wondering what happened?

 

[Shane Devenshire]

Hi,

Most likely its not Excel's fault - the database program probably needs
updated drivers for exporting Excel to 2008. You might have your IT call the
vendor and check if there is a fix.

 

[Carl Witthoft]

That sounds rather like overkill. Start by checking the documentation
to see what your database tool is exporting for 'end of line' . It
could be the LineFeed character, the CarriageReturn character, or both.

Now, the OP's description is confusing in itself: a carriage return (or
end of line, or whatever) cannot become a "new cell." Either it's a
garbage character in a new column, or it's the start of a new row.
Did you (mntbighker) mean that you have carriage returns *inside* cell
text strings? If so, I can almost guarantee trouble. Most versions
of Office can't even properly handle line-feeds or <CR> when moving
table cells from Word to Excel or back.

Hi,

Most likely its not Excel's fault - the database program probably needs
updated drivers for exporting Excel to 2008. You might have your IT call the
vendor and check if there is a fix.

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

We are finding that the exported CSV files produced by our database won't open or

import correctly in Excel 2008. Many of the carriage returns get
interpreted as new cells or they don't display correctly once imported.
OpenOffice and Apple Numbers both handle these with no problem. This
also seemed to have been working in Excel 2004. So we are wondering what
happened?

 

[mntbighker]

I doubt it's the file format since OpenOffice and Apple Numbers handle it all just fine.

 

[Carl Witthoft]

I doubt it's the file format since OpenOffice and Apple Numbers handle it all
just fine.

Yes, but different apps have different assumptions about how to parse
<CR> vs <LF> vs CR><LF>

 

[mntbighker]

A perl module has been identified that appears to handle exporting mysql to xls in a way 2008 can handle. But more concerning is that it couldn't handle the exported csv in the first place. We do a lot of data reduction and analysis here and this is often a key capability.