Exporting a sheet as CSV
- 1Open the tab you want to export. CSV holds one table, so only the tab that's open is downloaded.
- 2Choose File, then Download, then Comma-separated values (.csv).
- 3The file is named after the spreadsheet and the tab. Repeat for each tab you need.
Google Sheets always writes CSV with commas between columns and UTF-8 text. Any value that contains a comma, a quote or a line break is wrapped in double quotes, which is standard CSV and what most import tools expect.
What changes when a sheet becomes a CSV
A CSV is plain text. Everything that isn't a value is dropped, and every value is written the way the cell displays it.
Dates use the cell's display format
A date shown as 3/4/2026 is exported as 3/4/2026, which another system may read as 4 March or 3 April. The spreadsheet's locale (File, then Settings) decides the default format.
Numbers keep their formatting
Currency symbols, thousands separators and percentages are written as shown, such as $1,250.00. Many imports want the bare number, 1250.00.
Formulas become their results
Only the calculated value is exported, not the formula. That's usually what you want, but an error such as #REF! is exported as text.
Formatting and comments disappear
Colours, bold, notes, comments, dropdown rules and frozen rows aren't part of CSV.
Merged cells leave blanks
The value goes into the first cell of the merge and the rest are empty, so rows that relied on the merge lose that value.
Hidden rows and columns are still exported
Hiding only changes what you see. Delete rows or columns you don't want in the file.
Fixes to make before exporting
Set dates to YYYY-MM-DD
Select the date column, then Format, Number, Custom date and time, and build year-month-day. 2026-03-04 can only mean one date, and most systems read it. See the CSV date formatting guide for which format each system expects.
Keep leading zeros as text
Sheets treats 00123 as the number 123 as soon as it's typed, and the zeros are gone before you export. Format ZIP codes, account numbers and product codes as Plain text (Format, Number, Plain text) before entering or pasting them. Fixing the format afterwards doesn't bring the zeros back. More in the leading zeros guide.
Store long IDs as text
Like Excel, Sheets keeps only 15 significant digits in a number. A 16-digit card or tracking number entered as a number has its last digits changed. Plain text keeps every digit.
Remove currency symbols and separators
If the import wants plain numbers, set the column to Format, Number, Number, and remove the thousands separator with a custom number format such as 0.00. The currency symbols guide covers the alternatives.
Watch the decimal separator
In locales that write decimals with a comma, such as Germany or France, 1,50 is exported as "1,50" in quotes. A system expecting 1.50 may read it as 150 or reject it. If that's the case, switch the spreadsheet's locale to one that uses a decimal point before exporting.
Opening the CSV in Excel
Double-clicking the file in Excel can undo your work. Excel guesses each column's type, so it strips leading zeros again, turns long IDs into scientific notation and reformats dates. On Windows it may also show accented letters as characters like é, because the file is UTF-8 and Excel doesn't assume that.
Import it instead of opening it:
- 1In a blank workbook, choose Data, then From Text/CSV, and pick the file.
- 2Set File Origin to 65001: Unicode (UTF-8).
- 3Choose Transform Data and set ID, code and ZIP columns to Text before loading.
If you're only uploading the CSV to another system, there's no need to open it in Excel at all: upload the file Google Sheets downloaded.
Checklist before you export
Collecting the data from someone else?
Instead of sharing a Google Sheet and fixing it afterwards, send an Import Builder form. Dates, codes and emails are checked as they're entered, and the CSV comes out with your exact headers.
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