How to Import Elicit .csv Files to Excel

Elicit exports to .csv format may not import to Excel correctly, depending on your local Excel version and settings.

For example, a .csv file may import without correct columns or with empty rows or other formatting issues like this:

To ensure a .csv file will import to Excel correctly, follow these steps:

1. Export your .csv file from Elicit.

2. Open the .csv file in a simple text editor, such as TextEdit.

3. Add a new line to the top of the file.

4. Type sep=, on the first line. Make sure that sep=, is the only text on the first line of the file.

5. Save your file, and then import the file to Excel.

If your file imported correctly, it should look similar to this:

If your columns contain bullet points, Excel may attempt to use the - characters as formulas, which won't display correctly.

Take the following steps to ensue the cells display correctly:

1. Open the .csv file in TextEdit (or another text editor)

2. Do a global search for all - characters and replace them with a * character

3. Save the file and then import to Excel

For more help with Excel formatting, check out this page.