Importing delimited text file - loading numeric as text

[GDAS]

I'm developing an extract from ERP system SAP, in the form of a csv file which can then be imported into Excel for manipulation. One of the fields in the csv file is made up of numeric characters, but sometimes has leading zeros which I want to keep when imported in Excel. However, when I open the csv file in Excel, a value such as 001 is treated as numeric and becomes 1. I have tried inserting a single quote in front in the csv file, i.e. '001 but then Excel treats the quote as part of the text field, unlike the situation where you type '001 directly into the worksheet.

Any ideas?

thanks,

Graham

 

[Andrew Poulsom]

Try changing the file extension from csv to txt, then specifying Text as the format for that column at step 3 of the Text Import Wizard.

 

[GDAS]

thanks Andrew. Your proposal works perfectly. This was my first posting on Mr Excel, the site came highly recommended by a friend, and I can clearly see why!

Graham