CSV is a plain text table. It has rows, columns and values and nothing else. When an Excel workbook becomes CSV, the values stay and everything that makes the workbook look and behave like Excel goes.
That is not a flaw in the converter. It is what the CSV format is.
On this page
Key takeaways
- Formulas become their calculated values.
- Colors, fonts, borders, widths and merged-cell layout are dropped.
- Every sheet becomes a separate CSV file.
- Charts, images, comments and filters have no place in CSV.
What happens to each Excel feature
| In Excel | In CSV |
|---|---|
| Cell values | Kept |
| Formulas | The result is written, not the formula |
| Number formats and dates | Written as the cell displays them |
| Colors, fonts, borders | Dropped |
| Merged cells | The value sits in the first cell, the rest are empty |
| Several sheets | One CSV file per sheet |
| Charts, images, comments | Dropped |
| Filters, frozen panes, column widths | Dropped |
Formulas
A cell holding =SUM(A1:A10) becomes the total, say 1500, in the CSV. That is usually what an importing system wants, since it has no spreadsheet engine to calculate formulas. If you need the formulas later, keep the original workbook.
Several sheets
A CSV file can only hold one table. The converter writes one file for each sheet, named after the workbook and the sheet tab, for example sales_Q1.csv and sales_Q2.csv. Sheets you do not need can simply be skipped when downloading.
Merged cells and layout
Title rows, merged headings and blank spacer rows are written as they are. Importing systems expect a clean table with one header row, so tidy the sheet first: unmerge cells, delete decorative rows and keep one header line.
- One header row, then data rows.
- No merged cells.
- No blank columns in the middle.
- Dates in one consistent format.
- Cell values, not formulas, in important columns if the formulas depend on other sheets.
Related reading
The comparison between the formats is in CSV vs XLSX. For problems when reopening the CSV, read accents, zeros and dates after export. The basic steps are in how to convert Excel to CSV, and Excel to JSON is an alternative target.
Dates, numbers and text
Values are written as the spreadsheet displays them, so a date shown as 05/03/2025 appears that way in the CSV, and a number shown with two decimals keeps them. That is convenient for people and ambiguous for software, because the date could be read as 5 March or 3 May. If another system will read the file, change the date column to the year-month-day format (2025-03-05) in the workbook before exporting.
Large sheets
CSV has no row limit of its own, so a sheet with hundreds of thousands of rows is fine as long as your device has the memory to read the workbook. Importing systems may set their own limits, so check them before you export a very big table.
What CSV keeps: FAQ
Does Excel to CSV keep formulas?
No. It writes the calculated results.
Is formatting preserved?
No. Colors, fonts, borders and widths are dropped.
What happens to merged cells?
The value is in the first cell and the rest of the merged range is empty.
How are multiple sheets handled?
Each sheet becomes its own CSV file.
Do charts and images come along?
No. CSV holds only values.
Can I choose which sheets to download?
Yes, from the list when there are several.
Will I get back my formulas if I reopen the CSV?
No. Keep the original workbook.
Is my spreadsheet uploaded?
No. It is converted in your browser.
Values out, formatting stays behind
Tidy the sheet into a clean table first and keep the original workbook for formulas and design.
