Basic Question - Why are additional characters appearing when converting a CSV to a text file?

Question

This is a basic question that I cannot find the answer for. I have a CSV file that is adding a quotation marks to one of my values when I open it as a text. I've not encountered this before. Any advice?

Show us a screenshot or something, we cant guess what you're seeing. — Kevin H
– Kevin H, Commented Dec 16, 2019 at 20:22

Jason K Lai · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-16 21:03:37Z

2

In the CSV format, quotations are sometimes used around certain items, especially if it has special characters in it like commas. Otherwise, programs will think that the comma inside that item splits the column.

name, age, location
Amy, 49, "Phoenix, AZ"
Amy, 49, Phoenix, AZ

It would be difficult to tell if Phoenix and AZ are two separate columns without quotations (e.g. 3 columns versus 4 columns in the example above). So some programs will add in quotation marks to resolve that confusion.

edited Dec 16, 2019 at 21:03

answered Dec 16, 2019 at 20:08

Jason K Lai

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