Convert Spreadsheet to Delimited Text File – Excel & Google Sheets

In this tutorial, you will learn how to convert a spreadsheet to a delimited text file from Excel or Google Sheets.

 

text tab delimited file

 

Convert Spreadsheet to Delimited TXT

To convert a spreadsheet to a text file, first open it in Excel. The following example will show how to save the table below as text without losing the column separators.

 

excel data table

 

1. To save as a text file, from the Ribbon, go to File > Save As.

2. Choose document type Text (Tab delimited (*.txt).

3. Then press Save.

 

save as txt file

 

As a result, a text (tab-delimited) file is saved in the location you specified with all columns separated by a tabulator. When you open the file in a text editor (such as Notepad), it looks like the picture below.

 

text tab delimited file

 

Convert an Excel File to a Comma-Delimited CSV File

You can also convert a spreadsheet to a comma-delimited text file in a similar way.

1. In the Ribbon, go to File > Save As.

2. Choose document type CSV (Comma delimited (*.csv).

3. Then press Save.

 

save as csv file

 

Now, all columns in the CSV file are separated by a comma. When you open the file in a text editor (such as Notepad), it looks like the picture below.

 

text comma delimited file

 

Note: From the text editor, the CSV file can be saved as a text (.txt) file if necessary.

Convert a Google Sheets File to a Delimited TXT File

There are two steps to convert a Google Sheets spreadsheet to a tab delimited file:

  • Save a sheet as a Tab-separated values (.tsv) file.
  • Save that file as a tab delimited (.txt) file.

In the Menu, go to File > Download > Tab-separated values (.tsv, current sheet).

 

google sheets save as tab separated values

 

As a result, you get a TSV file that save as a text file. Open the TSV file in a text editor (such as Notepad) and save it with the .txt file extension.

1. To do this, go to File > Save As (or use the keyboard shortcut F12).

 

save tsv as txt file

 

2. In the pop-up window, (1) set the document type to Text Documents (*.txt), and (2) click Save.

 

save tsv as txt file 2

 

The final output is the text file with the tabular delimiter.

 

google sheets text file

 

Convert a Google Sheets File to a Comma-Delimited (.csv) File

To convert a Google Sheets file to a comma-delimited file, go to File > Download > Comma-separated values (.csv, current sheet).