This article explains how to import a CSV file into Excel without encountering formatting issues.
⚠️ Following these steps exactly as described is essential to prevent data misalignment. If you encounter any issues, please double-check your selections before contacting our support team.
For the following steps to work, use the CSV file exactly as exported from MotionTools. Do not open or resave it in any other way, as this may corrupt the file.
Overview
On Windows
Microsoft Office 365
Import the CSV-File
Launch the Microsoft Excel application and open a blank workbook. Next, go to the Data Menu and click on the From Text option in the Get Data Menu.
Navigate to the correct file, click on it, and choose Import.
Import settings
Now, change the File Origin type to 65001: Unicode (UTF-8). You must choose this option to avoid formatting issues. The Delimiter should automatically be set to Comma, if not, please select Comma here. For Data Type Detection choose “Do not detect data types”. Otherwise, it will format the dates wrong. Click Load.
Excel will put your data onto a new sheet as a query. Copy all cells starting at cell A2 all the way down and to the right.
Return to Sheet 1 and paste the cells there. You can now close the Queries & Connections window.
Last but not least delete Sheet 2 and save the file.
Optional: Convert Text to Numbers
If cells containing numbers display a green triangle in the upper-left corner with a warning sign, it means these numbers are stored as text rather than numerical values. Select all number fields, click the warning sign icon, and choose Convert to Number. Excel will then treat them as true numbers, enabling calculations and formulas.
Older Excel versions
Import the CSV-File
If you are using an older Excel version, we recommend updating to the latest version, as Microsoft will end extended support for old Excel versions after October 14, 2025. If you still choose to use the older version, follow these steps to import your CSV file:
Launch the Microsoft Excel application and open a blank workbook. Next, go to the Data Menu and click on the From Text option in the Get Data Menu.
Navigate to the correct file, click on it, and choose “Import”.
The Text Import Wizard will open, which is the crucial part of the import process.
What to select in the Text Import Wizard
Note that while the following screenshots show the Mac user interface (since we cannot recreate them in an older Windows Excel version), the layout and options are identical across both platforms.
The Text Import Wizard will automatically detect that your data is "Delimited," which means fields are separated by commas or tabs. Keep this default selection. If you see "Fixed width" selected instead, switch it back to "Delimited.
Next, ensure the Start import at row value is set to 1 and select Unicode (UTF-8) as the File origin. You must choose one of these two options to avoid formatting issues.
Click on Next.
In this step, you'll set the delimiters for your imported data. Excel will automatically select Tab as the delimiter, please uncheck this option and select Comma instead. After selecting this option, you'll see in the preview window that your data is now properly organized into columns.
Click on Next.
In this last step, you can select individual columns from the preview and set their Data Format. Find the column containing dates and set its Column Data Format to Date DMY (Day Month Year). Click on Finish.
If you've already created a new sheet for importing the data, simply keep the default selections and click Import.
Make sure you save the file and that's it. 🎉 You can now use the data in Excel.
On Mac
Microsoft Office 365 and older versions
Import the CSV-File
Open the Excel application and create a blank workbook. Next, go to File > Import.
Select CSV file in the popup window and click on Import.
Now, select the CSV file you want to open and click Get Data.
The Text Import Wizard will open, which is the crucial part of the import process.
What to select in the Text Import Wizard
The Text Import Wizard will automatically detect that your data is "Delimited," which means fields are separated by commas or tabs. Keep this default selection. If you see "Fixed width" selected instead, switch it back to "Delimited."
Next, ensure the Start import at row value is set to 1 and select Unicode (UTF-8) as the File origin. You must choose one of these two options to avoid formatting issues.
Click on Next.
In this step, you'll set the delimiters for your imported data. Excel will automatically select Tab as the delimiter, please uncheck this option and select Comma instead. After selecting this option, you'll see in the preview window that your data is now properly organized into columns.
Click on Next.
In this last step, you can select individual columns from the preview and set their Data Format. Find the column containing dates and set its Column Data Format to Date DMY (Day Month Year). Click on Finish.
If you've already created a new sheet for importing the data, simply keep the default selections and click Import.
Make sure you save the file and that's it. 🎉 You can now use the data in Excel.
