Use the right data format for the right data. CSV can be imported into basically any spreadsheet, which can make it appealing, but it doesn't mean it's always a good option.
If you want csv, considering a normalization step. For instance, make sure numbers have no commas and a "." decimal place. Probably quote all strings. Ensure you have a header row.
Probably don't reach for a CSV if:
- You have long text blobs with special characters (ie quotes, new lines, etc.)
- You can't normalize the data for some reason (ie some columns have formulas instead of specific data)
- You know that every user will always convert it to another format or import it
If you want csv, considering a normalization step. For instance, make sure numbers have no commas and a "." decimal place. Probably quote all strings. Ensure you have a header row.
Probably don't reach for a CSV if:
- You have long text blobs with special characters (ie quotes, new lines, etc.)
- You can't normalize the data for some reason (ie some columns have formulas instead of specific data)
- You know that every user will always convert it to another format or import it