Stop Excel from automatically converting certain text values to dates

Question

Does anyone happen to know if there is a token I can add to my csv for a certain field so Excel doesn\'t try to convert it to a date?

I\'m trying to write a .csv fil

Answer 1

Hi I have the same issue,

I write this vbscipt to create another CSV file. The new CSV file will have a space in font of each field, so excel will understand it as text.

So you create a .vbs file with the code below (for example Modify_CSV.vbs), save and close it. Drag and Drop your original file to your vbscript file. It will create a new file with "SPACE_ADDED" to file name in the same location.

Set objArgs = WScript.Arguments

Set objFso = createobject("scripting.filesystemobject")

dim objTextFile
dim arrStr ' an array to hold the text content
dim sLine  ' holding text to write to new file

'Looping through all dropped file
For t = 0 to objArgs.Count - 1
    ' Input Path
    inPath = objFso.GetFile(wscript.arguments.item(t))

    ' OutPut Path
    outPath = replace(inPath, objFso.GetFileName(inPath), left(objFso.GetFileName(inPath), InStrRev(objFso.GetFileName(inPath),".") - 1) & "_SPACE_ADDED.csv")

    ' Read the file
    set objTextFile = objFso.OpenTextFile(inPath)


    'Now Creating the file can overwrite exiting file
    set aNewFile = objFso.CreateTextFile(outPath, True) 
    aNewFile.Close  

    'Open the file to appending data
    set aNewFile = objFso.OpenTextFile(outPath, 8) '2=Open for writing 8 for appending

    ' Reading data and writing it to new file
    Do while NOT objTextFile.AtEndOfStream
        arrStr = split(objTextFile.ReadLine,",")

        sLine = ""  'Clear previous data

        For i=lbound(arrStr) to ubound(arrStr)
            sLine = sLine + " " + arrStr(i) + ","
        Next

        'Writing data to new file
        aNewFile.WriteLine left(sLine, len(sLine)-1) 'Get rid of that extra comma from the loop


    Loop

    'Closing new file
    aNewFile.Close  

Next ' This is for next file

set aNewFile=nothing
set objFso = nothing
set objArgs = nothing