Import CSV to Google Sheets (The Easy Way in 2023!)

In this article we will show you how to import a CSV file into Google Sheets in just a few clicks. Simply follow the steps below.

How to Import a CSV into Google Sheets

Import a CSV Via Google Drive

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This is the simplest method you can use. This is ideal if the CSV contains all the data you need.

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1. Drag the CSV file into your Google Drive

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Open Google Drive, then drag your file over the screen. A small box saying Drag files to upload them will appear. Drop the file and it will be uploaded to Google Drive. 

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2. Double-click the File in Google Sheets

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The CSV will be listed with your other files after the upload process is complete. Double-click the CSV and it will start loading in Google Sheets.

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Alternatively, you can right-click the CSV file, select Preview.

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A preview will appear, with a button on top allowing you to choose the app to use for opening the file. Click Open with Google Sheets on top of the preview.

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A new tab will load, opening the file in Google Sheets.

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3. Save as Google Sheets

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The file can now be opened in Google Sheets! However, to fully use the features of Google Sheets, you need to convert the file to Google Sheets format. Click File, then select Save as Google Sheets.

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A new tab will load, showing the csv file finally converted to Google Sheets format.

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Import a CSV Via Google Sheets

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If you have existing Google Sheets spreadsheets and want to import data from a csv file to those sheets, follow the steps below.

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1. Click File and select Import.

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The File option is located in the File Menu in the top left corner of Google Sheets.

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2. Click Upload then Drag CSV File to Upload It

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A box labeled Import file will load. It gives you options to:

• Select a file from your Google Drive
• From the files shared with you
• Upload a file from your computer

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For our example, we want to upload a csv file from our computer to Google Sheets. Click Upload.

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A space for uploading the CSV file appears. 

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Click Browse and a window will open where you can find the file on your computer, or you can drag and drop the file into the upload area.

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3. Set Import location and Separator type

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Once the file is read by Google Sheets, you will be given options to set where to insert the data from the CSV and the separator used by the file. 

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For the Import location, you can do one of the following:

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• Create new spreadsheet - a new spreadsheet will be created containing the data from the CSV file. After clicking Import data, a message will appear in the box saying File imported successfully. Open now. You can click the link to access the spreadsheet. 

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• Insert new sheet(s) - a new sheet will be inserted into the current sheet containing the data from the CSV file. The new sheet will be named the same as the filename of the CSV file. 

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• Replace spreadsheet - the current spreadsheet will be replaced by the data from the imported CSV file. The data stored in the current spreadsheet will be destroyed in the process. 

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The new spreadsheet with the data from the CSV file will be automatically loaded after being created. 

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• Replace current sheet - the active sheet will be replaced with a new one with the data from the CSV file. The data in the current sheet will be destroyed in the process. 

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• Append to current sheet - the data from the CSV file will be inserted at the end of the active sheet. 

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• Replace data at selected cell - the data from CSV file will be inserted to the active sheet starting from the selected cell. It will replace all data within the range that the data from the CSV file will cover. 

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For our example, we will select Replace data at selected cell. 

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For the separator type, you can choose from the following options:

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• Detect automatically - Google Sheets will analyze the file and determine what the separator is (Usually the easiest option)

• Tab - best for files that use tabs to separate columns (TSV files)

• Comma - best for CSV files

• Custom - if you use an uncommon character as a separator, you need to specify it by selecting this option. A text box will appear where you can define the specific separator.

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To show how good Google Sheets’ ability to detect the separator in the file, we will select Detect automatically. 

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4. Click Import data

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You have successfully imported CSV to Google Sheets. 

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