Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Aligning Cells when Importing from CSV.

Aligning Cells when Importing from CSV

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 12, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

Marinos works with CSV files a lot. In his case, the CSV files are created by a custom application and he found that he can even include formulae in them. So if a line of the CSV file contains ",,,Total:,=SUM(D5:D13),,,," the formula is evaluated and all is fine. One thing Marinos wants to do, however, is indicate in the CSV file how individual cells should be justified after they are imported into Excel. He seems to remember that in Lotus 123 he could use a prefix character to indicate the alignment of the cell (' for left, ^ for middle, and " for right); he figures the same capability would be great in Excel.

There is no way to do this in Excel; alignment of imported data is based on system defaults, such that text is left-justified, and numbers are right-justified. One option, however, would be to add a prefix character that you could then later "parse" with a macro to apply the desired alignment. For instance, you could use "<" for left, "^" for center, and ">" for right. When Excel imports the CSV files, the fields are treated as text. You can then run this macro to search for the leading alignment character and do the desired action:

Sub SetJustification()
    Dim rCell As Range

    For Each rCell In ActiveSheet.UsedRange
        With rCell
            Select Case Left(.Value, 1)
                Case "<"
                    .Value = Mid(.Value, 2)
                    .HorizontalAlignment = xlHAlignLeft
                Case "^"
                    .Value = Mid(.Value, 2)
                    .HorizontalAlignment = xlHAlignCenter
                Case ">"
                    .Value = Mid(.Value, 2)
                    .HorizontalAlignment = xlHAlignRight
            End Select
        End With
    Next
    Set rCell = Nothing
End Sub

The macro checks each cell in the worksheet. If the cell begins with an alignment character, then the character is removed, and the proper alignment is applied.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8709) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Aligning Cells when Importing from CSV.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Determining the RGB Value of a Color

Excel allows you to fill a cell's background with just about any color you want. If you need to determine the RGB value ...

Discover More

Changing the Start Screen's Theme

You'll spend a lot of time viewing the Start screen in Windows. If you want to change up things, you can modify which ...

Discover More

Column Formatting Based On a Filter

When working with filtered data, you may want to specially format a column that has a filter applied to it. Here are a ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Full Path Names in Excel

Need to know what the full path name is for the current workbook? With a simple macro you can display the full path name ...

Discover More

Appending to a Non-Excel Text File

Does your macro need to add information to the end of a text file? This is called appending and is done using the ...

Discover More

Importing Many Files Into Excel

Importing a single file is easy. Importing a whole slew of files can be much more of a challenge.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine more than 1?

2023-12-12 09:27:24

Alex

Another option would be to paste as values-only into a template set up with the desired alignment, if it's a repeated process. Ctl + Shift + V is the kb shortcut for that if anyone, like me a few months ago, didn't know.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.