---
title: "Exporting a CSV from Microsoft Excel"
date: 2026-04-23
author: "GravityKit"
link: "https://www.gravitykit.com/docs/gravityimport/exporting-a-csv-from-excel/"
---

This article uses screenshots from Microsoft Excel 2011 Mac. If you are using Excel for Windows, or a different version of Office, the screenshots will differ, but hopefully the basics are the same. If not, let us know.

## In your Excel Document, select File > Save As

![In Excel, select "File" then "Save As" to export a CSV file](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/in-your-excel-document-select-file-gt-save-as.png?1429810851)

## Select Comma Separated Values

![Selecting "Comma Separated Values (.csv)" format in Excel save options menu](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/select-comma-separated-values.png?1429810852)
*Select continue if you see this warning*![Excel warning about feature loss when saving; options to Cancel or Continue saving](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/8d155238-52ce-4c03-9e03-9fd60259985c.png?1429810853)

## And voilá: an exported CSV

![Exported CSV file icon labeled "example.csv"](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/and-voil-aacute-an-exported-csv.png?1429810854)

## Select the file as your Import File

Now continue with the steps to Import Entries (see the Related Articles section below).

![Choose and upload a CSV file to import for processing](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/select-the-file-as-your-import-file.png?1429810854)

## Troubleshooting: Are your column headings or rows not displaying correctly?

![CSV data import errors: top shows combined rows; bottom shows jumbled text in a mapping interface](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/troubleshooting-are-your-column-headings-or-rows-not-displaying-correctly-.png?1429810856)
*If this happened to you, follow the steps below*

#### Save As "UTF-16 Unicode Text" instead

Instead of saving the file as "Comma Separated Values (.csv)", choose "UTF-16 Unicode Text (.txt)" from the Format dropdown in the Save As dialog.

![Format options in Excel for exporting data as UTF-16 Unicode Text with encoding standards](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/save-as-utf-16-unicode-text-instead.png?1429810856)

#### Add "UTF-16" to the file name.

This will tell the plugin that the file is being encoded differently.

![Save dialog showing filename "export-utf-16.txt" to specify text encoding](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/add-utf-16-to-the-file-name.png?1429810857)

#### Upload the file, and the formatting should be fixed.

![Uploaded CSV file with incorrect text encoding being mapped to form fields](https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/upload-the-file-and-the-formatting-should-be-fixed.png?1429810858)