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How to Open a CSV File in Google Sheets or Google Drive

Use Sheets’ File > Import to turn a CSV into editable spreadsheet data, or upload the original file to Drive when you only need to store it.
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To work with a CSV as editable spreadsheet cells, open Google Sheets and choose File > Import. To keep the original CSV in cloud storage, upload it to Google Drive with New > File upload. Uploading to Drive stores the file; it does not by itself convert it into a Google Sheet.

Choose the right way to open your CSV

What you need Use this route What it does
Edit or analyze the contents as spreadsheet cells Google Sheets > File > Import Imports the CSV contents into a spreadsheet and lets you choose a separator.
Store or access the original file in Drive Google Drive > New > File upload Uploads the CSV file to Drive.
Fetch a CSV or TSV available at a web address Google Sheets =IMPORTDATA(url) Retrieves remote data into Sheets.
Analyze a file too large for direct import Connected Sheets > BigQuery Connects the data for analysis through Sheets.

Import a CSV from your computer into Google Sheets

  1. Open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
  2. Select File > Import.
  3. In the import dialog, open the Upload tab and select the CSV from your device. If the file is already in Drive, choose it there instead.
  4. Choose where the imported data should go, such as a new spreadsheet or a sheet in the spreadsheet you opened. Available choices can depend on the import dialog.
  5. Check Separator type and select the option that matches how the file separates values.
  6. Select Import data.

Google’s import instructions describe choosing a separator but do not list every option on the cited help page. If you are unsure which delimiter the file uses, inspect its contents or try the matching separator in the import dialog.

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Upload a CSV to Google Drive without converting it

  1. Open Google Drive on a computer.
  2. Select New > File upload.
  3. Choose the CSV file on your device. You can also drag the file into an open Drive folder.

This puts the original CSV in Drive. Google’s general file-viewing guidance describes opening files from Drive, but does not guarantee that double-clicking every CSV will open it as editable Sheets data. For a table you can work with in cells, import the CSV through Sheets.

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Google’s upload instructions are at Upload files & folders to Google Drive; its general guidance for viewing files is at View & open files.

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Fix data that appears in one column or splits incorrectly

Before importing

Return to File > Import and set Separator type to match the delimiter in the CSV. If values appear together in one column, the selected separator may not match the file.

After pasting text into a sheet

Select the cells containing the unsplit text, then choose Data > Split text to columns. Pick the appropriate separator or use Detect automatically. See Google’s instructions for splitting text in Sheets.

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Import a CSV or TSV from a URL

If the file is published at a URL that Sheets can access, enter =IMPORTDATA(url) in a cell, replacing url with the file’s address. This fetches remote data; it is different from uploading a CSV stored on your computer. Google documents the function at IMPORTDATA.

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What to do when a CSV is too large

Google’s Connected Sheets guidance says to use Connected Sheets when a CSV is too large to import directly. Its documented route is to open the file, choose Data > Data connectors > Connect to BigQuery, select a Google Cloud project, name a table, and continue. This connects data for analysis with Sheets rather than placing an unlimited CSV into an ordinary spreadsheet. Google describes Connected Sheets as a way to open CSV files of any size for analysis using familiar Sheets tools: Learn how to optimize your data ingestion.

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Google Drive’s published guidance captured on October 7, 2026 states a limit of 10 million cells or 18,278 columns for imported Excel and CSV spreadsheets. Treat those numbers as the limits stated on that help page, not a timeless guarantee: Google help pages can differ by locale or version. Check the current Google Drive file and spreadsheet limits if the exact import ceiling determines your next step. Connected Sheets also has its own limits—for example, Google lists up to 200,000 rows for pivot tables and up to 500,000 rows or 5 million cells for extracts—so those figures should not be confused with regular CSV-import limits.

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