can't view .CSV format [solved]

[Lisa]

Hi all,

My husband sent me a .csv file from his bank, but I can't find anything on Linux that reads these properly.  When I click to view it in my web-based e-mail, it wants to open it with openoffice calculator, but it gibberish.  Or, is there a way to convert this file to PDF in Linux? 
Lisa Marie

Ups, edited to add, that I tried opening it with Kwrite, and it makes sense now.   

[atolboo]

In the menu Help of OpenOffice.org Calc (=F1) I find (after doing a 'csv' search and translated from Dutch):

To Import a CSV File
      1. Choose File - Open
      2. Locate the .........

Maybe this does the trick

[Lisa]

ah, I always go half the distance.  I never thought of looking in 'Help'. 
I assumed openoffice couldn't read .csv format. 

Code:

To Open a Text CSV File in Calc
1. Choose File - Open.
2. Locate the CSV file that you want to open.
If the file has a *.csv extension, select the file.
If the CSV file has another extension, select the file, and then select "Text CSV" in the File type box
3. Click Open.
The Text Import dialog opens.
4. Specify the options to divide the text in the file into columns.
You can preview the layout of the imported data at the bottom of the Text Import dialog.

I was a bit confused by section 4, as I didn't see 'columns'  but did see 'comas' and chose that.  It looks fine now.  A much better solution!  Thanks, atolboo!
Regards, Lisa Marie

[PhiX]

csv stands for "comma-separated values". It's a simple text file format in which a column is symbolized by the space in between two commas.

[atolboo]

csv stands for "comma-separated values". .....

Have a look in the link which is in

....... a 'csv' search ......

[Lisa]

Thanks for the additional information.  It looks like .csv has been around for a long time. 

I knew that commas had something to do with the format, after looking at an example entry my husband sent to me: "09/01/2010","222.22",,"Uncategorized","E-PMT","SOMEONE"
Lisa Marie

[James T]

It's also worth noting that the CSV import in OpenOffice can handle a wide range of separators beyond just commas, and in recent versions does a pretty good job of guessing the format of the file.  Though you may need to tweak things like the behaviour with multiple separators.