Paste CSV or copy cells from a spreadsheet and see them as a table straight away. Search to filter rows, click a column heading to sort, and see the row and column counts. The separator is detected automatically and quoted fields are handled.
How to use it
- Paste CSV or spreadsheet cells.
- Tick whether the first row is a header.
- Use the search box to filter.
- Click a heading to sort.
When it helps
- Taking a quick look at an export.
- Searching a data file without opening a spreadsheet.
- Sorting a small data set.
- Checking a file's structure.
Good to know
- Columns of numbers sort as numbers.
- Only the first 500 rows are drawn, to keep the page responsive.
- Click a heading again to reverse the order.
What the viewer does
It parses your text as CSV or TSV, finds the delimiter, handles quoted fields and line breaks inside cells, and displays the rows in a table with sticky headers. The search box filters rows that contain your text in any column, and clicking a header sorts by that column.
Sorting is numeric when every value in the column is a number, and alphabetical otherwise.
Worked example: finding a customer
Paste an export of a few thousand customers, type part of a name in the search box, and the matching rows appear. Click the Score heading to sort, click again to reverse. The row count shows how many matches you have.
That's much faster than opening a large file in a spreadsheet.
Limits and tips
Only the first 500 matching rows are drawn, so use the search to narrow down. The tool can't edit cells, formulas or formatting. If your data has no header row, untick that option and columns are named automatically.
For files that are many megabytes, a dedicated spreadsheet is more suitable.
Reading CSV safely
CSV files can contain values starting with an equals sign or plus, which a spreadsheet might treat as formulas. Here they are shown as text and never run. That makes the viewer a safer way to inspect files from unknown sources.
Still, be careful when opening them in a spreadsheet afterwards.
Spotting data problems
Sort a column to find blanks, odd values and outliers quickly: they cluster at the top or bottom. Search for common problems such as N/A, null or a trailing space. A quick look often finds issues before they reach a report.
Fix problems at the source if you can, so they don't return next month.
Exporting what you find
Once you've found the rows you need, copy them from the table into a spreadsheet, or use the CSV Column Extractor to keep only the columns you want. Together the two tools cover most quick data checks without opening heavy software.
Questions
Can I edit cells?
No, it's a viewer.
Does it change my data?
No.