Instructions For Creating a CSV File

Important: Read this before editing your CSV file in Microsoft Excel

Warning: Excel may change long numbers.

If you open and edit your comma-separated values (CSV) file in Microsoft Excel, Excel may automatically convert long numeric values such as local student identifiers (IDs), Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs), or other long integers into scientific notation (for example: 123456789012 to 1.23E+11).

When this happens, your file may be rejected because the original value is no longer preserved.

Recommended Options (Choose ONE)

Option 1 — Best Option: Edit the CSV file in a text editor (No Excel)

1. Download your CSV file.
2. Right-click the file and choose Open with Notepad (or Visual Studio (VS) Code, Notepad++, etc.).
3. Make your edits.
4. Save the file.
5. Upload the file to the system.

This method guarantees that numeric values will not be reformatted.

Option 2 — If you MUST use Excel (Preferred Excel Method)

If you need Excel for editing, follow these steps exactly:

Step A — Open Excel first (Do NOT double-click the CSV file).

1. Open Excel.
2. Select  File – Open – Browse.
3. Select your CSV file (do NOT double-click it).

Step B — Use the Text Import Wizard.

When the file opens, Excel will launch the Text Import Wizard:

1. Choose Delimited – Select  Next.
2. Choose Comma as the delimiter – Select Next.
3. On the final screen, for any column that contains long numbers (IDs, SSIDs, etc.), select the column and choose Text as the data format.
4. Select  Finish.

This forces Excel to treat the values as text and prevent scientific notation.

Option 3 — If you already opened the CSV in Excel

If you already opened the CSV and see scientific notation:

1. Select the affected column(s).
2. Right-click – Format Cells.
3. Choose Text.
4. Re-enter (or paste) the original values if they were already converted to scientific notation.

Note: If Excel already converted your values, simply changing the format may not fully restore them. You may need to re-import using Option 2.

Before You Upload — Quick Checklist

• No values appear in scientific notation (for example: 1.23E+11).
• All ID/SSID/long numeric fields appear as full values (no rounding).
• The file is saved as .CSV