This article is relevant primarily for international users of Microsoft Outlook and Excel.

It would not be unreasonable to assume that when reading a CSV (comma separated values) file, that the field data would always be separated/delimited by a comma. It may not be unreasonable but it also would not be correct.

How many times of you seen someone ask (or have even asked yourself) – Why are there so blank rows when I import my Excel file into Outlook (or even a CSV file created via Excel)?

There are many things you don’t have to think about when working strictly within the confines of a one program. However, when the data contained in one program has to be used in another program, the integrity of the data becomes important.