Microsoft KB Archive/77549

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Excel: Data Lost When File Saved in Text, CSV, or DBF Format

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 2.x, 3.0, 4.0, 4.0a
 * Microsoft Excel for OS/2, versions 2.2, 3.0
 * Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, versions 2.2, 3.0, 4.0

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SUMMARY
When you save a file in Microsoft Excel to the Text, CSV (Comma Separated Values), or DBF file format, data contained in a hidden column or row is not saved. This is true regardless of what type of data is in the column or row.

For information about similar behavior in Microsoft Excel versions 5.x, please see the following article(s) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q118600 : XL5: Hidden Column/Row Not Saved in Text or CSV File Format

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel for Windows 95, version 7.0.

Example Using Text or CSV Format
  Enter the following random values into a worksheet:

     A1: 111    B1: 222   C1: 333   D1: 444 A2: 555   B2: 666   C2: 777   D2: 888  Select cells B1:C2. Choose Column Width from the Format menu. Select Hide and choose OK. From the File menu, choose Save As. In Microsoft Excel version 3.0, choose the Options button. In Microsoft Excel version 3.0, select either Text or CSV from the File Format list. Choose OK.

In Microsoft Excel versions 4.0 or 5.0, select either Text or CSV from the Save File As Type list. Enter a filename in the Filename box. Leave the extension of the filename at the default. Choose OK. Close the file by choosing Close from the File menu. Open the file again.</li></ol>

In Microsoft Excel versions previous to version 5.0, the range B1:C2 is empty. In Microsoft Excel version 5.0, the entire columns B and C are missing. Column B contains the data that was previously contained in column D.

A similar problem occurs if you set the Column Width to 1 in step 2. The resulting text file displays the following values in cells B1:C2 if the column width has been set to 1:

<pre class="FIXEDTEXT">  B1: #   C1: # B2: #  C2: #