How to Convert CSV to Excel and Excel to CSV in Python [Safe Guide]

For people who deal with data, the conversion between CSV and Excel is essential, whether you're organizing datasets, sharing information, or integrating with different systems. CSV files are lightweight and ideal for raw data storage, while Excel files offer more structure and functionality.

But how do you swap between the two formats efficiently and easily in Python? This guide will walk you through how to convert CSV to Excel and Excel to CSV step by step. Let’s dive in and explore!

Python Library to Convert Between CSV and Excel

To accomplish the task quickly and easily, it is recommended to try some Python Excel libraries. Among many APIs, Spire.XLS for Python stands out for its security and intuitive methods. So, in this guide, we will use Spire.XLS(short for Spire.XLS for Python) to illustrate how to change a CSV file to Excel​ and vice versa.

You can install it with the pip command: pip install Spire.XLS.

Understanding CSV: Advantages, Limitations, and Conversion Needs

CSV (Comma-Separated Values), according to Wikipedia, is a text file format that uses commas to separate values, and newlines to separate records. Because CSV is based on text, it has a simple structure and is easy to view and edit. This format is compatible with almost all data processing tools, like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and Python.

Although CSV files offer many advantages, they also have limitations that might prompt users to convert them to Excel for further processing. For instance, CSV cannot handle complex data structures like nested tables or formatted text. Additionally, special characters such as commas or line breaks in the data can cause parsing issues.

So in the following sections, we will discuss how to complete the conversion between CSV and Excel files.

How to Convert CSV to Excel with Python Easily

Either to avoid the drawbacks of CSV files or need advanced data processing, converting CSV to Excel is an excellent choice. Spire.XLS offers the Workbook.SaveToFile() method, enabling you to easily change a CSV file as an Excel document. Let’s take a close look.

Steps to convert CSV to Excel in Python:

• Create a Workbook instance, and use the Workbook.LoadFromFile() method to read a CSV file from the local storage.

• Get a worksheet using the Workbook.Worksheets[] property.

• Set displaying numbers as text and autofit the column width.

• Convert the CSV document as Excel with the Workbook.SaveToFile() method.

Here is the code example of converting the first CSV worksheet to Excel:

from spire.xls import *
from spire.xls.common import *

# Create a Workbook object
workbook = Workbook()

# Load a CSV file
workbook.LoadFromFile("CSV.csv", ",", 1, 1)

# Get the first worksheet
sheet = workbook.Worksheets[0]

# Display numbers as text
sheet.AllocatedRange.IgnoreErrorOptions = IgnoreErrorType.NumberAsText

# Autofit column width
sheet.AllocatedRange.AutoFitColumns()

# Save to an Excel file
workbook.SaveToFile("output/ToExcel.xlsx", ExcelVersion.Version2013)

# Release resources
workbook.Dispose()

How to Convert Excel to CSV Quickly in Three Steps

When it comes to data sharing or working with systems that require a simple text-based format, turning Excel to CSV can be helpful. You can quickly convert Excel to CSV with three steps in Python. Simply load an Excel spreadsheet, retrieve a worksheet, and save it as a CSV file. Check out the detailed steps below.

Steps to convert Excel to CSV:

• Create an object of the Workbook class.

• Load an Excel document using the Workbook.LoadFromFile() method.

• Get the specified worksheet with the Workbook.Worksheets[] property.

• Save the worksheet as CSV by calling the Workbook.SaveToFile() method.

Below is the code example of converting the first worksheet of an Excel to CSV:

from spire.xls import *
from spire.xls.common import *

# Create a Workbook object
workbook = Workbook()

# Load an Excel document
workbook.LoadFromFile("sample.xlsx")

# Get the first sheet
sheet = workbook.Worksheets[0]

# Convert it to CSV file
sheet.SaveToFile("output/ToCSV.csv", ",", Encoding.get_UTF8())

# Release the memory
workbook.Dispose()

The Conclusion

This article provides a comprehensive guide on converting CSV to Excel and Excel to CSV using Python. It also delves into what CSV is, along with its key advantages and limitations. By the end of this guide, you'll see how simple and straightforward it is to handle format conversions between CSV and Excel, whether you're an expert or a beginner. We hope you find it helpful!