How To Create Tab Delimited Files

Several data import formats used with PaperCut require a file formatted as TSV (Tab Separated Values). TSV is simply a file where each line has its values separated by tabs. This is similar to the common format CSV (Comma Separated Values). TSV avoids many of the problems associated with CSV, particularly where values may contain commas, and in countries where commas are used as the decimal separator in numbers.

Creating a TSV File With Microsoft Excel

1. Start with a new worksheet in Excel.
2. Enter or paste the data into the corresponding columns (first field in column A, second field in column B, etc.).
3. Click File (or the Office Button) → Save As.
4. Change Save as type: to “Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)”.
5. Enter a file name and save the file.

It’s also worth checking out the Batch User Import & Update examples if you’re looking to create tsv files for that purpose!

Categories: How-to Articles, Administration