IMPORT first CSV column as TEXT instead of NUMBER

Per Martin

I don't see a way to force my first CSV column to be treated as TEXT during an IMPORT, even when that column sometimes contains data that looks like a number.  A simple example of this would be a list that has 2 digit hex values from 00 to FF.   The lines with A-F get treated as text, but other lines are subjected to leading zero removal.

 

My plan B is to import the csv file into Excel and see if classifying the column as text will preserve the data when I subsequently IMPORT the Excel file into Smartsheet.

Per Martin

My plan C is to prefix the value with some text that can never be interpreted as a number, such as "PART".

JamesR

Hi,

This is tricky as Smartsheet sorts each cell within the column based on its content (Text or Num) Numbers come before text. Not as in Access by Column Type.

Sorted Assending

Sorted Desending is exactly the opposite.

 

James