How to Open a CSV File on Android (Google Sheets, Text Editors, File Managers)

On Android, you can open a CSV file using Google Sheets, a text editor, or a file manager app.

CSV (Comma-Separated Values) is a plain-text format defined by RFC 4180. Each line is a record, fields are separated by commas, and fields containing commas, quotes, or line breaks must be enclosed in double quotes.

Opening a CSV in Google Sheets

Google Sheets is the most flexible way to view and edit a CSV on Android. Open the Google Sheets app, tap the "+" to create a new spreadsheet, then choose "Import" and select your CSV file. Sheets will parse the data into columns.

According to Google Support, you can also upload the CSV to Google Drive and open it with Sheets directly.

Opening a CSV in a Text Editor

Many text editors on Android, such as Jota Text Editor or QuickEdit, can open CSV files. You’ll see the raw text, including commas and quotes. This is useful for quick inspection or to check encoding issues.

Opening a CSV in a File Manager

File manager apps like Solid Explorer or FX File Explorer can preview CSV files. Tap the file to see a quick view of the first few lines.

Why Splitting on Comma Breaks Quoted Fields

A naive approach like splitting a string on commas fails when a field contains a comma inside quotes. For example, the line:1,"Smith, John",25 should be three fields: 1, Smith, John, 25. Splitting on commas yields four fields: 1, "Smith, John", 25.

Always use a proper CSV parser that respects RFC 4180 quoting rules. In Google Sheets, the import engine handles this automatically. In text editors, you see the raw data so you can assess quoting manually.