How to Open CSV Exports in Excel Without Corrupting Leading Zeros or Accents

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Data analyst Michael Nocito published a practical guide on August 8, 2026, explaining why SQL query exports appear corrupted when opened in Excel. The core finding is that the exported CSV file itself is typically error-free — data damage occurs only when the file is opened by double-clicking, which lets Excel auto-interpret values. The recommended fix is to open Excel first and import the file via Data > Get Data > From Text/CSV, which preserves leading zeros, accented characters, and date formats. Nocito verified his findings by inspecting exported files byte-by-byte using SQLite 3.51.1, confirming the raw data remained intact after export. One genuine export limitation noted is that trailing decimal zeros are lost, since they represent display formatting rather than numeric value.

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