Convert Numeric Data Tables Between TSV and CSV

Numeric Data Tables

Scientific data, financial reports, and statistical outputs often consist primarily of numeric values. Converting these between TSV and CSV requires careful handling of decimal separators, negative signs, and scientific notation.

Example: Financial Data (TSV)

Date	Open	High	Low	Close	Volume
2024-01-02	150.25	152.80	149.50	151.75	12500000
2024-01-03	151.80	153.20	150.10	150.45	11800000
2024-01-04	150.50	151.90	148.75	149.30	14200000
2024-01-05	149.20	150.85	147.60	150.60	13100000

Converted to CSV

Date,Open,High,Low,Close,Volume
2024-01-02,150.25,152.80,149.50,151.75,12500000
2024-01-03,151.80,153.20,150.10,150.45,11800000
2024-01-04,150.50,151.90,148.75,149.30,14200000
2024-01-05,149.20,150.85,147.60,150.60,13100000

Numeric Value Handling

The converter treats all values as text strings and does not interpret or modify numeric content. This means:

• Decimal points are preserved exactly (150.25 stays 150.25)
• Negative numbers are preserved (-42.5 stays -42.5)
• Scientific notation is preserved (1.23e-4 stays 1.23e-4)
• Leading zeros are preserved (007 stays 007)
• No rounding occurs during conversion

Formatting Pitfalls

Be aware of potential issues when opening CSV in Excel:

• Excel may strip leading zeros from numeric fields
• Excel may interpret date-like strings as dates
• Large numbers may be displayed in scientific notation

These are Excel behaviors, not converter issues. To prevent them, import as text or use a .tsv file which Excel handles with an import wizard.

European vs US Number Formats

The converter does not modify decimal separators. If your data uses European format (150,25) with semicolon delimiters, set the CSV delimiter to semicolon. The decimal comma will be preserved correctly in the converted output.