Both Excel and CSV work as datasources. Here’s how to choose between them.
The short answer
- Use Excel (
.xlsx) when your data has more than one table, contains special characters, or you just want everything in one tidy file. It’s the better default.
- Use CSV when your data comes out of another system – a database export, an e-commerce backend – as a single flat table.
Excel (.xlsx)
- Holds multiple sheets in one file, which you need for master plus secondary data and data groups.
- Preserves text exactly, including accents and symbols, with no encoding guesswork.
- Readable by DataMergeStudio without Microsoft Excel installed.
CSV
- A single, flat table – one sheet only. Fine for straightforward "one row, one record" jobs.
- Plain text, so it’s what most systems export.
- Two things to watch: the encoding and the separator. When you import a CSV, DataMergeStudio lets you set both in the import settings – choose the right separator (comma or semicolon) and encoding (UTF-8 is safest for accented and special characters) so your columns split correctly and text isn’t garbled.
When in doubt
If your job needs related rows – a spec table, line items – you need multiple sheets, so use Excel. If it’s one flat list, either works: CSV is lighter, Excel is safer with special characters.
Next
Ready to bring your file in? See Importing Your First Spreadsheet.
