CSV

Read CSV text into items, one per row, or turn items into CSV text.

Try it

Workflow · table-to-csv.awf 4 Schritte

Page Table to CSV: ein Workflow mit 4 Schritten, beginnend mit When Started und endend mit Copy to clipboard.

1. 1 When Started(Auslöser – zur Dokumentationsseite) Auslöser
2. 2 Read the table(Get Structured Data – zur Dokumentationsseite) Get Structured Data
3. 3 Build CSV(CSV – zur Dokumentationsseite) CSV
4. 4 Copy to clipboard(Clipboard Write – zur Dokumentationsseite) Clipboard Write

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What it does

CSV works in two directions, chosen with Operation:

• Parse into items reads CSV (or TSV) text and outputs one item per row, with the header names as field names. All values come out as text.
• Build from items takes all incoming items and writes them into one CSV text, one row per item.

It reads real-world CSV correctly: commas inside quoted values stay part of the value, a quoted value can span several lines, and "" inside quotes means one quote character. Messy files are handled rather than rejected:

• A short row leaves its missing columns empty. A long row keeps the extra values as column4, column5 and so on.
• A repeated header name is made unique (a second price becomes price_2), and an empty header cell is named by position (column1).
• An invisible byte order mark at the start of the file is removed, and both Windows and Unix line endings work.

When building, a value is quoted only when it needs it (it contains the delimiter, a quote, a line break, or leading or trailing spaces). Empty values become empty cells, and lists or objects are written as JSON. Columns are every field found across all items, in the order they first appear. Lines end with Windows line endings, which Excel expects.

When to use it

• Read a spreadsheet export or a CSV returned by an API into items you can filter and sort.
• Produce CSV text from scraped items, to save with Save as File or send in a message.
• To get a CSV file (for an upload or attachment) instead of text, use Convert to File with Format CSV.

Inputs and settings

Einstellung	Typ	Was es bewirkt
Operation	Choice	Which direction to convert. Options: Parse into items, Build from items. Standard: Parse into items
CSV Text	Value	The CSV to parse. Leave empty to read from a field instead.
Source Field	Text	Field holding the CSV text, when the field above is left empty.
Delimiter	Choice	Character separating the fields. Options: Comma, Semicolon, Tab, Pipe. Standard: Comma
First Row Is A Header	Toggle	Whether the first row names the columns. Standard: On
Write A Header Row	Toggle	Whether the built CSV starts with a row naming the columns. Standard: On
Columns	Tags	Columns to write, in order. Left empty, every field is written.
Trim Fields	Toggle	Remove surrounding whitespace from every parsed value. Standard: Off
Skip Blank Rows	Toggle	Drop rows that are entirely empty. Standard: On
Quote Every Field	Toggle	Quote every field, not only those that need it. Standard: Off
Add Byte Order Mark	Toggle	Write the mark Excel needs to read UTF-8 correctly. Standard: Off
Put CSV In Field	Text	Name of the field holding the built CSV text. Standard: csv

• For parsing: put the text in CSV Text (for example {{ $input.body }}), or leave it empty and name the field that holds it in Source Field. Turn off First Row Is A Header when the file has no header; the columns are then named column1, column2 and so on.
• For building: Columns picks which fields to write and in what order. Write A Header Row, Quote Every Field, Add Byte Order Mark and Put CSV In Field apply only here.
• Choose Tab in Delimiter for TSV, and Semicolon for many European Excel exports.

Outputs

• Output

• Parse into items outputs one item per data row, such as { "name": "Ada", "city": "London" }. A file with only a header gives no items, not an error.
• Build from items outputs one item with the CSV text in Put CSV In Field, read downstream with {{ $input.csv }}.

Dependencies and credentials

None. This node needs no connection and has no slots for other nodes.

Example workflow

1. HTML Extract reads a table of products from a page, one item per row.
2. CSV with Operation Build from items, Columns name, price, url, and Add Byte Order Mark on, since the file will be opened in Excel.
3. Save as File with Content {{ $input.csv }}, File name products and File type csv downloads the file.

Common issues

• “No CSV to parse. Fill in the CSV text, or name the field holding it on the incoming item.” Both CSV Text and Source Field are empty.
• “Field “…” does not hold CSV text on the incoming item.“ The field in Source Field is missing or is not text. Check its name in the previous node’s output.
• “No items to build CSV from. Connect a node that produces items.” Nothing reached the node when building.
• Everything lands in one column. The file uses another separator. Change Delimiter to Semicolon, Tab or Pipe.
• Accented letters look garbled in Excel. Turn on Add Byte Order Mark when building.

Recipes with this node

Copy any table on a page as CSV Anfänger · 3 Min. Keine Einrichtung

Related nodes

• Convert to File: produce a CSV file for uploads and attachments.
• Extract From File: read a CSV file that arrived as an attachment.
• Edit Fields: tidy fields before building.
• Sort: order rows after parsing.