ImportText Function

IMPORTTEXT() Description

The IMPORTTEXT function allows you to load data from a text file directly into Excel (LibreOffice Calc). You can specify delimiters, skip or select a certain number of rows, and also configure encoding or locale for precise control over the imported content.

Designed for importing data from text files (such as CSV, TXT or TSV).

Main Features of the IMPORTTEXT Function

Syntax:

=IMPORTTEXT(Path; [Delimiter]; [SkipRows]; [TakeRows]; [Encoding]; [Locale])

Parameters:

• Path: Local path to the file or URL of the text file to import
• [Delimiter]: (Optional) A character or set of characters that separates columns in the file. If omitted, the function will return continuous text.
• [SkipRows]: (Optional) A number indicating how many rows to skip. A negative value skips rows from the end of the array.
• [TakeRows]: (Optional) A number that determines how many rows to return. A negative value takes rows from the end of the array.
• [Encoding]: (Optional) File encoding. By default, UTF-8 is used.
• [Locale]: (Optional) Defines regional formatting (locale) for automatic conversion of dates, numbers, etc. By default, data is returned as text.

Example Usage

The IMPORTTEXT() function is extremely useful for automating external data processing. Just specify the file path and formatting parameters, and Excel (Calc) will automatically load the content:

=IMPORTTEXT(Path; Delimiter)

We will get the following result:

In this example, the following values are used:

• Path: B1 - Full path to your file ("C:\temp\U36 11-12-21.txt").
• Delimiter: B2 - Space character as delimiter (" ").
• SkipRows: B3 - Skip the first 7 rows (7).
• TakeRows: B4 - Display 24 rows (24).
• Encoding: B5 - Use default encoding ("").
• Locale: B6 - Recognize data based on regional format for English language and USA country ("en-US").

Corresponding data from the text file:

How Does It Work?

Simply enter the IMPORTTEXT() function into any cell, specifying the appropriate parameters. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to enter the array formula and LO Calc will automatically return a table with data.

To select all cells related to the array formula, simply select any array cell and press Ctrl+/.

If you need to convert an array formula to values - select the entire array and in the menu Data > Calculate select Formula to Value.

Download extension

You can use the function IMPORTTEXT() by installing the extension YLC Utilities.

After that, this function will be available in all files that will be opened in Excel (LibreOffice Calc).