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.csv

CSV / Excel Viewer

Learn how CSV fits into GIS workflows, what it is useful for, and when to convert it into true spatial formats.

Ensure your CSV has columns named lat/lon, latitude/longitude, or similar.
All processing runs locally in your browser.

CSV / Excel

Ensure your CSV has columns named lat/lon, latitude/longitude, or similar.

How to open CSV / Excel online

Map CSV files with Latitude/Longitude columns. Ensure your CSV has columns named lat/lon, latitude/longitude, or similar.

Privacy

Files are processed on your device in the browser. GeoDataViewer does not upload your datasets to a server for viewing.

Common issues

If a dataset uses multiple required sidecar files, make sure you provide the complete set together. For best results, keep all sidecars in one zip archive when applicable.

Related tools

Measure distances, areas, elevation, and radius circles using the tools menu, then come back to inspect your CSV / Excel layer on the map.

What is CSV / Excel?

CSV is a plain text table format that becomes geospatial only when rows include coordinates, WKT, or some other geometry-bearing columns.

CSV is attractive because almost every spreadsheet, BI tool, script, and database can read it, which makes it one of the easiest tabular handoff formats in data work.
In GIS workflows, CSV usually acts as an entry point or export format rather than a full spatial model because it does not natively encode geometry types, CRS metadata, or topology rules.

What is CSV / Excel used for?

  • Sharing tabular records with coordinates between GIS teams and spreadsheet-heavy business users.
  • Feeding ETL jobs, reporting tools, and import pipelines that expect flat text tables.
  • Exporting data for manual review, annotation, or lightweight downstream processing.

Common use cases

  • Address lists, asset inventories, or sensor records with latitude and longitude columns.
  • QA exports where analysts need to sort and filter records outside a GIS application.
  • Quick imports into scripts, databases, cloud notebooks, or low-code data tools.

Strengths

  • Very easy to open, inspect, diff, and load into general-purpose tooling.
  • Lightweight file structure works well for automated pipelines.
  • Good bridge format when the audience is not primarily using GIS software.

Limitations

  • CSV has no native geometry model, so location must be inferred from columns or embedded text.
  • CRS, styling, topology, and richer feature metadata are not standardized in plain CSV.
  • Multi-geometry or multi-layer datasets are better stored in dedicated geospatial containers.

File extensions and sidecar files

.csv
Main comma-separated text table containing rows and columns.
latitude / longitude columns
Common convention for point locations when the CSV is used as geospatial input.
WKT or geometry text column
Optional way to carry non-point geometry in a flat table, depending on downstream tooling.

Convert CSV online

CSV to AutoCAD DXF
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to FlatGeobuf
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to File Geodatabase
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to GeoJSON
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to GeoRSS
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to GML
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to GeoPackage
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to GPX
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to JSON-FG
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to KML
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to MapInfo
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.
CSV to MBTiles
Open, preview, and convert CSV locally in your browser.

CSV / Excel Viewer FAQ

Is CSV a real GIS format?

It is a tabular data format first. It becomes useful in GIS only when the file includes coordinates or geometry text that a spatial tool can interpret.

When should I keep data in CSV?

Keep it in CSV when the main task is tabular review, reporting, or lightweight import into general-purpose tools rather than spatial analysis.

Why convert CSV to GeoJSON or GeoPackage?

Those formats make geometry explicit, preserve spatial context better, and are easier to preview on a map without guessing which columns represent location.