How to Use csv-column-tools
- Paste CSV data (with headers in row 1) into the input area.
- Choose an operation: Extract, Delete, Reorder, or Swap columns.
- Specify columns by name or number.
- Copy the output or download it as a
.csv file.
CSV column operations are among the most common data preparation tasks: extract just the columns you need, drop personally identifiable columns before sharing, reorder columns to match a target schema, or swap two columns that were accidentally transposed. This tool handles all four operations without spreadsheet software — paste, configure, copy.
Common CSV Column Workflows
When integrating data between systems, you often need to select specific fields from a wide CSV (extract), remove sensitive columns before exporting (delete), reorder columns to match the target import format (reorder), or fix common data errors like swapped date and time columns (swap). This tool accepts any CSV with a header row and handles quoted fields, embedded commas, and multi-line values correctly.
- Extract: keep only specified columns by name or position
- Delete: remove specified columns from the output
- Reorder: specify the new column order
- Swap: exchange two columns by name or number
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I handle CSV files where the delimiter is a semicolon?
Use the CSV Delimiter Changer to convert to comma-separated first, then paste the result here. Or specify a custom delimiter in the options panel if your CSV uses tabs, pipes, or semicolons.
What happens with quoted fields that contain commas?
The parser correctly handles RFC 4180 quoting: fields enclosed in double quotes can contain commas, newlines, and other delimiters. Quotes inside quoted fields are represented as two consecutive double quotes.
Can I reorder more than two columns at once?
Yes — the Reorder operation accepts a full comma-separated list of column names in the desired new order. Any columns not listed are dropped (equivalent to both reordering and filtering).
Does it work with tab-separated files (TSV)?
Select "Tab" as the delimiter in the options panel. The tool then parses as TSV while still applying the same column operations.
See also CSV Delimiter Changer, CSV to JSON, CSV Transposer, and the full data-format toolkit.