Projections: Where did the Excel files go?

[LeftySpecialist]

The new projection files look great on the screen, but where are the Excel files that we could download before today? They are replaced by .CSV files that my version of Excel can't open. What program are these .CSV files intended for?

Right-clicking on the HTML files just downloads a link to the web page, not the spreadsheet itself. Please bring back the .XLS files!

[Tom_T]

A .CSV file is an Excel file. Its full description is Microsoft Excel Comma Separated Values file. It was first used by Excel to make it easy to transfer data bwteen Excel and another application.

It's basically a text file where the values are separated by commas. Excel knows how to format the file into columns without the commas.

If you click on the file, what happens?

[LeftySpecialist]

When I click on the file, Mac OSX asks which program should try to open it. Excel is grayed out and unavailable, nor can Excel open these files from within the application. I can open the files in Excel by changing the extension from .csv to .xls, which produces a spreadsheet with all data for each player in one column, separated by commas. Then I must manually go through the several steps of the Text to Columns function to parse the stats into their own columns.

So these new CSV files can be accessed, albeit in a clunky way, if you can figure out the workarounds. The old XLS files were already formatted for Excel, much easier on the eyes, and much easier to open and use. Is there something about the new projections that cannot be presented in an easy-to-open .xls file?

[Markus_ls]

I just tried to download for the first time today too. (Albeit PC not Mac) I first tried to save the file as .xls and then open it, and I got the all-in-one-column you mention. But when I SAVED the file FIRST as CSV, then opened, it opened in Excel just fine.

Don't know if it will help but try saving first as CSV before trying to open. Then try to open and see if it let's you pick Excel then.

[LeftySpecialist]

It saves as .csv by default. My version of Excel (Office X) won't open the file unless I change it to .xls first.

[NICK@HQ]

I'm using OS X, and I can download the files, open up Excel and then do a File Open of the CSV files no problem. Granted, I have to tell Excel to open All Documents (not the default All Readable Documents), but once I do that the CSV file is available and accesible natively.

[RobR]

FWIW, If you get the all in one column problem, you can also use Data -> Text to Columns feature in Excel. I think this problem happens because BBHQ doesn't send your browser the correct MIME type for the file.