How to Export Google Sheets as CSV?

Introduction

In today's digital age, efficient data management is crucial for businesses and individuals alike. Google Sheets has become a popular choice for organizing and analyzing data, but what if you need to export that data as a CSV file? In this blog post, we will explore a simple yet effective method to export Google Sheets as CSV using the powerful Foresight automation tool.

This is a very informative article for Google Workspace users (Admin and user). Here we'll learn how to export Google Sheets as CSV.

Understanding the Need for Exporting Google Sheets as CSV

Exporting Google Sheets as CSV offers numerous benefits, such as compatibility with various applications, ease of data manipulation, and seamless data sharing. Whether you need to import data into another software or perform advanced analysis using specialized tools, CSV files provide a versatile solution.

What are CSV files?

CSV files are simple and small in size. They are plain text files and don’t support any rows, columns, or cells. Also, it can’t save any type of formula. Thus it’s easy to read and organize. Mostly it is used for importing and exporting data to and from your database in the bank, retail, IT, and e-commerce organizations. CSV doesn’t accept any complicated hierarchical structure. Thus it’s easy to import, export, and convert CSVs. It can be used with spreadsheets like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel.

To understand how CSVs are useful, let’s understand the applications of CSV using a practical example. By using CSV files, eCommerce advertising becomes easier on Facebook and Instagram. As a page admin, you can also add and edit stores on Facebook Ads Manager by using a CSV. 

How to export Google Sheets as CSV?

The process of exporting google Sheets is quite simple. It is as follows:

1. Open the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
2. Click on the tab you want to save as CSV.
3. Go to File > Download > Comma Separated Values (.csv).

How to import CSV into Google Sheets/ upload CSV to Google Sheets?

1. Open an empty Google Sheet.
2. Go to File > Import > Upload.
3. Then, double-click on the CSV file you want to import.
4. Now, the Import File window becomes open. Go to the Import location drop-down menu and select the Append to current sheet option. The Append option makes the CSV file appear on the Google sheet. Then click the Import data button. 
5. You can see your Google Sheet exhibiting the CSV data.

How to edit a CSV file in Google Sheets?

When we open a CSV file on Google Sheets, it doesn’t allow us to edit the CSV because it will open only in a read-only mode. Thus, you need Google Sheets Editor to edit the CSV in Google sheets. Follow the procedure given below to open and edit the CSV file:

1. Open the CSV with Google drive.
2. Use the drop-down menu to Open the CSV file in Google Sheets. 
3. The Editor will open with a Google Sheet that includes your CSV data. In the editor, you will find several editing options and formatting options available for the CSV file.

How is Foresight helpful to export Google Sheets as CSV?

Foresight is software to manage operations with Google Workspace Admin. It adds lots of automation to Google Workspace. With Foresight Google Workspace Admin can import or export different kinds of data like active or suspended users list, disabled or provisioned devices, groups list, or group members list. This automation has some beneficial features like- 

• The automation doesn’t need any coding. So, a user who doesn’t have any coding knowledge can easily set the automated rules. 
• You can see the automation workflow blocks by using this software.
• It’s easy to know whether past actions succeeded or not with the help of a rule history tracker.

It uses some triggers, which is an automated workflow to execute a particular action. It executes a rule automatically. Hence, it's time safe and helps to extend production.

How to bulk export Google Sheets as CSV with Foresight

Let’s take an example of exporting all active users' lists.

1. First of all, you need to log in to your Foresight account.
2. Go to the Rules page and click on the button.
3. Click the Manual trigger.
4. Select List user action for which the CSV file is exported.
5. Grant the Foresight account the necessary permissions to access your Google Workspace account.
6. Type in the rule name and click Create. This will create the rule workflow block on the Rules page.
7. Now, you just have to trigger the rule to execute manually with the help of the play icon.
8. After doing that, you will get notifications about the rule execution. In this way, the rule trigger becomes successful and a group of devices/users will be executed.
9. Now, your CSV file is ready and you can download it from the Logs page. There is a here link to download it.
10. You can also have a look at the CSV Sheet uploaded to Google Sheets. 

Bulk upload CSV to Google sheets with Foresight

Foresight can be used to update different kinds of data, like updating a user's first name, last name, Status, OU, Device, or group. It can also be used for updating a Chrome device location, Asset ID, User or notes. Google Admin can perform that task on a single device or in bulk. Let's take the example of bulk-suspending users.

Foresight automates the bulk suspending users' process in the Google Admin Workspace. It also notifies the manager with an email about the changed settings. 

Rule Setup

1. Prepare a CSV file with 2 columns, Email, and New Status. The Email column will have the emails of users or interns. In the new status column, we will add suspended. Download this Google sheet as CSV.
2. Now sign in to your Foresight account with your Google Admin account, then click on the blue button at the bottom right corner.
3. You will see a pop-up named Select a trigger. Select the Data uploaded trigger from there.
4. Click on the upload box and upload the downloaded CSV. Wait for the CSV to be parsed. You will see the columns of the CSV appear.
5. There you need to name the Variable name field. Enter the primary email in Email Address and in the New Status field, add Suspended.
6. Click Next.
7. Select Suspended Users action. There you may need to grant Google WorkSpace permission to Foresight for giving you access. Then select the Primary Email in the Primary Email field. This is the variable name that we have given in step number 4.
8. Click the Review button and Enter the Rule name. Then click Create.
9. As you can see the rule is created. Click on the Upload Icon on the rule. Upload the same CSV file once again. You will see the rule is triggered.
10. After the rule is run successfully, you will see a notification will appear on the top right corner of the page. You can also see the results on the Log Page as you see the rule is run. You will also observe that there are 10 rows from the top to bottom on the Log Page. The number of rule triggers equals the number of rows in the CSV file that suspends one user at a time.
11. You can also confirm the process from the Google Admin Console. You can also see the rows suspended as you scroll down.

Note:

You have to care about these points during the import and export of CSV with Foresight.

• You must apply a Manual Trigger to export CSV and Data Uploaded Trigger for importing CSV.
• We can't upload more than one CSV file at once while creating or after creating the rule. But we can reuse the rule to upload different CSV again and again.
• Your CSV files can’t handle data over 1000 rows. If the data exceeds 1000 rows, then the main CSV will split into smaller CSV files.

Conclusion

Exporting Google Sheets as CSV is a valuable skill that opens up a world of possibilities for data management and analysis. The Foresight automation tool empowers users to streamline this process, saving time and effort. By following the simple steps outlined in this blog post, you can unlock efficiency and harness the full potential of your Google Sheets data. Embrace the power of automation with Foresight and take your data management to new heights!

To explore its automation rules, try a 14-day free trial.