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Working with Downloaded Data

The download files are generated using the delimiter you have chosen and double quotes for text qualifiers.

When importing into a spreadsheet or database application, numerical data such as ZIP Codes and CDS Codes may be converted to numbers causing leading zeros to be dropped and changing the way the information is displayed. To preserve the actual data, manually control the import of the data into the application instead of relying on the automated processes.

For example, to control the import of data into Microsoft Excel:

  1. Rename the downloaded file using a .TXT extension.
  2. Start Excel and open the file.
  3. Select "Delimited" as the data type then select the delimiter you chose.
  4. Mark the column data type as "Text" for each column except the columns containing counts such as the number of students.