How can I open CSV files correctly in Excel?
When opening CSV files directly in Excel, Excel may automatically format certain values incorrectly. For example, company sizes, product codes, or numeric identifiers can be interpreted as dates.
To preserve your data exactly as exported, we recommend importing the file using Excel's Get Data (Power Query) feature.
Import a CSV file using Power Query
Open Microsoft Excel.
Go to the Data tab on the Excel ribbon.
Click Get Data (or Power Query in some Excel versions).
Select From Text/CSV.
Browse to and select your CSV file.
Verify the following settings:
File Origin:
65001: Unicode (UTF-8)Delimiter:
Comma
Click Load.
Excel will import the file without applying unwanted automatic formatting.
Additional tips
Use the preview window to verify that your data appears correctly before importing.
If needed, adjust column data types manually in Power Query before loading the data into Excel.
Why does my CSV export open in Safari?
This is a common behavior in Safari. Instead of downloading the CSV file directly, Safari may display it in a browser tab.
Save the file correctly in Safari
Right-click (or Cmd-click) the page.
Select Save Page As.
Choose a file name and save location.
Set Format to Page Source.
Add
.csvto the end of the file name (for example,export.csv).Save the file.
You can then open the file in Excel, Apple Numbers, or another spreadsheet application.
Alternative
Using Google Chrome or another browser will typically download CSV files directly to your default Downloads folder without requiring these extra steps.
Can I customize the columns I wish to export?
Yes, you can! When initiating a CSV export, switch to the "Customized" mode in the section called "Columns to export", and click "Next".
In the second step, you can choose exactly which columns you would like to export to CSV. There are a few columns that are mandatory, like:
Company domain
Company name
Person name (only when exporting people)
These columns cannot be switched off, as they are the only way to identify the particular item you exported. All other comments can be adjusted to your liking.
Why isn’t a specific filter included in my CSV export from Ocean.io?
Some filters are used for search and segmentation purposes but are not currently included as exportable columns in CSV downloads.
If you need a filter or data point that isn’t available in your export options, please feel free to let us know. We regularly review feature requests and can assess adding it to future updates.
Please reach out to [email protected] with:
The feature you’re requesting
Your use case (how you plan to use this data)
We’ll review your request and get back to you as soon as possible.
📊 Current exportable CSV fields
At the moment, the following fields are available for CSV export:
Company, Country, Size, Domain, Generic Company Phones, Generic Company Emails, Reg.no, Headquarter City, Headquarter State, Headquarter Postal Code, Headquarter Street Address, Number of Company Locations, Number of Operating Countries, Industries (Ocean.io), Annual revenue, Company Facebook URL, Company LinkedIn URL, Associated Employees Online, Industries (third party), Company YouTube URL, Company Twitter URL, Company Instagram URL, Technologies, Web Traffic Views, Web Traffic Visits, Company Keywords, Company Description, Founded, Headquarter Raw Address, Imprint: Managing director, Imprint: Company legal name, Imprint: Fax, Imprint: Address, Imprint: Phone, Imprint: Email, Imprint: Registration number, Imprint: URL, companyname, companywebsite, linkedincompanypageurl, city, state, companycountry, zipcode.
I've exported contacts, but I don't see email addresses or phone numbers. Why?
Contact email addresses and phone numbers are not included automatically when exporting contacts.
To include contact emails or phone numbers in exports, you first need to reveal them.
Company emails and phone numbers are automatically included when available.
You can check whether a contact has verified email or phone data using the Email status or Phone status filters in your contact view.
Good to know: Once an export is created in Ocean.io, you can access it via the Export History tab. You can adjust the data (for example by revealing emails or phone numbers) and re-export the list without starting from scratch.