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Collabora Online Calc · CSV import · Beginner

Import a Semicolon CSV in Collabora Online Without Changing Dates

Set the delimiter and preserve date strings and long IDs as text before import; verify the result and avoid irreversible conversion.

Official documentation reviewed; synthetic expectations independently checked; not tested in Collabora; deployment-specific controls require verification. · Editorial standards

To preserve the original date strings and identifiers, import those columns as Text before committing the import. Choosing the semicolon delimiter solves column splitting; it does not prevent automatic date or number conversion. If your Online import dialog lacks the needed column controls, cancel rather than trust an already converted preview.

Product and version scope

Collabora documents an Online CSV import dialog, including mobile-browser support from 6.4.9, in its CSV import announcement. The vendor’s published desktop-browser illustration shows a Column type control. Detailed type choices are described in Collabora Office Text Import help, currently labeled 26.04. The Help label is a documentation version, not proof of a particular desktop runtime or a promise that every hosted Online dialog exposes every option. Confirm the preview’s Column type → Text control exists before following this preservation workflow.

Have editing permission, an untouched source CSV, and a new destination file. Your host application controls how a CSV is uploaded or opened; there is no universal Online File → Open sequence across hosts. A mobile browser is also distinct from the installed Collabora mobile app.

Download the synthetic import test

Use the UTF-8 semicolon CSV:

RecordID;OriginalDate;Quantity;Note
000012345678901234;03/04/2026;2;"North; priority"
000012345678901235;2026-04-03;7;Café

This has four columns and two data rows. The first date is deliberately ambiguous: it could mean 3 April or March 4. Here the goal is to preserve its exact characters, not decide which date it represents. Both identifiers contain 18 characters, including four leading zeroes.

Import without guessing the data types

  1. Open the CSV through your hosting application’s supported route. Stop at the Text Import preview. If the file opens directly without configurable type controls, do not overwrite the original; use the fallback below.
  2. Choose UTF-8 for character encoding and Separated by → Semicolon. Clear other delimiter selections for this sample and use a double quote as the string delimiter. Preview must show four fields, with North; priority in one Note cell.
  3. Select the RecordID preview column and set Column type to Text. Do the same for OriginalDate. Check the preview column headings actually reflect those choices. Quoting an identifier in a CSV alone is not a reliable type declaration.
  4. Keep Quantity suitable for integer import. If Detect special numbers is shown, disable it for this preservation exercise; this is additional caution, not a substitute for explicitly typing IDs as Text.
  5. Confirm only after checking the preview. Save a spreadsheet copy in the host’s supported spreadsheet format, keeping the original CSV untouched.

Check characters and types

Read the formula/input line as well as the cell display: A2 must be exactly 000012345678901234; B2 must be 03/04/2026; B3 must be 2026-04-03. D2 must contain the embedded semicolon and D3 must display Café correctly.

In spare cells, =ISTEXT(A2) and =ISTEXT(B2) should return TRUE. =LEN(A2) should return 18 and =LEN(B2) should return 10. See ISTEXT and LEN for these checks. Quantity values 2 and 7 sum to 9. Reopen the saved spreadsheet copy and repeat the text checks.

If import already changed the dates or IDs

Changing a cell’s display format afterward cannot prove the original string survived, or restore lost identifier digits. Start again from the untouched CSV. Do not use a screenshot as the recovery source.

If Online lacks the needed controls, use a traditional/Classic Collabora Office installation only if it actually exposes the documented Text CSV import dialog and Text column types. Open the untouched original there, apply those types, save an ODS file and verify the strings before opening that copy in Online. New Collabora Office 26.04 uses an Online-style interface, so an unspecified desktop edition is not a verified fallback. If no available installation exposes the required controls, ask the data provider for a spreadsheet with the identifiers and date strings already stored as text.

If you actually need date arithmetic, first retain the original strings. Confirm the provider’s date order, then convert a separate working column deliberately; a DMY/MDY choice is a semantic decision, not cosmetic formatting. CSV itself cannot store those spreadsheet cell types for the next import.

Testing disclosure: The CSV structure, UTF-8 characters and expected string lengths were checked independently. This workflow has not been tested in a Collabora application; availability of Online type controls and saved-file persistence must be verified on your deployment.