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Troubleshooting Common CFDB7 CSV Export Issues in Excel

48 threads Sep 16, 2025 Plugin → Contact form 7 database addon – cfdb7

Content

Exporting form submissions from the Contact Form 7 Database Addon (CFDB7) is a powerful feature, but users often encounter problems when opening the resulting CSV files in Microsoft Excel. This guide explains the most common issues and how to resolve them.

1. Leading Zeros Disappear from Phone Numbers

The Problem: Phone numbers that start with a zero (e.g., 0612345678) appear in Excel without the leading zero (e.g., 612345678).

Why It Happens: This is not a plugin error. Excel automatically interprets numeric strings as numbers and strips leading zeros. The data in the raw CSV file is correct.

The Solution:

  • Check the Raw File: Open the CSV file in a plain text editor like Notepad++. You will see the leading zero is present, confirming the export is correct.
  • Import Correctly into Excel: Do not simply double-click the file. Instead, open Excel and use the Data > From Text/CSV import tool. In the preview window, select the column containing phone numbers and set its Data Type to Text. This will preserve all formatting.
  • Use Google Sheets: Upload the file to Google Sheets, which typically handles this formatting issue automatically.

2. Line Breaks in Textareas Create Extra Rows

The Problem: When a form submission contains a textarea field with line breaks, the CSV export can appear to have broken rows when opened in Excel.

Why It Happens: CSV files use line breaks to separate rows. If a field's value contains a line break, Excel may interpret it as the start of a new row, corrupting the data structure.

The Solution:

  • Use Google Sheets: Google Sheets correctly handles embedded line breaks within quoted CSV fields. Uploading your file there is often the quickest fix.
  • Adjust Excel's Import Settings: Similar to the phone number issue, use Excel's data import wizard. Ensure the delimiter is set to a comma and that the text qualifier is set to double quotes ("), which will correctly encapsulate fields containing line breaks.

3. All Data Appears in a Single Column

The Problem: Upon opening the CSV, all the data is stacked into a single column instead of being separated into multiple columns.

Why It Happens: This is almost always caused by incorrect delimiter settings in Excel, especially with regional settings that use a semicolon (;) instead of a comma (,) as the list separator.

The Solution:

  • Do not double-click the file. Use Excel's Data > From Text/CSV import tool.
  • In the import wizard, explicitly set the Delimiter to Comma.
  • You can also change your system's regional settings to use a comma as the default list separator.

4. Date Formats Change

The Problem: A date entered as DD/MM/YYYY is displayed as MM/DD/YYYY in Excel.

Why It Happens: Excel automatically converts date-like strings into its own date format based on your system's regional settings.

The Solution:

  • During the CSV import process in Excel, select the date column and manually set its Data Type to Text to prevent any automatic conversion. You can then reformat it as needed.

Key Takeaway

Most CSV export 'issues' are actually related to how spreadsheet software like Excel interprets the file. The 'Contact Form 7 Database Addon – CFDB7' plugin generates standard, comma-separated files correctly. The best practice is to always use your program's import function instead of opening the file directly, giving you control over how the data is formatted.

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