If you do a File, Open Excel will automatically parse CSV files using its
immutable rules.

Here's two ways to go:

- Change the file extension to something else, like TXT, and do a File,
Open. The Text Import Wizard will start automatically. When you get to the
third screen of the wizard specify Text as the format for the problem field.

-Use Data, Import External Data (as it's called in Excel 2003; the name may
vary with other versions). This will allow you to import the data of the
CSV file into an existing workbook (open an empty one before you start if
you don't want to use an existing workbook), using the Text Import Wizard.

--
Jim
"Jon Stenning" <Jon wrote in message
...
|I know that you can stop it when entering data by using a ' before the
data,
| but I have exported data as a csv from Access and want to read it in
Excel;
| yet every time I open the csv it converts the available years (i.e. it
| ignores 00/01, but converts 01/02, 02/03 etc) to dates. Is there a box
| somewhere in 'options' that I have to tick/untick?
|
| Thanks.