In Excel: use Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From Text/CSV, check the delimiter and encoding in the preview, then Load — or click Transform Data first to set columns like leading-zero IDs to Text.
On this page7
Go to Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From File ▸ From Text/CSV and pick the .txt file.
Check the preview: Excel guesses the delimiter — switch between Tab, Comma, and Semicolon until the columns line up.
If accented characters look garbled, set File Origin to 65001: Unicode (UTF-8).
Click Transform Data and set ID or phone columns to Text in Power Query so leading zeros survive.
Click Close & Load to put the data on a sheet; Refresh re-reads the file later.
For text already pasted into one column, use Data ▸ Text to Columns and choose Delimited or Fixed width.
What this does
From Text/CSV reads a .txt or .csv file through Power Query: it previews the data, guesses the delimiter (tab, comma, semicolon), lets you pick the encoding, and loads the result as a refreshable query. The legacy Text Import Wizard does the same job with fixed-width support and per-column types, but is hidden until you re-enable it under File ▸ Options ▸ Data. Text already pasted into one column is split with Text to Columns instead. The same idea underpins a lot of everyday Excel work, so the few minutes spent getting it right here pay back across every sheet you build afterwards. Treat it as a pattern, not a one-off, and it stops being something you look up and starts being something you reach for. The difference between a quick fix and a sheet you can trust is the extra minute you spend validating “import text file into excel”. Start on a copy or a tiny sample, keep the affected cells visible, and compare the result with the tool above before you touch the real workbook. When this is a ribbon command, the selection matters more than the button: confirm the range, apply the command, then spot-check the output before saving. The point is a data step that keeps your analysis trustworthy, but the practical win is that someone else can open the file and understand what happened without asking you.
A worked example
orders.txt contains tab-separated lines like 007→Bolt M8→42. Data ▸ Get Data ▸ From Text/CSV detects the tab delimiter and shows three columns; click Transform Data, set the first column's type to Text, then Close & Load — the ID stays 007 instead of collapsing to 7. Exports from databases, loggers, and legacy systems arrive as plain text; a controlled import gets them into rows and columns without losing zeros, dates, or special characters. If this is something you do often, add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar (right-click it on the ribbon and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar) or learn its shortcut, so next time it is one click instead of a hunt through the menus.
In Google Sheets
This is a command rather than a formula, so there is no syntax to carry over. Google Sheets arranges its commands in menus across the top instead of a ribbon, names some of them differently and does not have every Excel command — look for the equivalent in the Sheets menus or its help before assuming the steps match. Nothing on this page is behind a login or a download: the exact answer is at the top, and the detail below it is there for when you need it. That is the whole promise here — the answer first, and just enough context to make it stick. The short version of “import text file into excel”: the answer is at the top of this page, and the sections above explain why each step matters, so a variation of the problem does not stump you. Try it once on a copy of a real file and the steps stick far better than re-reading them.
Common mistakes
- Loading ID columns as numbers, which strips leading zeros — set the column type to Text first.
- Accepting the guessed delimiter when the file actually uses semicolons.
- Garbled umlauts or accents from the wrong encoding — choose 65001: UTF-8 as File Origin.
- Choosing Fixed width for a delimited file (or the reverse), which shreds the columns.
- Hunting for the old Text Import Wizard — re-enable it under File ▸ Options ▸ Data ▸ legacy import wizards.
Frequently asked questions
From Text/CSV or the legacy Text Import Wizard?
From Text/CSV is the modern default: live preview, Power Query transforms, refreshable result. The legacy wizard survives under File ▸ Options ▸ Data if you need its exact old behavior.
How do I keep leading zeros when importing?
Click Transform Data in the import dialog and set the column type to Text before loading. Once a zero is dropped by a number conversion, it is gone.
How do I import a text file into Google Sheets?
File ▸ Import ▸ Upload, pick the .txt file, and leave the separator type on "Detect automatically" or choose tab/comma/custom.
Other ways people ask this
This is also commonly searched as “how to import a text file into excel”, “import text file into excel”, “how do i import a text file into excel” and “how do you import a text file into excel”. They describe the identical operation, so you are in the right place no matter how you phrased it.
Why do people search for this in so many different ways?
Because the same task has many names. “how to import a text file into excel”, “import text file into excel”, “how do i import a text file into excel” all point at the one operation explained on this page, which is why they all lead here.