Why can't I save and encrypt CSV's in Excel?

Technology
1

Maybe it can’t be done?

For years, I have shared encrypted Word files with my sons, files with financial, investment, and tax matters. Private family stuff.

It also works with most Excel files, but not CSV format files. I can create a CSV file, enlarge the narrow default columns, and then save it. But then I close it, and reopen, and it changed to the narrow columns.

Same with encryption. I save it, then encrypt it like I’ve done a hundred times in Word. I close it, then reopen, and it displays the same narrow columns with all the data.

The process is the same, so perhaps it can’t be done with a CSV file?

[there is a reason I want to do this, but wonder if it can’t be done?]

2

I think CSV is just a text file with commas separating each column. It doesn’t include formatting.

Edit: open your CSV file in Notepad and see what I mean.

1 Like
3

If the reason you want to send an encrypted CSV file is because the recipient doesn’t use Excel, the free Open Office application will open most .xls & xlt files.

4

@ratbert2k is correct. CSV is not an Excel format…its an open exchange format that is used to share data across different applications and platforms.

5

Thanks all. Your comments make sense. I’ll have to find another way.

6

@robertpri not saying I fully understand your purpose…but have you considered looking into a digital vault that can be shared with your family members ?

7

Any suggestions? I looked at some, but $15-20 / user / month is a bit high when I only want to upload / share 2-3 files per year.

8

Dropbox or similar?

I personally use Syncthing to share a folder amongst my various systems (cellphone, win7, win10 etc). It is free but a bit techniocal to set up. It is a great way to have a folder with something like family photos and share it with another computer. That way it is free offsite storage :slight_smile: The connections are encrypted.

9

I read several reviews and it sounds good, but saw no indication another person could access it from their computer. Yes / No ???

10

Is using a family password manager an option ? They usually have a storage component with them. I agree that $15 / user / month is too expensive. Something simpler like OneDrive or DropBox or iDrive could also work…

11

I have onedrive, but how can he access it?
Or can he? [I’ve read endless MS sites on onedrive, but they never mention it]

12

Syncthing runs on multiple devices. You would load it on the computers you want to share files between. That share can be either way or both ways.

As I say, it is a little bit technical to set up but then works pretty well. Literally when I take a photo on my cellphone, if I am connected via my data plan or on a wifi connection, that photo is copied t omy computer at home. I did this after I once took many photos for weeks with a cellphone, then went down to ‘The End Of The World’ and while taking a photo, was knocked over by a wave and the phone went under. Up until that moment, all my photos would have been saved automatically back at home, because the home computer is online all the time.