<div>
gowlfow, sorry I can't. &nbsp;I am able to do a .xls export from the same app and it does show these cells correctly, and they have a &quot;General&quot; format setting. &nbsp;The others are &quot;General&quot; as well. &nbsp;So, it might be the transition from .csv to the .xlsx. &nbsp;Maybe it is the .xlsx that it does not like. &nbsp;If I change it to .xls might that resolve the problem.
</div>


<div>
Try selecting Text as Column Data Format for that particular column during the import from the text file and see if that issue gets resolved.
</div>


<div>
Instead of opening the CSV file directly, I recommend importing it as a text file. <br />
<br />
After selecting the file (menu: Data, Get External Data group, From Text), choose &quot;Delimited&quot;. &nbsp;On the next screen, choose &quot;Comma&quot; as the delimiter, click [Next &gt;]. &nbsp;On the last screen, click on the column with the hyphenated values (ex, &quot;12-1954&quot;) and click the &quot;Text&quot; option. &nbsp;Click [Finish].<br />
<br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w04/1075222/EE-ImportCSVasText.png" target="_blank" title="steps for ensuring text values (142 KB)"><img alt="steps for ensuring text values" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 800px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w04/800_1075222/EE-ImportCSVasText.png" /></a><br />
I tested this on a sample csv file that I created in a text editor and it worked. &nbsp;Here is the sample content:<br />

<pre><code class="code-1 nolinks" id="code-20-41428005-1"><span>Blue,WTF,14-3479</span>
<span>Green,GW-352 TB,14-0126</span>
<span>Blue,WTF-KU1A,12-2284</span>
<span>Blue,WTF-KU1B,12-1954</span>
</code></pre>
</div>


EE-ImportCSVasText.png

<div>
sktneer and Ray, followed Ray's instructions and some cell are fine, but others still display the Dec-<br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w05/1077165/Date-Event-ID.PNG" target="_blank" title="Dec- (4 KB)"><img alt="Dec-" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 80px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w05/1077165/Date-Event-ID.PNG" /></a>
</div>


Date-Event-ID.PNG

<div>
I think the proper format/setting has to come from the database.
</div>


<div>
^This. &nbsp;Please see my sample screenshot; the window on the right (step 3 of 3) shows what you should see when you click on that column and then select &quot;Text&quot; as the column data format.
</div>


<div>
aikimark yes I tried it again. &nbsp;This time I formated that column as &quot;text&quot; and the results are the same. &nbsp;Other than not initializing that column, I did follow Glenn's instructions.<br />
File attached<br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w05/1077202/Text-column.csv" target="_blank" class="file-inline" title="Text-column.csv (1 KB)"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path d="M67.508 468.467c-58.005-58.013-58.016-151.92 0-209.943l225.011-225.04c44.643-44.645 117.279-44.645 161.92 0 44.743 44.749 44.753 117.186 0 161.944l-189.465 189.49c-31.41 31.413-82.518 31.412-113.926.001-31.479-31.482-31.49-82.453 0-113.944L311.51 110.491c4.687-4.687 12.286-4.687 16.972 0l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.685 12.283 0 16.969L184.983 304.917c-12.724 12.724-12.73 33.328 0 46.058 12.696 12.697 33.356 12.699 46.054-.001l189.465-189.489c25.987-25.989 25.994-68.06.001-94.056-25.931-25.934-68.119-25.932-94.049 0l-225.01 225.039c-39.249 39.252-39.258 102.795-.001 142.057 39.285 39.29 102.885 39.287 142.162-.028A739446.174 739446.174 0 0 1 439.497 238.49c4.686-4.687 12.282-4.684 16.969.004l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.689 12.279.004 16.965a755654.128 755654.128 0 0 0-195.881 195.996c-58.034 58.092-152.004 58.093-210.048.041z"/></svg>Text-column.csv</a>
</div>


Text-column.csv

<div>
Glenn Ray, thank you for your response. &nbsp;Your comment is the point I'm hoping to solve; &quot;&nbsp;I'm trying to convince the DBA that it is because of the database representation.&quot; &nbsp;You and the others responding have proven the point that the proper data string needs to originate at the database. &nbsp;I'll be closing this ticket shortly.
</div>


<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Hello,<br />
I'm doing a .csv file export from an application. &nbsp;For most of the data the Event ID is presented correctly in Excel, except those that have a &quot;12-&quot; prefix. &nbsp;I'm trying to convince the DBA that it is because of the database representation. &nbsp;Maybe I am wrong, but I would like to know.<br />
The image below shows the Dec-54 and Dec-84 which should be 12-1954 and 12-2284, respectively.<br />
I tried changing the format of the cells, but the 12-XXXX does not show up. &nbsp;And because I have done nothing to the other cells, which are correct, these cells should be correct as well. &nbsp;The Dec- values show up in the .csv file as well. &nbsp;In both .xlsx and .csv have the problem. <br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w04/1075085/Excel-cell.PNG" target="_blank" title="Dec-54 value (2 KB)"><img alt="Dec-54 value" class="file-block lazyload" style="max-width: 198px;" data-src="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2016/01_w04/1075085/Excel-cell.PNG" /></a>
</div>
</div>


Excel-cell.PNG

Hello,
I'm doing a .csv file export from an application.  For most of the data the Event ID is presented correctly in Excel, except those that have a "12-" prefix.  I'm trying to convince the DBA that it is because of the database representation.  Maybe I am wrong, but I would like to know.
The image below shows the Dec-54 and Dec-84 which should be 12-1954 and 12-2284, respectively.
I tried changing the format of the cells, but the 12-XXXX does not show up.  And because I have done nothing to the other cells, which are correct, these cells should be correct as well.  The Dec- values show up in the .csv file as well.  In both .xlsx and .csv have the problem. 


MS Excel cell value is transformed

Microsoft Excel topics include formulas, formatting, VBA macros and user-defined functions, and everything else related to the spreadsheet user interface, including error messages.

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office is an integrated suite of applications that includes Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Visio and InfoPath, along with a number of tools to assist in making the individual components work together. Coding within and between the projects is done in Visual Basic for Applications, known as VBA.

Microsoft Office

A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application program for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets developed as computerized simulations of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data represented as cells of an array, organized in rows and columns. Each cell of the array may contain either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the contents of other cells.