Formatting Your Tracking Numbers in Excel or Google Sheets

ShipWorks allows you to export information into a text file or Comma Separated Value (CSV). In ShipWorks, a CSV is called a comma-delimited file. Many of the exports found in ShipWorks contain the shipment information, including the shipment's tracking number(s).

When you open an export file like a CSV file directly into Excel or Google Sheets, the program will try to automatically format the data based on the contents of the cell. This can result in:

Long tracking numbers, order numbers, or product SKUs changing into scientific notation.
Postal codes, order numbers, or product SKUs with preceding zeros having the zeros removed.

This article guides you through how to import a ShipWorks export file into programs such as Excel or Google Sheets to prevent this issue.

Import a CSV file into Excel

The steps below describe how to import a CSV file into Excel to preserve numerical data as text.

Note

The screenshots in these steps show Excel 2013. If you have an earlier version, your screen and process may differ slightly. For Excel 2016 users, you will need to restore the text import wizard to complete these steps.

If you have trouble, you may need to contact Microsoft support for help troubleshooting your particular version of Excel.

Download and save the CSV file from ShipWorks. Do not open the file.
Open Excel, and start a new, blank worksheet.
Click the Data tab.
Select the From Text option.
Select the desired CSV file.

This will open up the Import Wizard that will walk you through the import settings.

Excel 2016 users will need to restore the text import wizard before moving on if you haven't already.
Make sure Delimited - Characters such as commas or tabs separate each field is selected, then click Next.
Check both the Tab and Comma boxes.

Check the data preview to make sure your data has been separated correctly.
Click Next.
Locate any column which contains only numbers, then change the Column Data Format to Text.

In the screenshot below, we're using Tracking Number as an example.
Click Finish and your file will be imported with the data in the correct format.

Save the File

After successfully importing the data into Excel, save the file in a more advanced format (such as .xlsx) to preserve the cell formatting so you can open the file more easily in the future.

If you save the file in CSV format again, you will need to perform the above steps every time you need to review the file to ensure numerical data is preserved.

Import a CSV File to Google Sheets

As with Excel, importing a CSV file into Google Sheets will prevent the data contained in the CSV file from being formatted improperly. This section covers importing a CSV file and, if needed, how to format data in Sheets.

Import a File

Open a blank Google Sheet.
Go to File > Import.
Select Upload.
Drag and drop the CSV file you wish to upload into Sheets or select Browse to select the file from your computer.

The file will be uploaded automatically once selected.
Verify that the Separator Type is set to Comma and that the box for Convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas is unchecked. Then, click Import data.

The data contained in the CSV file will be imported into the spreadsheet and should be formatted correctly.

Format Data in Sheets

If needed, data can be formatted in Google Sheets. Here's how:

Select the cells that contain the data you wish to format.
Go to Format > Number and select the correct formatting for the cells you have selected.

Formatting Tracking Numbers

To correctly format tracking numbers that are displayed incorrectly as scientific notation:

Go to Format > Number > Custom Number Format.
Select the first option in the list. The sample is displayed as 1235.

Still Need Help?

Please feel free to reach out to one of our awesome Technical Support Representatives in St. Louis. We are happy to help.

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