Forum Discussion
microsoft excel import text file template
I used the Text Import Wizard to create an excel document from a text file. My data does not have nice commas, semicolons, tabs, or spaces. My data is a fixed width. My data is by the columns like 5, 10, 12, 14, 20 column. It takes a long time to set the correct columns. I then saved it as a .xltx file to create a template. Then I expected to be able to use the template in the future. I tried to create a new excel file with the .xltx template I just created. When I pasted data into the new excel document my data was not organized. What am I doing wrong?
Save as an Excel Template: Go to File > Save As, and select Excel Template (*.xltx) from the "Save as type" dropdown. This saves your layout in the custom templates folder.
Use the Template: When you want to import data in the future, open this template (File > New > Personal), then use the import steps above to place the external data into your predefined format.
1 Reply
Hellocokedude Excel templates don’t save Text Import Wizard settings. They only preserve formatting and layout, not fixed‑width breaks. That’s why pasting text into a new workbook doesn’t organize your data. Use Data > Get Data > From Text/CSV (Power Query). Define your fixed‑width breaks once, save the query, and refresh next time. Or record a macro while running the Text Import Wizard and store it in your template. Running it will apply the same rules automatically. In short: templates don’t store import rules. Power Query or a macro is the way to lock in fixed‑width settings and reuse them
Docs: Import data from a text file (Power Query) https://learn.microsoft.com/power-query/connectors/text-csv
