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If you've downloaded a ContactMonkey report and it opens as a single column of jumbled text in Excel, your Windows regional settings are likely the cause. This article explains why it happens and how to fix it permanently — no IT support required.

Why This Happens

ContactMonkey exports use commas to separate data columns (standard CSV format). However, Windows devices configured for EU locales default to semicolons as the list separator. When Excel sees a comma-separated file but expects semicolons, it treats the entire row as one value — which is why your data appears in a single column instead of spreading across the spreadsheet correctly.

Step 1: Change Your Windows List Separator

This change tells Windows — and Excel — to treat commas as column separators.

1. Open Control Panel
2. Click Clock and Region, then click Region
3. Click Additional settings... at the bottom of the window
4. Find the List separator field and change the value to a comma: ,
5. Click Apply, then OK to close all windows

Note: This setting applies system-wide, not just to Excel. Any application on your device that reads CSV files will now use commas as the separator. You can always reverse this change by following the same steps and setting the value back to a semicolon (;).

Step 2: Re-Download and Open the Report

Your previously downloaded file won't update automatically — you need to download a fresh copy. If Excel still doesn't display columns correctly, import the file manually:

1. In Excel, click Data → Get Data → From File → From Text/CSV
2. Select your downloaded ContactMonkey report file.
3. In the preview pane, confirm the following:
   1. File Origin: Unicode (UTF-8)
   2. Delimiter: Comma
   3. Data Type Detection: Based on first 200 rows
4. Click Load

See Also

• Fix "Missing Email Header" CSV Error (EU Devices)