DAT to CSV Conversion for Dummies

See those commas, Amy?

If you're someone who spends a lot of time massaging data, you're probably well aware of the frustration of moving files in and out of multiple applications that "don't talk to each other." If you never use any software other than MS Office, you can stop reading now; but if you work with any technical software at all, you're already nodding your head. Although lots of technical software can read CSV files – "CSV" stands for comma-separated values – some are flummoxed by other file types. Watch as Techwalla¹ contributor Amy Dombrower attempts to explain "How to Convert a DAT File to CSV,"² but fails.

Oh, sure, Dombrower gets started right by explaining what .DAT files could have inside:

"A DAT file is a generic data file that is created by a number of different applications. Some DAT files are video or image files, others are text-based database files..."

...which is more or less accurate, though we find that "text-based database files" are more likely to have a .TXT extension. In our experience, .DAT files are almost always binary files created by an application, and are rarely simply image or sound files. Whatever... Amy wants to show us how to convert them. She suggests three methods, of which the third is least unlikely to work. That's "Download and install a free trial of a third-party conversion tool," and it might work -- but probably won't. Her first two suggestions, however, are just plain stupid. Suggestion number 1 is to "Save as CSV":

Locate a DAT file on your computer. Right-click the file and select “Open With.” Select “Microsoft Excel” or a similar spreadsheet application. This will launch the application and open the DAT file. Go to the “Save as” command to resave the file. Click the “Save as Type” drop-down menu. Select comma separated values (CSV). Click “Save.” Really? just selecting your spreadsheet will "open the DAT file"? This idiot has clearly never imported a file into Excel! The second method is just as... stupid: "Rename File"

1. Determine the contents of the DAT file. If you know for sure the file contains text only and is likely a database-type file, you can rename the file extension.
2. Locate the file on your computer.
3. Click the name of the file once until you see a box outlining the file name.
4. Change the ".dat" extension to ".csv."
5. Open the file in a spreadsheet application in order to view the contents.

Sorry, Amy, but just clicking on the name of the file (usually) doesn't allow you to change the extension. And, just in in case you weren't aware, even if the file is a "database-type file," you can't simply change it to a .CSV file by changing its name, Changing the file name doesn't insert the commas between fields that are required to separate the values. Idiot!

No, this is just one more case of someone with only vague knowledge of a topic attempting to look like an expert. Dombrower is about as far from an expert as you can get with this one, which is why she's just won herself a Dumbass of the Day award.

¹ Techwalla.com is the niche site where Leaf Group (the former Demand Media) is stashing computer-related eHow stuff... although it's still crap.
² The original has been rewritten by a Leaf Group "expert," but you can still read it by using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_6209209_convert-dat-file-csv.html

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