Extra quotes added to text cells in .tsv export in Numbers

I am using Apple Numbers to annotate some text (one word in each cell). When I export the file as a .tsv file, quotes are added to some cells (e.g. when there are quotes within the cell's text content). Ideally I would like to export the data without these added quotes, rather than have to post-process the file to remove them.


However, the biggest problem is that in some cases, a single quote-mark is added either at the beginning of the cell, and this cannot be detected with post-processing rules.


Here are 2 examples:


Content of cell: "⎵

Exported content: "⎵"


Content of cell: tell'ye"caster"

Exported content: "tell'ye""caster"


I have even tried converting the cell types to "automatic" and using formulae such as textjoin (and escaping the real quotes), but that produces the same result. Is there any way of avoiding this? I cannot find any way of exporting the data correctly.


Thank you in advance!


Posted on Aug 25, 2023 1:56 AM

Reply

Similar questions

4 replies

Aug 25, 2023 5:21 AM in response to earendelb

I do not know the rules for TSV creation but they appear to be the same as for CSV when it comes to quotes in the cell's text. I do not know of a way to turn them off. But maybe this will work for you better instead:


Select and copy the range of cells

Paste into a TextEdit document that is pre-set to plain text (Format/Plain Text)


If that works for you, you can set TextEdit preferences so that new documents are plain text. That will simplify the process.

Aug 25, 2023 5:11 AM in response to Badunit

Ah yes, you are right. I had applied some inadequate post-processing steps to the output. Thank you - I'll be able to update my post-processing steps to handle those cases.


Are there by any chance any settings that would stop such quotes being added in the first place? I purposefully turned off smart quotes, because the text needs to stay exactly as it is.


Thank you for your help!

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Extra quotes added to text cells in .tsv export in Numbers

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.