How to downloading .DAT file to Excel
When I attempt to download a large .DAT file and open using microsoft excel it will not open.
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 13.6
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- Try opening the file in TextEdit first. If the file opens in TextEdit, you can copy and paste the contents of the file into a new Excel workbook.
- Try converting the .DAT file to a different format, such as CSV or XLSX. You can use a free online converter or a paid software program to convert the file.
- Try opening the .DAT file in a different spreadsheet program, such as OpenOffice Calc or Google Sheets.
If you are still unable to open the file it may be corrupt or labeled with the wrong file format. If the file is very large, it may have also been corrupted during the transfer, attempt to retransfer the file.
If you're concerned the file may be corrupt you can use an MD hash to verify the integrity of a file. An MD hash is a unique fingerprint that is generated for a given file. If the file is modified in any way, the hash will change. To verify the integrity of a file using an MD hash, you will need to compare the hash of the file to a known hash of the original file. The known hash can be obtained from the creator of the file or if your copying the file locally from a USB drive for example you can do this yourself by checking the hash before the transfer and again after the transfer. If the two hashes match, the file has not corrupted or been altered in any way.
You can check the MD hash in Terminal using the command. Open Terminal in the same directory as the file or reference the path to the file.
md5 filename
