TSV (Tab-separated values) is a file extension for a tab-delimited file used with spreadsheet software. TSV files are used for raw data and can be imported into and exported from spreadsheet software. TSV files are essentially text files, and the raw data can be viewed by text editors, though they are often used when moving raw data between spreadsheets. A tab-separated values (TSV) file is a simple text format for storing data in a tabular structure (e.g. database or spreadsheet data). Each record in the table is one line of the text file. Each field value of a record is separated from the next by a tab stop character – it is a form of the more general delimiter-separated values format.
File extension: TSV
File type: Tab-Separated Values
MIME type: text/tab-separated-values
File type: Tab-Separated Values
MIME type: text/tab-separated-values
TSV is an alternative to the common comma-separated values (CSV) format, which often causes difficulties because of the need to escape commas – literal commas are very common in text data, but literal tab stops are infrequent in running text. The IANA standard for TSV achieves simplicity by simply disallowing tabs within fields.
