How to view exported data

There are several ways to export data from the Creation Kit. When you do export data, it usually a .txt file. You can open the text file in any text reader, such as notepad.exe, but in many cases, it's difficult to read.

Problem

I've exported data from the Creation Kit, but it's difficult to read when I open the .txt file in Notepad. Is there an easier way to view the data?

Solution

Open up a spreadsheet program, like Excel. These files are delimited, which basically means they will play nice with these kinds of viewers. Find the .txt file exported from the Creation Kit and open it in Excel or your program of choice. The data should now be much easier to understand.

Example using Microsoft Excel 2010

1. With the Skyrim.esm loaded in the Creation Kit, click Character Menu and select Export Relationship Data (Character > Export Relationship Data)
2. A window will pop up asking where you want to save the .txt file. Name it something and click Save.
3. Open Excel.
4. Find your .txt file and drag it into Excel (Fig 1a)
5. Quick Tip - once you have the data in Excel, you can double-click between each column to auto size each column to the longest entry (Fig 1b)
6. After auto sizing each column, your data should be much easier to read (Fig 1c)

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  Fig 1a: Data before auto sizing columns

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  Fig 1b: Auto size columns

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  Fig 1c: Data after auto sizing columns

You can also export data by pressing CTRL+F5 with some windows, like the Use Report window.