## What are CSV (.csv) files?
**Comma-Separated Values (CSV)** files store tabular data in plain text. Each line of a CSV file is a data record/row. Each record/row consists of one or more fields/columns separated by a delimiter.
CSV files can be created with a number of software programs (i.e. Excel, Google Sheets, Notepad, TextEdit, Emacs). The content within the file must follow the CSV Standard format and the file must have a “.csv” file extension.
## How are CSV files generally formatted?
CSV files should follow a standard format:
- Fields/columns are separated by a single character delimiter, typically a comma or semicolon.
- Each record/row is terminated by a new line.
- All records/rows have the same number of fields/columns in the same order.
- The first record/row may be a header that contains the field/column names of each field/column.
- Data within each field is interpreted as a sequence of characters or plain text.
- Any field may be quoted within double-quote characters.
- A field should be quoted when it contains one or more special characters.
- Leading and trailing spaces are considered part of the data in a field.
## How are CSV files used to create and update user accounts?
User accounts in your platform consist of a number of **user data fields.** Each of these fields may or may not be populated with data, depending on which fields you’ve filled out when creating the user.
To create a user, you should at least populate the user fields that are mandatory for creating a user account (username and any mandatory user additional field). To update an existing user account, you’ll need to update the relevant user fields of the user account with new data. Both creating and editing users (either one user at a time or multiple users at a time) can be done manually, or by importing user data fields into the platform via a CSV file.
For the second option, each user account that you intend to create or update is represented by a record/row in the CSV file. Each user data field is represented by a field/column in the file.
Import the CSV file to the platform, then map the contained data to the corresponding user fields supported by the platform. By doing so, you’re creating and updating user accounts.