Extract CSV Columns
Extract, filter, and reorder CSV columns with an interactive visual column picker and instant table preview.
| # | name | department | salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarah Connor | sarah@cyberdyne.org | Engineering | 145000 |
| 2 | John Smith | john.smith@matrix.net | Engineering | 160000 |
| 3 | Elena Rostova | elena@agency.io | Product | 135000 |
| 4 | Marcus Vance | marcus@hyperion.com | Analytics | 105000 |
| 5 | Aiko Tanaka | aiko@tokyo-lab.jp | Design | 118000 |
| 6 | David Kim | david.k@cloudworks.co | Infrastructure | 140000 |
Extract & Filter CSV Columns Without Heavy Spreadsheet Software
Database dumps, CRM exports, and third-party analytics reports frequently produce massive CSV files packed with dozens of columns you don't need. Launching heavy desktop spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets just to delete 20 columns can freeze your computer and inadvertently corrupt formatting (such as stripping leading zeros from zip codes or reformatting dates).
ToolShed's Extract / Filter CSV Columns utility lets you whittle down large tables in seconds. Simply check the fields you want to retain (or specify columns to drop), preview the result in an interactive data table, and download clean, trimmed CSV files.
Key Capabilities
Keep or Drop Modes
Whitle down columns by whitelisting fields to keep, or switch to blacklisting mode to strip out specific sensitive columns (like salaries, SSNs, or tokens).
Instant Table & Raw Preview
Toggle between formatted spreadsheet table view and raw text output with row count and column reduction statistics.
Delimiter Conversion
Extract columns while simultaneously converting delimiters between standard comma (,), European semicolon (;), tab (\\t for TSV), or pipe (|).
RFC 4180 Integrity Preserved
Cells with quotes, commas, or embedded newlines remain safely escaped and quoted according to RFC 4180 specifications.
Related Spreadsheet & Data Tools
Explore companion utilities in the ToolShed workspace:
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I extract specific columns from a CSV file?
- Paste your CSV data into the input box or click "Upload" to select a .csv file. The tool automatically detects all headers and displays an interactive column list. Check the columns you want to keep, and the filtered CSV will be generated instantly in both raw text and interactive table views.
- Can I use this tool to delete unwanted columns instead of selecting ones to keep?
- Yes. Switch the Filter Action toggle to "Drop Columns". Checked columns will be removed from your CSV, leaving all other columns intact in the final output.
- Does it support large CSV files with 50+ columns?
- Yes. The column picker includes a live search box to quickly filter column names and values, plus one-click "Select All", "Deselect All", and "Invert" buttons.
- Can I change the delimiter while extracting columns?
- Yes. Use the Output Delimiter dropdown to convert your extracted columns to Comma (,), Tab (\t for TSV), Semicolon (;), or Pipe (|).
- Is my CSV uploaded to any external server?
- No. All parsing, slicing, and column extraction algorithms run 100% locally in your web browser using native JavaScript. Sensitive customer data, financial tables, and internal spreadsheets remain completely confidential on your machine.