Package org.supercsv.prefs

Class CsvPreference

  • public final class CsvPreference
extends java.lang.Object
    Before reading or writing CSV files, you must supply the reader/writer with some preferences.

    Please note: the end of line symbols are only used for writing.

    Predefined configurations
    Constant Quote character Delimiter character End of line symbols
    STANDARD_PREFERENCE " , \r\n
    EXCEL_PREFERENCE " , \n
    EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE " ; \n
    TAB_PREFERENCE " \t \n

    By default, spaces surrounding an unquoted cell are treated as part of the data. In versions of Super CSV prior to 2.0.0 this wasn't the case, and any surrounding spaces that weren't within quotes were ignored when reading (and quotes were automatically added to Strings containing surrounding spaces when writing).

    If you wish enable this functionality again, then you can create a CsvPreference with the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag set to true (the default is false). This means that surrounding spaces without quotes will be trimmed when reading, and quotes will automatically be added for Strings containing surrounding spaces when writing.

    You can apply the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes property to an existing preference as follows:

    private static final CsvPreference STANDARD_SURROUNDING_SPACES_NEED_QUOTES = new CsvPreference.Builder(CsvPreference.STANDARD_PREFERENCE).surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes(true).build();

    You can also create your own preferences. For example if your file was pipe-delimited, you could use the following:

    private static final CsvPreference PIPE_DELIMITED = new CsvPreference.Builder('"', '|', "\n").build();

    Other preferences incude:
    • using a custom CsvEncoder when writing CSV (if you want complete control over how the CSV is encoded)
    • using a custom QuoteMode when writing CSV (if you want to enable quotes when they're not normally required). You can use the existing AlwaysQuoteMode, ColumnQuoteMode, or supply your own.
    • using a custom CommentMatcher to skip comments when reading CSV. You can use the existing CommentStartsWith, CommentMatches, or supply your own.
    • ignoring empty lines (enabled by default)
    • setting the maximum number of lines a row of CSV can span (useful for debugging files with mismatched quotes)

    • Field Detail

      • STANDARD_PREFERENCE

        public static final CsvPreference STANDARD_PREFERENCE
        Ready to use configuration that should cover 99% of all usages.

      • EXCEL_PREFERENCE

        public static final CsvPreference EXCEL_PREFERENCE
        Ready to use configuration for Windows Excel exported CSV files.

      • EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE

        public static final CsvPreference EXCEL_NORTH_EUROPE_PREFERENCE
        Ready to use configuration for north European excel CSV files (columns are separated by ";" instead of ",")

      • TAB_PREFERENCE

        public static final CsvPreference TAB_PREFERENCE
        Ready to use configuration for tab-delimited files.

      • quoteChar

        private final char quoteChar

      • delimiterChar

        private final int delimiterChar

      • endOfLineSymbols

        private final java.lang.String endOfLineSymbols

      • surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

        private final boolean surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

      • ignoreEmptyLines

        private final boolean ignoreEmptyLines

      • quoteMode

        private final QuoteMode quoteMode

      • maxLinesPerRow

        private int maxLinesPerRow

    • Constructor Detail

      • CsvPreference

        private CsvPreference​(CsvPreference.Builder builder)
        Constructs a new CsvPreference from a Builder.

    • Method Detail

      • getDelimiterChar

        public int getDelimiterChar()
        Returns the delimiter character
        Returns:
        the delimiter character

      • getEndOfLineSymbols

        public java.lang.String getEndOfLineSymbols()
        Returns the end of line symbols
        Returns:
        the end of line symbols

      • getQuoteChar

        public char getQuoteChar()
        Returns the quote character
        Returns:
        the quote character

      • isSurroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

        public boolean isSurroundingSpacesNeedQuotes()
        Returns the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag.
        Returns:
        the surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes flag

      • isIgnoreEmptyLines

        public boolean isIgnoreEmptyLines()
        Returns the ignoreEmptyLines flag.
        Returns:
        the ignoreEmptyLines flag

      • getEncoder

        public CsvEncoder getEncoder()
        Returns the CSV encoder.
        Returns:
        the CSV encoder

      • getQuoteMode

        public QuoteMode getQuoteMode()
        Returns the quote mode.
        Returns:
        the quote mode

      • getCommentMatcher

        public CommentMatcher getCommentMatcher()
        Returns the comment matcher.
        Returns:
        the comment matcher

      • getMaxLinesPerRow

        public int getMaxLinesPerRow()
        Returns the maximum number of lines a row can span.
        Returns:
        the maximum number of lines a row can span