Class CsvPreference

java.lang.Object
org.supercsv.prefs.CsvPreference
public final class CsvPreference extends 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 Details

    • 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 String endOfLineSymbols

    • surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

      private final boolean surroundingSpacesNeedQuotes

    • ignoreEmptyLines

      private final boolean ignoreEmptyLines

    • encoder

      private final CsvEncoder encoder

    • quoteMode

      private final QuoteMode quoteMode

    • commentMatcher

      private final CommentMatcher commentMatcher

    • maxLinesPerRow

      private int maxLinesPerRow

  • Constructor Details

    • CsvPreference

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

  • Method Details

    • getDelimiterChar

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

    • getEndOfLineSymbols

      public 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