How to Properly Escape Characters in MySQL's INTO OUTFILE CSV Exports?

MySQL INTO OUTFILE: Escaping Characters in CSV Exports

To efficiently export data from a MySQL database to a CSV file using the INTO OUTFILE command, it is crucial to handle special characters like newlines and commas correctly.

Consider the code snippet provided:

SELECT id, 
       client,
       project,
       task,
       REPLACE(REPLACE(ifnull(ts.description,''),'\n',' '),'\r',' ') AS description, 
       time,
       date  
      INTO OUTFILE '/path/to/file.csv'
      FIELDS ESCAPED BY '""'
      TERMINATED BY ',' ENCLOSED BY '"'
      LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
      FROM ....

The issue lies in the use of the FIELDS ESCAPED BY '""' option, which is intended to escape all special characters in the output. However, this approach is not suitable in this case as it can cause conflicts with the ", (comma), which is used as the field delimiter.

To resolve this issue, it is recommended to use the OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"' option instead. This will only enclose fields that contain special characters, while other fields will be exported without quotes.

The modified code snippet below incorporates this change:

SELECT id, 
   client,
   project,
   task,
   description, 
   time,
   date  
  INTO OUTFILE '/path/to/file.csv'
  FIELDS TERMINATED BY ',' OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"'
  LINES TERMINATED BY '\n'
  FROM ts

Additionally, calling SET NAMES utf8; before the outfile select may help ensure that character encodings are consistent throughout the export process, using UTF-8 encoding.

By implementing these adjustments, you can efficiently export data from a MySQL database to a CSV file while properly escaping special characters to maintain data integrity and prevent issues during Excel imports and analysis.

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