Why did an apostrophe appear in front of phone numbers starting with +966 in my exported CSV?

What the mark actually does

When Excel opens a cell that starts with + or =, it tries to calculate it as a formula. An international number such as +966501234567 can then turn into scientific notation or lose its leading plus. A ' at the start of the cell tells the spreadsheet 'this is text, show it as it is'. Excel normally hides the mark inside the cell, but it is still part of the file.

Trouble starts when something other than Excel reads the file: a messaging system, a courier portal, or a script your developer wrote. Those programs see the mark as an ordinary character, so the number becomes '+966501234567 and may be rejected as invalid.

Example: one international number, one local

We converted two customers, Sara with a +966 number and Omar with a local number starting with zero. With the default setting the file came out like this:

name,phone Sara,"'+966501234567" Omar,0501234567

Omar's number is untouched because it starts with a zero, not one of the four trigger characters. With 'Protect against Excel formulas' switched off, the output became:

name,phone Sara,+966501234567 Omar,0501234567

Had the phone been a numeric value in the JSON rather than text, such as 966501234567 without the plus, nothing would have been added, because real numbers are not affected by this option.

When to keep it and when to switch it off

• Keep it on if the file will be opened in Excel or Google Sheets for someone to review, especially when it contains fields customers typed themselves.
• Switch it off if the file will be imported into an automated system that needs the number character for character, such as a messaging list or an integration tool.
• If you need both, download two copies: one for review with the option on, and one for import with it off.

Steps

1. In the CSV and JSON converter, choose 'JSON to CSV' and paste your data.
2. Find 'Protect against Excel formulas' among the options and untick it.
3. Check in the output box that the numbers now start directly with +.
4. Copy the output or download it.

A warning before opening the unprotected copy in Excel

If you double-click the unmarked file to open it in Excel, the number +966501234567 may display differently or lose its plus. That is Excel's behaviour, not a fault in the file. For review, import it via Data, then 'From Text/CSV', and set the phone column's type to Text.

If you plan to turn the numbers into chat links, the WhatsApp link generator builds the link from a number directly, with no file involved.