Comma-separated values (CSV)
You can use data stored in a comma-separated values (CSV) text file (.csv) in ArcGIS Maps for Fabric. The following list summarizes how you can use these files and provides links to instructions. The sections after the functionality list provide information on proper formatting and tips for using .csv files in ArcGIS Maps for Fabric.
Add a CSV file containing latitude and longitude coordinates to your ArcGIS organizational account content as a feature service so that you can share the data across your organization and add it as a layer to a map in ArcGIS Maps for Fabric. Learn how to use .csv files in ArcGIS Online.
Directly add a CSV file containing latitude and longitude coordinates from a lakehouse to ArcGIS Maps for Fabric to draw features on the map for each row in the file. The file is stored in the map as a layer, and you can edit the properties of the layer that is created. For example, you can configure pop-ups, change symbols, set the visibility range, enable editing, and remove pop-ups.
.csv files
.csv files store information in plain text. The first row in the file defines the names for all subsequent fields. In .csv files, fields can be separated with a comma, semicolon, or tab. Other separators are not supported.
As no data types are enforced in the file, ArcGIS Maps for Fabric relies on the field names and specific formatting in the fields to interpret the data type that should be applied.
The following sections contain information about supported data formats in .csv files and what you need to consider when adding .csv files to a map.
Location fields in .csv files
To use .csv files in your organization, the file must include location fields. Location fields can contain coordinate, address, or place information. The first row in the file must contain the location field names. Addresses can be stored in one or more fields. Coordinates must be in two separate fields.
If the file contains coordinate fields, ArcGIS Maps for Fabric uses these fields to locate the features on the map. ArcGIS Maps for Fabric supports the following coordinate types:
Longitude and latitude*
Latitude and longitude*
Military Grid Reference System (MGRS)
United States National Grid (USNG)
*Latitude and longitude information must be in decimal degrees.
You may be prompted to review location fields before adding data to ArcGIS Maps for Fabric.
The following location fields are supported:
Latitude, Longitude
Lat, Long
Longitude83, Latitude83
Longdecdeg, Latdecdeg
Long_dd, Latdd
Lng
Y, X
Ycenter, Xcenter
Xcenter, Ycenter
Point-y, Point-x
Point-x, Point-y
MGRS
USNG
Date and time in .csv files
Date and time fields in .csv files are assumed to contain Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) date and time and stored as such. That's because the physical location of the server hosting the data can be anywhere in the world. The alternative of storing date and time in a local time zone leads to problems, especially if you, or the server hosting the data, move to another time zone.
Whenever the value of a date or time field is displayed, it is converted from UTC time into your local time. This is done by querying your computer for its time zone setting. For example, suppose your computer is set to Pacific time (United States and Canada). Pacific time is eight hours behind UTC except during daylight saving time, so when UTC time is 10:00 a.m., it is 2:00 a.m. Pacific time.
When you create feature layer from a CSV file, you can specify the time zone of the data. The specified time zone is used to mitigate the offset because ArcGIS Maps for Fabric assumes date and time data to be in UTC. For example, when a CSV file containing date fields is created with Pacific time selected as the time zone, all date and time values in your CSV file will have eight or seven hours added as part of the conversion to UTC, depending on whether the date values fall within daylight saving time.
If the date fields in the CSV file contain a date but not a time value, a time value of midnight is assigned when you create a feature layer. Therefore, if you do not specify a time zone, the data will be stored with a time value of midnight (UTC). When you view the data, time will be converted to the local time, potentially changing the date. For example, 7/28/2026 0:00 is midnight (UTC) on July 28, 2026. If you view the data from a computer in the Pacific time zone, the date and time will be displayed as 7/27/2026 17:00. Specifying the time zone eliminates this offset when viewed in the time zone specified.
The first table below lists date and time formats that will result in a date field in the feature layer that you create from a CSV file. The second table lists formats that result in other date and time fields in the feature layer that you create from a CSV file. Values in a format not in these lists will be created as string data types in the resulting feature layer, or, if only numerals are present, as an integer.
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| M/DD/YYYY | 7/28/2026 |
| M/DD/YYYY 12-hour time | 7/28/2026 5:23 AM or 7/28/2026 05:23 AM |
| M/DD/YY | 7/28/26 |
| M/DD/YY 12-hour time | 7/28/26 5:23 PM or 7/28/26 05:23 PM |
| MM/DD/YY | 07/28/26 |
| MM/DD/YY 12-hour time | 07/28/26 5:23 PM or 07/28/26 05:23 PM |
| MM/DD/YYYY | 07/28/2026 |
| MM/DD/YYYY 12-hour time | 07/28/2026 5:23 PM or 07/28/2026 05:23 PM |
| Month DD | July 28 |
| YYYY/MM | 2026/07 |
| YYYY-MM | 2026-07 |
| YYYY/MM/DD | 2026/07/28 |
| YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss | 2026/07/28 17:23:00 |
| YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss | 2026-07-28 17:23:00 |
| YYYY/MM/DD hh:mm:ss.s | 2026/07/28 17:23:00.5 |
| YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.s | 2026-07-28T17:23:00.5 |
| Format | Resultant field type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| YYYY-MM-DD | Date only | 2009-07-28 |
| DD/MM/YYYY | Date only | 28/07/2009 |
| hh:mm:ss | Time only | 17:23:00 |
| hh:mm:ss.sss | Time only | 17:23:00.025 |
| YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss±OffsetFromUTC | Timestamp offset | 2009-07-28T17:23:00+12:00 |
Considerations for adding .csv files to a map in ArcGIS Maps for Fabric
Daylight saving time is automatically applied if a date value in your CSV file falls within daylight saving time and the selected time zone recognizes daylight saving time.
When you add a CSV file to ArcGIS Maps for Fabric, you can define field types.
If the file contains more spaces than separators in the field names (the first line of the file), you may have trouble adding the file as a layer in a map. Remove extra spaces in the field names and try adding the file again.
Field order and case do not matter when adding location information. However, every row in the file must follow the same order.
If the data in the file contains non-English characters—for example, characters specific to the French, Russian, Greek, Japanese, or Arabic alphabets—the file you import must be encoded as Unicode or UTF-8, and not ASCII. If you import an ASCII-encoded file containing non-English characters, it may display attribute values using unexpected characters. You can save a text file as UTF-8 or Unicode in Microsoft Windows. Open the file in a text editor such as Notepad, click File > Save As, and choose UTF-8 or Unicode from the Encoding drop-down menu shown at the bottom of the Save As dialog box.
When a CSV file containing latitude and longitude, MGRS, or USNG coordinates is added to a map, the coordinates are converted to the spatial reference of the current basemap.