Cannot Save CSV File in Excel (Windows 11, MS Office Home Business 2019) in WSL2 Folder

Saving a CSV File in a WSL Folder Using MS Office in Windows 11

Microsoft Office is a popular productivity suite that includes applications such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. These applications are widely used for creating, editing, and managing various types of files, including CSV (Comma Separated Values) files. In this article, we will cover the steps required to save a CSV file in a WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) folder using MS Office in Windows 11.

What is WSL?

WSL is a compatibility layer for running Linux binary executables natively on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019. It allows developers and power users to run their favorite Linux tools, such as bash, ssh, git, and more, directly on Windows, without the need for a virtual machine.

Setting up WSL on Windows 11

Before you can save a CSV file in a WSL folder using MS Office in Windows 11, you need to set up WSL on your Windows 11 machine. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features.
2. Click on Turn Windows features on or off and check the box next to Windows Subsystem for Linux.
3. Click on OK and restart your computer when prompted.
4. Once your computer has restarted, open the Microsoft Store and search for your preferred Linux distribution, such as Ubuntu or Debian.
5. Click on Get and wait for the distribution to download and install.
6. Launch the Linux distribution from the Start menu and follow the on-screen instructions to set up your user account and password.

Saving a CSV File in a WSL Folder Using MS Office

Now that you have WSL set up on your Windows 11 machine, you can save a CSV file in a WSL folder using MS Office. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Launch Excel and open or create a new spreadsheet.
2. Click on File and then Save As.
3. Navigate to the WSL folder where you want to save the CSV file. To do this, type the path to the folder in the File name field. For example, if you want to save the CSV file in the /home/user/Documents folder in WSL, you would type /mnt/c/Users/username/WSL/Ubuntu-20.04/home/user/Documents in the File name field.
4. Select CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) from the Save as type dropdown list.
5. Click on Save.

References

• Install Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10
• Troubleshoot Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Import or export text (.txt or .csv) files

This article has provided a detailed explanation of how to save a CSV file in a WSL folder using MS Office in Windows 11. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your CSV files are saved in the correct location and can be easily accessed from your Linux environment.