Bypass excel csv formula conversion on fields starting with + or -

Question

I have a csv file with contents:

"x","y","-z" 

When I import it I get:

How can I bypass this conversion?

Update

If you try:

   "x","y",="-z,a" 

The ",a" is not imported.

If you put a space in front:

   "x","y",=" -z" 

or

   "x","y"," -z" 

it will work fine

Answer 1

Prefix the values with equals signs

="x",="y",="-z" 

Answer 2

Your problem is that by using the CSV extension, you are forcing excel to interpret the file using its very strict CSV conventions, and this will often go against whatever it is you're trying to do unless the CSV file was originally created by Excel. Your easiest, and most reliable method of importing this CSV file, is to rename it to a TXT file, and then use the import function in excel to coerce columns in exactly the way you want.