# Spreadsheets, JSON and Reports

Spreadsheet exports and settings files become objects you can clean, filter and turn into reports.

Updated: November 10, 2026

## [Spreadsheets](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/powershell-in-depth/topics/powershell-spreadsheets)

1. [Spreadsheets as Objects: Import-Csv](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-import-csv) (Apprentice): Import-Csv reads a CSV file, the plain-text kind of spreadsheet that shops, banks and apps export, and turns each row into an object with one property for each column, so you can filter, sort, group and add up the rows with the commands from Module 3.
2. [Saving Data: Export-Csv and Cleaning a CSV](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-export-csv) (Journeyman): Export-Csv saves objects as a CSV file that Excel and other programs open as a table, and on the way there a pipeline can clean an untidy export, dropping its blank rows, renaming its columns and turning text such as $36.00 into numbers with \[decimal\] and \[int\].

## [Settings Files](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/powershell-in-depth/topics/powershell-settings-files)

1. [JSON: ConvertFrom-Json and ConvertTo-Json](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-json) (Journeyman): JSON is the text format most apps keep their settings in and most websites send their data in, and PowerShell reads it into an object with ConvertFrom-Json, lets you change a value with a dot and an equals sign, and writes it back with ConvertTo-Json, whose -Depth says how many levels of boxes inside boxes it keeps.

## [Reports](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/powershell-in-depth/topics/powershell-reports)

1. [Reports: ConvertTo-Html and Out-GridView](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-reports) (Journeyman): ConvertTo-Html turns objects into a web page with a table, which a little CSS makes clear to read and anyone can open in a browser, and Out-GridView shows objects in a window you can filter, sort and click, where -PassThru sends the rows you pick on down the pipe.

## [Exercise: The Bike Shop's Monthly Report](https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/powershell-in-depth/topics/exercise-powershell-the-bike-shops-monthly-report)

1. [Exercise: The Bike Shop's Monthly Report](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/exercise-powershell-the-bike-shops-monthly-report) (Journeyman): Turn Maple Street Bikes' messy October exports into the owner's monthly report, cleaning the sales and rentals CSV files, adding them up per product and per store, changing one setting in a JSON file and making a web page of the totals, while a Pester check tells you which steps are right.

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/courses/powershell-in-depth/chapters/powershell-spreadsheets-json-and-reports