How to print a single cell in a csv file using bash script or awk

Question

I'm having problems printing just one cell from a .csv file. I was only able to print a single column, but not a single cell.

Here's the command I use to print a column:

BEGIN {FS = ","} {print $1,$3}

And I execute it using:

cat test.csv | awk -f test.awk

I want to manipulate the .csv file by each cell using bash or awk.

Thank you!

Your command applies for all lines. If you want to print just the first cell of the first line you have to write NR==1{print $1} — Daniel, Apr 29 '16 at 09:24
1) don't attach screenshot, paste some example **TEXT** from your input file(csv) 2) show the expected output — Kent, Apr 29 '16 at 09:25

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 29 '16 at 13:34

2

here some simple script. it will out B3 CELL. you can increase head parameter for get cellid.

cat file| awk -v FS=',' '{print $2}'| head -3 | tail -n 1

or

## C2 CELL
cat file| awk -v FS=',' '{print $3}'| head -2 | tail -n 1

answered Apr 29 '16 at 13:34

aze2201

Your solution worked for me, but the `'{print $3}'` part of the line can I substitute a variable in place of the $n? Thanks! – jeremybcenteno May 04 '16 at 05:16
Sorry. Did not get your point. Can you please explain some example ? – aze2201 May 04 '16 at 10:47

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 29 '16 at 11:11

0

Try this:

 cat a.csv|column -s, -t| cut -d' ' -f<col>|sed '<row>!d'

answered Apr 29 '16 at 11:11

Ani Menon

2 Answers2