Fix CSV Encoding
Fix CSV files whose text shows up garbled in Excel. The original encoding (UTF-8, Windows-1252, CP949 and more) is detected and previewed, then saved as UTF-8 with BOM for Excel, plain UTF-8 or CP949. Works with large files and many files at once, and nothing is uploaded.
Your files never leave this device. Everything is processed inside your browser and nothing is uploaded to a server.
When to use Fix CSV Encoding
An exported CSV looks garbled in Excel
You download an order or customer list as CSV from a store dashboard or web app, and Excel shows names like "José" instead of "José". Save it as UTF-8 with BOM and it opens correctly with a double-click.
Older CSVs in Google Sheets or Numbers
CSVs saved by older software in Windows-1252 or another legacy encoding show � in Google Sheets and Numbers, which expect UTF-8. Convert them to UTF-8 and they open correctly everywhere.
Uploading to a system that needs a legacy encoding
Some older Korean systems only accept CP949 files. Convert a UTF-8 CSV to CP949 and see in advance which lines contain characters CP949 cannot hold, such as emoji.
How to use the Fix CSV Encoding tool
- Click "Choose CSV files" or drag CSV, TSV or TXT files onto the screen. You can add several at once.
- The original encoding of each file is detected, and the preview shows how it opens now next to how it will look after converting. If the text does not look right, pick the original encoding yourself.
- Choose how to save it. For files you will open in Excel, keep "UTF-8 with BOM (for Excel)". Choose line breaks too if you need to.
- Click "Convert", then "Download". Several files come as one ZIP.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the text only look wrong in Excel?
A CSV file has no place to say which encoding it uses. Excel on Windows reads a CSV without a byte order mark (BOM) in the system code page, such as Windows-1252, so accented letters and non-Latin text in a UTF-8 CSV come out wrong. Adding the UTF-8 BOM at the start makes Excel read it as UTF-8.
What if the encoding is detected wrong?
Detection checks whether the bytes follow each encoding’s rules and what kind of characters appear. If the "After converting" table does not look right, pick another original encoding from the list and the table updates right away.
Can saving as CP949 lose characters?
CP949 holds Korean, English and some other characters only, so emoji and many other characters become ?. The tool tells you how many changed and shows the first few with their line numbers. Save as UTF-8 to keep them.
Does it work with large files? Does it change my data?
Files are read and converted piece by piece, so even files of hundreds of MB do not freeze the page (depending on your device’s memory). Only the encoding changes; text, commas and quotes stay as they are, and line breaks change only if you choose so.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. Files are processed only inside your browser and are never sent to any server. Only the code and character mapping data needed for processing are downloaded from this site; your files themselves never leave your device. You can check this yourself in the Network tab of your browser's developer tools.
Are my files safe even with ads on the page?
Yes. Ads only run outside the tool area. The tool area, where you choose and process files, is an isolated space your browser keeps separate, so other scripts on the page, including ads, cannot read your file content or file names. The tool area is blocked from connecting anywhere other than this site. When you drag a file onto the page, the tool area expands to fill the screen so the isolated space receives the file.