Work and business
Fix a CSV that opens wrongly in Excel
Two things go wrong when Excel opens a CSV: accents turn into strange symbols, or everything lands in column A. Both are quick to fix.
Fix a CSV for ExcelFree · No sign-up · Files stay on your device
Open Fix a CSV for Excel
Why it happens
Excel on Windows assumes a CSV uses an old Windows text encoding unless the file says otherwise. Exports from websites and apps are usually UTF-8, so é becomes é.
Excel also expects the separator your region uses: commas in the UK and US, semicolons in much of Europe. With the wrong one, each row arrives as one long cell.
When you might need this
- Exports from online shopsOrders and customers from Shopify, WooCommerce or Etsy with names in other languages.
- Mailing listsSubscriber exports from Mailchimp or similar.
- European suppliersPrice lists that use semicolons and decimal commas.
Key benefits
- Accents fixed for goodThe file gets a small marker that tells Excel it is UTF-8.
- The right columnsChoose commas or semicolons to match your Excel.
- Or skip CSV altogetherCSV to Excel makes a real .xlsx, which never has these problems.
How to fix the file
- Open the CSV in Fix CSV for Excel.
- Choose Commas if your Excel is set up for the UK or US, or Semicolons for much of Europe.
- Press Convert and save the fixed CSV.
- Open the new file in Excel.
Tips
- If the CSV already shows é when opened in a text editor, use Fix text encoding: the file itself was damaged on the way.
- Phone numbers losing their first 0 is a different Excel habit; CSV to Excel keeps them.
- Google Sheets and Numbers open UTF-8 CSV files correctly without any fix.
Fix a CSV for ExcelFree · No sign-up · Files stay on your device
Open Fix a CSV for Excel
Questions
Will the fixed file still work in other programs?
Yes. The marker is part of the UTF-8 standard and is understood by modern programs.
My numbers have commas as decimals. Is that a problem?
Choose Semicolons as the separator, so commas inside numbers aren't mistaken for new columns.
Are my customer lists uploaded?
No. The file is fixed inside your browser.
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