Why a CSV Looks Garbled and How to Fix It
Key points
- Set the current encoding to auto-detect
- Check the preview
- Convert to UTF-8 or Shift_JIS
CSV files look garbled when the encoding they were saved in differs from the one the app expects. Convert Text Encoding lets you match them.
Steps
- Choose the file and keep "Auto-detect"
- Check in the preview that the characters look right
- Convert to the encoding you need and save
If no encoding fixes it, the file may be damaged or may not be text.
Use "Convert Text Encoding (Fix Garbled Text)" (free)
Tools that go well with this
- Convert CSV and JSON: Convert between CSV and JSON instantly.
- Convert CSV to Excel (.xlsx): Convert a CSV to an Excel (.xlsx) file.
- Remove and Tidy Line Breaks in Text: Tidy line breaks in text copied from PDFs and elsewhere.
More guides for this tool
- How to Convert a Text File's Encoding (Free, Works on a Phone)
- Opening a UTF-8 CSV in Excel (Convert to UTF-8 with BOM)
- Converting for Systems That Only Accept Shift_JIS
- How to Match Line Endings (CRLF and LF)
- How Encoding Auto-Detect Works and What to Do When It Fails
- Converting Encodings Without Uploading Your File