Skip to content
Safitab

Fix CSV encoding problems

Names like “Müller” turning into “M�ller” or “Müller” mean the file was saved in one encoding and opened in another. It happens all the time with exports from older Windows software and European systems.

The encoding is detected from the bytes themselves — UTF-8, UTF-16, Windows-1252, Windows-1250, ISO-8859-2 — instead of being assumed, so accented names, currency symbols and typographic quotes come out exactly as they were written. The download is UTF-8 with a BOM, which Excel opens correctly.

Drop files here

or browse your files

XLSX, XLS, CSV, TXT, PDF · up to 25 MB · 1 file without an account

Or try a sample:

Example: before and after

The same Windows-1252 file shows “M�ller & S�hne” and “Price in � was clear” when opened as UTF-8; read with the right encoding it is “Müller & Söhne” and “Price in € was clear”.

Before31_encoding_windows1252.csv · opened as UTF-8
1DateCustomerProductCommentRatingRefund (�)
213/02/2026M�ller & S�hneCeramic coffee mug 12 ozPrice in � was clear1
314/02/2026Caf� Ren�Dotted notebook A5Arrived late � box dented5
415/02/2026Zo� O�BrienWall calendar 2027Price in � was clear322.57
518/02/2026S�ren �lund LtdRecycled paper reamArrived late � box dented122.22
After4 rows
DateCustomerProductCommentRatingRefund (€)
02/13/2026Müller & SöhneCeramic coffee mug 12 ozPrice in € was clear1
02/14/2026Café RenéDotted notebook A5Arrived late — box dented5
02/15/2026Zoë O’BrienWall calendar 2027Price in € was clear322.57
02/18/2026Søren Ålund LtdRecycled paper reamArrived late — box dented122.22

How to do it

  1. 1Drop the CSV, however garbled it looks in Excel.
  2. 2Check the text — names, symbols and quotes should read normally.
  3. 3Download UTF-8 with BOM (Excel-friendly), plain UTF-8 or Windows-1250.

Questions

Why does Excel show strange characters in my CSV?
Excel guesses the encoding from your system settings, not from the file. If the file was saved differently, accented letters and symbols turn into � or sequences like é.
Which encodings are detected?
UTF-8 with or without a BOM, UTF-16, Windows-1252, Windows-1250 and ISO-8859-2, including files where Polish letters were mangled by a previous wrong conversion.
Which encoding should I download?
UTF-8 with BOM if the file is going to Excel; plain UTF-8 for most other software; Windows-1250 only for older systems that require it.

Related tasks

See all tools