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TheSpreadFix

Fix CSV Encoding (UTF-8 for Excel)

If names like José, Zoë or Müller turn into José, Zoë or M�ller, the file's encoding is being misread. TheSpreadFix detects how your CSV is encoded — UTF-8, UTF-16 or Windows-1252 — reads it correctly, and gives you back clean UTF-8 that Excel, Google Sheets and importers all understand.

Drop a CSV or Excel file here

.csv, .xlsx, .tsv

Your file stays on your device. It's read and cleaned in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Upload the original file

    Use the file as exported from the source system — not a copy re-saved in another program.

  2. Step 2

    Check the preview

    The detected encoding and delimiter are shown; the data preview should display accents correctly.

  3. Step 3

    Download UTF-8

    Every CSV download is UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, so Excel opens it correctly with a double-click.

What it checks and fixes

Encoding detection

UTF-8 (with or without BOM), UTF-16 with BOM, and Windows-1252 (common in older Excel and Windows exports).

Delimiter detection

Comma, semicolon, tab or pipe — no more everything-in-one-column.

Header problems

Blank and duplicate headers are given unique names so every column can be mapped.

Stray whitespace

Non-breaking spaces and zero-width characters that often come with encoding problems are detected and can be trimmed.

Why characters get garbled

A CSV file is just bytes; the encoding says how to turn them into letters. UTF-8 stores “é” as two bytes. If a program reads those bytes as Windows-1252 instead, each byte becomes a separate character and you see “é”. The reverse — a Windows-1252 file read as UTF-8 — produces the replacement character “�”.

Excel for Windows assumes the older encoding when you double-click a CSV unless the file starts with a UTF-8 byte-order mark (BOM). That's why a file that looks fine in a text editor or Google Sheets can look broken in Excel.

Common symptoms

You seeWhat happenedFix
José, MüllerUTF-8 file opened as Windows-1252Download as UTF-8 with BOM
Jos�, M�llerWindows-1252 file opened as UTF-8Upload the original; it's detected and converted
Everything in column ASemicolon/tab-separated file opened as comma-separatedDelimiter is detected automatically
Strange spaces that won't TRIMNon-breaking or zero-width spacesTrim fix replaces them with normal spaces and trims the ends

What this tool can't fix

If a file was already damaged and saved — for example someone opened a UTF-8 file in Excel, saw “é”, and saved it — the garbled characters are now the real content of the file. Converting it won't bring back the original letters. Go back to the source system and export again, then upload that original export here.

Frequently asked questions

Which encodings are supported?

UTF-8 (with or without BOM), UTF-16 with a BOM, and Windows-1252. Other legacy encodings are read as Windows-1252.

Why include a BOM?

Excel on Windows uses the BOM to recognise UTF-8. Most other tools ignore it, so it's safe for imports too.

Can I get the file as Excel instead?

Yes — choose Download Excel to get an .xlsx, which has no encoding issues at all.

Is my file uploaded?

No. The file is decoded and converted in your browser.