Encoding issues and garbled CSV
Why CSV text gets garbled and how to fix it by converting to UTF-8.
What is garbled text?
CSV is text, so the character encoding used when saving and opening the file matters. If you open a file with the wrong encoding, characters turn into unreadable symbols or boxes—that’s “garbled text.”
Common causes
Opening a file with the wrong encoding
If a file was saved as Windows-1252 or another encoding but opened as UTF-8 (or the other way around), text will be garbled. Excel often saves CSV in a regional encoding unless you choose “CSV UTF-8”.
BOM (Byte Order Mark)
UTF-8 can be with or without BOM. Excel often expects UTF-8 with BOM to open CSV correctly. Without BOM, the first characters may be wrong or columns may be misaligned. For Excel, saving as UTF-8 BOM is safer.
How to fix
- Detect the encoding: Use the format check to see the detected encoding of your uploaded CSV.
- Convert to UTF-8: The encoding fix tool detects encoding and lets you download UTF-8 BOM. Processing is in the browser; nothing is sent to the server.
- Verify: Run the format or single-file check again on the converted file to confirm encoding and content.
Which encoding to use
- New systems, web, international: UTF-8 (with BOM if Excel will open it) is recommended.
- Legacy systems: If the other system requires a specific encoding (e.g. Windows-1252), save in that encoding. This tool’s download can add UTF-8 BOM; you can convert to another encoding elsewhere if needed.
Summary
Garbled text happens when the encoding used to save the file doesn’t match the encoding used to open it. The CSV Checker encoding fix detects the original encoding and converts to UTF-8 BOM in the browser so you can fix files without uploading data. See also CSV errors guide.
Open the tools
- Format & basic check — confirm detected encoding and delimiter
- Encoding recovery — preview and download UTF-8 BOM
- Single-file check — verify the file after conversion