Question 1

Why does my CSV show garbled characters like â€™ or Ã©?

Accepted Answer

This happens when a file is saved in one encoding (like UTF-8) but opened as another (like Latin-1/ISO-8859-1). The encoding fixer detects the actual encoding and re-saves the file in UTF-8, fixing the garbled characters.

Question 2

What character encoding should I use for CSV files?

Accepted Answer

UTF-8 is the universal standard and the safest choice. It supports all languages and special characters. Google Sheets, most databases, and modern software all expect UTF-8. This tool converts your file to UTF-8.

Question 3

How do I fix CSV encoding issues for Google Sheets?

Accepted Answer

Upload your file to this tool and it will auto-detect the encoding and convert it to UTF-8, which is what Google Sheets expects. Download the fixed file and import it — accented characters, symbols, and non-Latin text will display correctly.

Question 4

My CSV has a BOM (byte order mark). Is that a problem?

Accepted Answer

A BOM can cause issues with some tools, adding invisible characters to the first column header. The encoding fixer handles BOM removal automatically, producing a clean UTF-8 file compatible with all major tools and platforms.

CSV Encoding Fixer

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Frequently Asked Questions

The next step is getting it into the sheet