How to use it
- Drop a CSV or TXT file on the box, or click to choose one. Try the viscii or utf8-bom sample files.
- Read the result: encoding, BOM or not, confidence, legacy font, row count, delimiter and share of Vietnamese letters.
- Check the first rows in the preview to make sure the accents are right.
- If Excel would show broken text, click Save as UTF-8 for Excel. The new file ends in
-utf8.csv.
What it does
- Detects UTF-8 and UTF-16 BOMs and UTF-8 without BOM; for single-byte files it compares Windows-1258, VISCII and text typed in TCVN3 or VNI, and keeps the reading that gives the most plausible Vietnamese.
- Warns when a file is UTF-8 without BOM, since Excel on Windows often misreads those.
- Guesses the delimiter: comma, semicolon, tab or pipe.
- Saves UTF-8 with BOM, the form Excel opens correctly without picking an encoding by hand.
- Uses the same detection as the 1xQuickConvertFormat app.
What it does not do
- It never uploads the file. It is read in your browser.
- It does not change the content. Only the encoding changes; values, columns and rows stay as they are.
- It is not for very large files. Files over 25 MB are better handled by the Mac app.
- It cannot be certain every time. Short files with few accented letters may get medium or low confidence. Check the preview before saving.
FAQ
What is a BOM and why does Excel need it?
A BOM is three bytes at the start of a file saying it is UTF-8. Excel on Windows relies on it to read accented letters; without it, Excel often reads the file as a legacy code page.
Will it fix exports from old accounting software?
Usually, yes. Older software often exports Windows-1258, VISCII or text in the TCVN3 font. The tool tries all three and keeps the most plausible Vietnamese.
Does Google Sheets need the BOM?
No. Google Sheets reads UTF-8 without BOM correctly, and opens the BOM version just as well.