Fix CSV encoding (Urdu, Arabic, accents)
Turn garbled characters back into readable Urdu, Arabic or accented text, and save a UTF-8 file.
Free · UnlimitedThe fixed file is saved as UTF-8 with a byte-order mark, so Excel, Shopify and WooCommerce show Urdu, Arabic, accents and emoji correctly. Check the preview, and try another encoding if the text still looks wrong.
What it does
Choose the file with broken characters. The toolkit detects how it was saved (UTF-8, Windows-1256 for Arabic and Urdu, Windows-1252 for Western languages, UTF-16 and more) and can repair 'mojibake', text like المتجر that should read المتجر, caused by a file being opened with the wrong encoding and saved again. Check the preview, change the encoding if needed, and download a UTF-8 file with a byte-order mark.
Why text gets garbled
Older Excel versions and many Windows programs save CSV in a regional code page rather than UTF-8, and Excel opens UTF-8 files without a byte-order mark as if they were in the regional code page. Each wrong round trip garbles non-English characters. Saving as UTF-8 with a byte-order mark is the format Excel, Google Sheets, Shopify and WooCommerce all read correctly.
How to use it
Choose the file with the broken characters. Leave the encoding on automatic detection first and look at the preview: if the text reads correctly, download it. If not, pick another encoding from the list (Windows-1256 for Urdu and Arabic, Windows-1252 for Western languages) or switch the garbled-text repair on, and check the preview again.
Private and built for big files
Product catalogues, order exports and supplier price lists often contain hundreds of thousands of rows and information you'd rather not upload anywhere. The toolkit reads the file on your device, in a background worker so the page stays responsive, and shows a preview of the result before you download it. Nothing is sent to Findora's server, and the tool keeps working without an internet connection once the page has loaded.
Good habits for spreadsheet files
Keep the original export untouched and work on copies, name new files with the date (for example products-2026-10-17.csv), and glance at a few rows in the preview after every step. Before importing products, check the file with Findora's CSV import validator, so a wrong column or price is caught before it reaches your store.
Part of the CSV Toolkit
This page opens Findora's CSV Toolkit with this mode selected. Switch modes at the top to convert between CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, TSV and PDF, merge or split files, remove duplicates, rename and reorder columns, view and search large files, fix the text encoding or change the delimiter, all with the same file.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded?
No. The file is read and converted in your browser and never leaves your device. Your activity history only records the file name, the mode and the number of rows.
My file shows question marks (?). Can it be fixed?
Usually not: question marks mean the characters were already lost when the file was saved. Go back to the original export if you can.
Which encoding should I choose?
Start with automatic detection. For Urdu, Arabic or Persian from older Windows programs, try Windows-1256; for European accents, Windows-1252.
How big can the file be?
Up to 100 MB. Large files are read in the background, so the page stays responsive; the preview shows the first rows and the download contains everything.
Does it use credits?
No. You need to be signed in to see and download the result, but the CSV toolkit is free and unlimited.
Need the full product list? Export the whole store with Findora
Discover every public product of a Shopify or WooCommerce store and export it to CSV. 10 free credits when you sign up.