Causes and Avoidance Guide for Garbled Text and Format Errors in Excel to CSV Conversion
This article breaks down 5 common causes of issues in Excel to CSV conversion, provides verifiable avoidance solutions, and helps you resolve problems with Chinese text garbling and format errors.
Güncellenme: 2026-08-11
Default Save Encoding Mechanism and Causes of Garbled Text
In the Chinese version of Excel for Windows systems, CSV files are saved with the default system region encoding GBK. Most online text processing tools and modern programs read UTF-8 encoding by default. Mismatched encoding directly causes Chinese text to become garbled.
Excel itself does not display garbled text when opening GBK-encoded CSV files, but garbling occurs when other programs open the file after redistribution. Changing the save option cannot directly switch to standard UTF-8 encoding without BOM, and this option is not available in Excel 2016 and earlier versions.
Role of UTF-8 BOM and Correct Configuration
UTF-8 BOM is three identification bytes at the start of a file that allows Excel to directly recognize the file encoding as UTF-8, preventing Chinese text garbling. For CSV files encoded in standard UTF-8 without BOM, Excel still displays garbled Chinese text when opening.
The OKfmt encoding conversion tool can convert GBK CSV to CSV files with UTF-8 BOM, meeting Excel's reading requirements while remaining compatible with the encoding specifications of modern programs.
Common Limitations for Multi-Worksheet and Content Conversion
Excel's native save as CSV function only exports the first visible worksheet of the current file; content from other worksheets is not included in the output file. When multiple worksheets need to be exported, you must activate each worksheet separately and export them one by one.
When Excel saves a CSV, it automatically converts formulas in cells to the currently cached calculation result, and the original formulas are not retained. Date and time content is serialized to text according to the format set for the current cell, losing its original date attribute.
- Native export only retains content from the first worksheet; other worksheets require separate export
- Formulas are automatically converted to cached calculation values; original formulas are not retained
- Date and time are serialized to text; original type attributes are lost
Delimiter Differences Across Regional Formats
The delimiter used by Excel changes with the system regional settings. The default system delimiter is semicolon in some European regions, while the default delimiter is comma for Chinese version Windows systems.
Delimiter mismatch caused by regional settings will cause all CSV content to merge into a single column and cannot be split correctly. You can change the regional delimiter setting in Windows Control Panel, or use a format conversion tool to unify the delimiter type.
| System Region | Default CSV Delimiter | Consequence of Mismatch |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese Mainland (Chinese version) | Comma | No abnormality |
| Some European regions | Semicolon | All content merged into a single column |
| North American region | Comma | No abnormality |
SSS
Can Excel itself export UTF-8 CSV?
Excel 2019 and newer versions support saving with UTF-8 encoding selected, but the output is in no-BOM format. Excel still displays garbled text when opening the file, and a BOM identifier must be added for normal recognition.
Can multiple worksheets in Excel be exported as separate CSV files in bulk?
Excel's native function does not support bulk export. This requires VBA scripts or third-party format conversion tools. Specific functional rules are subject to the current public information on the tool's official website.
Can lost formulas be recovered after conversion to CSV?
The CSV format only supports storing plain text content and does not support saving formula structures. After conversion, formulas are already converted to calculation values, and original formulas cannot be recovered from the CSV file.