How to handle UTF-8 CSV in Excel (Loading and Saving)

2025-10-22

This article explains how to load UTF-8 CSV files into Excel and how to save them in UTF-8 format.

The UTF-8 CSV file used in this article was created using Cassava Editor.

This CSV file can be downloaded here. Please feel free to use it.

How to Load

Here's how to load a UTF-8 CSV file into Excel.

If you open it directly in Excel, the characters will be garbled, so a little trick is needed.

First, create a new sheet in Excel and click 'From Text/CSV' from the 'Data' tab.

Alternatively, click 'Get Data > From File > From Text/CSV'.
Depending on the version, only this option might be available.

Select the CSV file you want to open and click 'Import'.

A preview will be displayed.
If there are no issues, click 'Load'. However, this time we will transform the data (explained later).

This time, there are unnecessary header rows like 'Column1, Column2...' in the first row, so we will remove them.
Click 'Transform Data'.

The Power Query Editor will open, so click 'Use First Row as Headers'.

The unnecessary first row has disappeared.
Click 'Close & Load' in the top left.

The data has been successfully loaded.

Finally, when saving as CSV, please note that CSV does not support text formatting, multiple sheets, or formulas.

Here's how to save data edited in Excel as a UTF-8 CSV file.

From 'File > Save As' in the top left of Excel, select your desired location.

Select 'CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)(*.csv)' as the file type and save.

An alert will appear, so click 'OK'.
If you're concerned, you might want to keep a copy as an Excel file (.xlsx).

You can now save it as a UTF-8 CSV file.

Furthermore, if you save it as UTF-8 with BOM, you can open it directly in Excel next time.

It also reduces the likelihood of garbled characters in files other than Excel.

However, please note that in some system requirements, saving without BOM might be preferable.

Open the CSV file saved in the previous section with Notepad.
(If it doesn't appear in the list, select Notepad from 'Choose another app'.)

Once opened in Notepad, click 'Save As'.

Set the encoding to 'UTF-8 (with BOM)' and save.

You can now save it as a UTF-8 CSV file with BOM.

2025-12-31
Anonymous

Thank you for this very useful article.
I think it would be even more helpful if you could also include how to create a CSV with BOM as a countermeasure against garbled characters when opening UTF-8 CSV files in Excel!
2026-01-09
Owner

Thank you for your valuable feedback.

I have updated the article accordingly!