# Fix CSV Import Errors > Automatically detect and fix common CSV formatting issues that cause import failures in spreadsheets and databases **Category:** Utility **Keywords:** csv, fix, import, errors, excel, spreadsheet, delimiter, format, repair **URL:** https://complete.tools/fix-csv-import-errors ## How it works The tool applies a series of text-processing steps to your CSV data. First, it strips any Unicode BOM (Byte Order Mark) characters that may appear at the beginning of the file or embedded within it. BOM characters are invisible to most editors but cause many CSV parsers to misread the first column header. Next, the tool normalizes all line endings to a consistent Unix-style LF format by converting CRLF (Windows) and bare CR (old Mac) sequences. It then auto-detects the delimiter by sampling the first 20 rows and scoring each candidate delimiter (comma, tab, semicolon, and pipe) based on consistency and frequency. After parsing each row into individual fields, the tool trims leading and trailing whitespace from every field, removes entirely empty rows, and checks for unescaped quotation marks inside quoted fields. Finally, it normalizes row lengths by comparing each row to the expected column count (determined by the header row or the most common row width) and pads short rows with empty fields or trims trailing empty columns from overlong rows. The output is reassembled with proper CSV quoting and your chosen delimiter. ## Who should use this Data analysts importing CSV exports from third-party systems that produce inconsistently formatted files. Database administrators loading CSV data into SQL databases where strict column counts and proper quoting are required. Marketing teams importing contact lists or campaign data into CRM platforms like Salesforce or HubSpot. Accountants working with financial exports from different banking systems that use different delimiters and encodings. Developers debugging CSV parsing errors in ETL pipelines or data processing scripts. Anyone who has received a CSV file by email and encountered mysterious import errors in Excel or Google Sheets. ## Worked examples Example 1: A user receives a CSV export from a European system that uses semicolons as delimiters and has a BOM character. The file fails to open correctly in Excel because the first column header appears as a garbled string. The tool detects the BOM and semicolon delimiter, strips the BOM, and optionally converts the delimiter to comma format. Result: clean import on the first try. Example 2: A marketing manager has a contact list CSV where some names contain unescaped quotes, such as a company called He said "hello", Ltd. Several rows also have only 4 fields instead of the expected 6. The tool escapes the internal quotes using double-quote notation, pads the short rows with empty fields, and produces a valid CSV with consistent column counts. Example 3: A developer receives a CSV file that was edited on multiple operating systems. Some lines end with CRLF (Windows), others with just LF (Unix), and a few have bare CR (classic Mac). There are also several completely blank lines scattered throughout the file. The tool normalizes all line endings to LF, removes the empty rows, and trims trailing whitespace from 47 fields that had been padded with spaces. ## Limitations The tool processes text-based CSV data only and does not support binary file formats such as XLSX, ODS, or Parquet. Very large CSV files (over a few megabytes) may cause slow processing in the browser since all work is done client-side. The delimiter auto-detection algorithm works well for standard CSV files but may guess incorrectly if the data itself contains many instances of the delimiter character within fields. The tool cannot fix semantic data errors such as dates in the wrong format, numbers stored as text, or incorrectly mapped columns. It preserves all existing data fields and does not validate or clean the actual data values. Row length normalization pads short rows with empty strings, which may not always be the desired behavior if the missing data should contain specific default values. Files with multi-line quoted fields (values containing embedded newlines) are parsed correctly in most cases but may have edge-case limitations. ## FAQs **Q:** Is my data sent to a server for processing? **A:** No. All CSV processing happens entirely in your browser. Your data never leaves your device, making this tool safe for sensitive or confidential information. **Q:** What is a BOM character and why does it cause problems? **A:** A BOM (Byte Order Mark) is an invisible Unicode character placed at the beginning of a file to indicate its encoding. While some programs handle BOMs gracefully, many CSV parsers interpret the BOM as part of the first field value, causing the first column header to appear corrupted or to fail matching in database imports. **Q:** Can I change the delimiter when fixing my CSV? **A:** Yes. By default the tool keeps the detected delimiter, but you can select a different output delimiter from the dropdown menu. For example, you can convert a semicolon-delimited European CSV to a standard comma-delimited format. **Q:** How does the tool decide the correct number of columns? **A:** It uses the header row (first row) as the primary reference, falling back to the most common row length across all rows if the header is ambiguous. Short rows are padded with empty fields and trailing empty columns on overlong rows are removed. **Q:** What if my CSV has fields containing commas or newlines? **A:** The tool properly handles quoted fields according to the CSV specification (RFC 4180). Fields containing delimiters, quotes, or newlines are wrapped in double quotes, and any internal quotes are escaped by doubling them. --- *Generated from [complete.tools/fix-csv-import-errors](https://complete.tools/fix-csv-import-errors)*