Convert a semicolon CSV to comma in seconds
European Excel, many ERPs and supplier portals export CSV files separated by semicolons (;). Shopify, HubSpot and most importers expect commas. When the delimiter does not match, the whole file lands in a single column — or maps to the wrong fields.
You do not need Excel to fix it, and you do not need to upload the file anywhere: the delimiter can be detected and rewritten in the browser, in seconds.
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Why your file uses semicolons in the first place
In many European locales the comma is the decimal separator (19,99), so the system needs a different character to separate columns: the semicolon. Excel follows the Windows regional settings, which is why the same export can come out with commas on one computer and semicolons on another.
- Windows with Italian, German, French or Spanish locale: semicolon-separated CSV.
- English (US) locale: comma-separated CSV.
- ERP and supplier portals: whatever their own export setting is, often semicolons plus quoted text.
What breaks when the delimiter is wrong
If the importer expects commas and finds semicolons, every row becomes one giant cell. If the importer is lenient, you get the opposite problem: fields shifted, prices inside descriptions, categories in the wrong column.
The decimal separator makes it worse: in a semicolon file, prices are written as 19,99. If you convert the delimiter to comma naively, that price becomes two columns. The conversion has to handle quoting and decimals at the same time.
Convert the delimiter without Excel
BeforeImport detects the delimiter when you drop the file, shows the columns it found, and lets you export with the delimiter the destination platform wants: comma, semicolon, tab or pipe. Quotes are re-written consistently, so values containing commas survive the conversion.
The whole operation runs on your device: supplier catalogs and customer lists never leave the browser.
- Drop the CSV or XLSX file; the summary shows the detected delimiter.
- Check the preview: columns and decimal numbers must look right.
- Export with comma (or the delimiter you need) and import the new file.
When you should keep the semicolon
If the file is going to be opened by humans in European Excel, semicolons are the friendlier choice. If it is going to an importer, check what that platform expects: Shopify wants commas, WooCommerce lets you pick the delimiter in the import screen, PrestaShop setups vary by configuration.
The safe habit is to export one file per destination instead of trying to make a single file serve both.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my CSV open as a single column in Excel?
Excel guesses the delimiter from your regional settings. A semicolon file opened on an English system (or a comma file on a European one) ends up in one column. Converting the delimiter to match the system, or importing via Data > From Text, fixes it.
Will converting the delimiter corrupt accented characters?
No: encoding and delimiter are independent. Accents are an encoding question (UTF-8 vs Windows-1252). BeforeImport keeps the detected encoding and lets you export clean UTF-8, so both problems are solved in one pass.
What happens to prices like 19,99 during the conversion?
They must be normalized to 19.99 before export, otherwise the comma would be read as a column separator. BeforeImport handles this with the number normalization rule, so the price stays one value.
Which delimiter should I choose for Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify expects commas. WooCommerce asks you to choose the delimiter in the import screen, so both work — but commas are the safest default. PrestaShop depends on the configuration of that store.
Is the file uploaded to convert the delimiter?
No. The conversion happens in your browser, on your device. There is no upload step.
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