How to Convert Excel Files to UTF-8 TSV: A Comprehensive Guide

If you're dealing with data that needs to be universally readable, you've likely encountered the need to convert Excel files to UTF-8 TSV (Tab Separated Values) format. This article provides a step-by-step guide to achieving this conversion efficiently, whether you're a data analyst, a developer, or simply someone who needs to ensure data compatibility across different systems.

Understanding the Basics: UTF-8 and TSV

Before diving into the conversion process, let's clarify what UTF-8 and TSV formats are and why they're important.

• UTF-8 (Unicode Transformation Format - 8-bit): A character encoding standard that can represent virtually every character from every language. It's widely used on the internet and ensures that your data is displayed correctly, regardless of the user's system or language settings.
• TSV (Tab Separated Values): A simple text format for storing tabular data, where each column is separated by a tab character, and each row is on a new line. TSV files are often used for data exchange between different applications and databases.

Why Convert Excel to UTF-8 TSV?

• Data Compatibility: Ensures your data can be read and processed correctly by different systems and applications, regardless of their operating system or language settings.
• Universal Readability: UTF-8 supports a wide range of characters, making it ideal for multilingual data.
• Data Exchange: TSV is a common format for importing and exporting data between different software programs.

Method 1: Using Excel's "Save As" Function with Web Options

This method leverages Excel's built-in functionality to save files in a Unicode text format, which can then be converted to UTF-8. Here's how:

1. Open Your Excel File: Launch Microsoft Excel and open the .xls or .xlsx file you want to convert.
2. Go to "Save As": Click on "File" in the top menu, then select "Save As."
3. Choose "Unicode Text" as the File Type: In the "Save As" dialog box, select "Unicode Text (*.txt)" from the "Save as type" dropdown menu.
4. Access Web Options: Before saving, click on "Tools" (usually located near the "Save" button) and select "Web Options."
5. Set Encoding to UTF-8: In the "Web Options" dialog box, go to the "Encoding" tab and choose "Unicode (UTF-8)" from the dropdown menu.
6. Save the File: Click "OK" to close the "Web Options" dialog box, then click "Save" to save the file as a Unicode text file.
7. Rename the File: Locate the saved .txt file and rename its extension from ".txt" to ".tsv".

Important Considerations:

• This method assumes you have a version of Excel that supports the "Web Options" feature.
• The user in the source material confirmed this method works for Office 365 in the India region.
• While the file is saved as .txt initially, renaming it to .tsv makes it a Tab Separated Values file.

Additional Tips and Troubleshooting

• Verify the Encoding: After converting, open the .tsv file in a text editor like Notepad++ to verify that the encoding is indeed UTF-8. Notepad++ allows you to check and change the encoding of a file.
• Consider using a dedicated text editor: For more complex conversions or if you need more control over the process, consider using a dedicated text editor like Sublime Text or Visual Studio Code, which offer advanced encoding options and find/replace capabilities.
• Look into scripting solutions: For a fully automated solution, explore scripting languages like Python with libraries like pandas to read Excel files and save them as UTF-8 encoded TSV files.

Converting Excel files to UTF-8 TSV format is essential for ensuring data compatibility and readability across different platforms and applications. By following the methods outlined in this guide, you can efficiently convert your Excel files and maintain data integrity.