Change Encoding in Excel

If instead of the necessary information in the table you see questions, hieroglyphs or other incomprehensible signs, it means you need to figure out how to change the encoding in Excel. This feature is available in the Microsoft Office itself. But you can get rid of the problem and other methods.

Sometimes we get weird hieroglyphs.

What is encoding?

The computer perceives any information as a set of numbers. Therefore, each printed mark has its own code. It consists of numbers and letters of the Latin alphabet. The characters and the corresponding numbers - this is the encoding.

She has several standards. For example, Koi-8, Unicode, Windows-1251, ASCII. And if the text file is saved, say, in Koi-8, in Excel it will be incorrectly displayed in Unicode. As in these sets different codes are assigned to the same characters.

How to change the encoding in the program?

To work with a table that uses a standard that is not set by default in the program, you need to change the encoding. There are several ways.

With Notepad

If in Excel it is not possible to turn the "cracks" into normal text, open the file in the program "Notepad ++". It is distributed free of charge. Set up the display of characters there, and then continue to work in Excel.

Open the file in the program "Notepad ++"

  1. Create a backup copy of the document. Or save the information from it in some other table.
  2. Launch Notepad.
  3. Go to File - Open (File - Open) and specify the path to the table. In the "File Type" field, check "All types". Or specify a specific format. Tables have extensions .cvs, .xls, .xltm, xlam, .xlm. In Notepad, the text is displayed without a grid. It does not need to edit anything.
  4. The standard used now will be displayed on the bottom right in the status bar.
  5. Open the Encoding menu. It is located at the top of the window.
  6. Click “Convert to UTF-8” (“Convert to UTF-8”). The document will be converted to the desired format. This standard Excel perceives normally and will not turn into an incoherent stream of strange characters.
  7. Now choose which characters you want to use. In the same Encoding menu, hover the drop-down list. He is there alone.
  8. For Russian, select Cyrillic - Windows-1251. If the text is, say, in Arabic or Greek, mark the corresponding set of characters. Different countries use different standards.
  9. The program will ask to confirm the action.
  10. If that doesn't work, try other Cyrillic fonts.
  11. You must also save the text in Excel format.

Open the file in utf-8

Through the program interface

Here's how to change the encoding in Excel using the built-in features:

  1. Run the program. Do not open the completed document. Need a "clean" sheet.
  2. Click the “Data” tab in the menu bar.
  3. On the Get External Data panel, click From Text.
  4. In the "File Type" list (it is located next to the "Cancel" button) select "All" or "Any." This will display Excel formats in the window, not just .txt.
  5. Specify the path to the table.
  6. The Import Wizard opens.
  7. In the field "Format" you can choose the desired standard.
  8. The Preview area shows how the text will appear with a marked set of characters. You can scroll through the list and look for which setting is suitable.
  9. When you pick the right option, click "Finish".

You can use the built-in features

How to save a file in a specific encoding?

You can make it so that there is a certain Excel encoding in the file you saved.

  1. Click on the green “File” button (in Office 2007, click on the logo in the upper left).
  2. Options - Advanced.
  3. Scroll down to the "General" section.
  4. Button "Web Document Settings".
  5. Encoding tab.
  6. In the “Save Document As” field, specify the desired value and click “OK”.

You can also do this:

  1. Click on the "File" or office logo.
  2. Select "Save As ...".
  3. Click on “Service”. There will be the same item “Web Document Settings”.

How to add new coding to office programs?

If none of the standards fit your document, add new ones.

  1. Start - Control Panel.
  2. "Programs and components" or "Uninstall programs."
  3. Click on Office or Excel (depending on whether you have the entire package of Microsoft Office products or Excel only).
  4. Change button. It is above the main work area.
  5. Put a marker in the "Add or Remove" and click "Continue."
  6. Open the General Tools - Multilingual support branch.
  7. Click on the black arrow next to the desired standard and enable the "Run on my computer" feature.
  8. Click "Continue" and wait for the process to finish. New sets will be added.

In Excel, you can change the encoding if the characters are displayed incorrectly. This feature is available in the program toolkit. But sometimes third-party software is used.