DATA REPAIR FIELD GUIDE

Fix CSV columns shifting after import

Fix CSV columns shifting after import. Practical steps, common causes and a matching browser-local DataCleaner tool.

Step-by-step approach

  1. Inspect the raw file for unquoted commas inside addresses, names or notes.
  2. Check if the first line is a header and whether every row has the same field count.
  3. Confirm the delimiter used by the exporter, particularly when Excel uses semicolons.
  4. Run a structural profile, repair quoting in the original source if malformed, then re-export.
  5. Import using the correct delimiter and UTF-8 encoding rather than double-clicking CSV blindly.
Try the matching tool

Open Data Profiler to work on a local copy. Review the result before importing it elsewhere.

Open Data Profiler ↗

What this does not solve

Browser tools can validate known structures and transform available data, but cannot restore deleted or corrupted bytes, infer unknown business facts, or guarantee that a target system will import every field as intended.