About the TSV Delimiter Changer
A tab-separated file is not accepted everywhere. Some importers want commas, European spreadsheets want semicolons, and some legacy systems want pipes. This tool rewrites a TSV with the separator you choose. Cells that contain the new separator, a quotation mark or a line break are put in quotes automatically, so a note like likes tea, coffee stays in one cell when you switch to commas. The row and column counts are shown. It runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
Updated October 2026
How to use the TSV Delimiter Changer
- 1Paste your TSV into the left box.
- 2Choose the new separator: comma, semicolon or pipe.
- 3Read the converted table on the right.
- 4Check the note with the rows and columns found.
- 5Copy the result or download it.
Why change the separator
Tabs are ideal for copying between programs but poorly accepted by web forms and older importers. A one-step conversion removes the need to open the file in a spreadsheet, which could also alter dates or drop zeros.
Doing it with a tool that understands quotes avoids the classic problem of a simple find and replace splitting cells.
Which separator
Comma suits most importers. Semicolon suits spreadsheets in countries where the comma is the decimal mark. Pipe is a clear choice when the text includes both commas and semicolons.
- Comma: most importers
- Semicolon: decimal-comma locales
- Pipe: text with many commas
After converting
Check the counts, and open a few lines in the target program. If every line has the same number of columns, the quoting worked.
Examples
The row Ann, Pune, likes tea, coffee with tabs between the three fields becomes Ann,Pune,"likes tea, coffee" when you choose a comma, because the last cell contains a comma. With a semicolon the same row needs no quotes at all, since the cell has no semicolon in it.
A cell that holds a quotation mark has the mark doubled inside quotes, which is the standard way that spreadsheets read it back.
Phone and computer
On a phone, paste into the box, adjust the new separator, and tap Copy to carry the result into another app. On a computer you can also download it as a file. The two boxes sit side by side on a wide screen and one above the other on a narrow one, so you can compare input and result without zooming. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored.
Good to know
Line breaks inside cells are kept inside quotes, so a multi-line address is still a single cell after the change. Empty cells stay empty. The number of columns found is the width of the widest row, and shorter rows are not padded, so you can see where the original table was uneven.
Paste the result into a text editor to check it, or download it as a file that you can attach to an import form. For comma files use the CSV Delimiter Changer, and the TSV to CSV Converter swaps the separator in one step.
Features
- Tabs to commas, semicolons or pipes
- Quotes added only where needed
- Shows rows and columns
- Handles line breaks inside cells
- Copy or download
- Private: nothing is uploaded
Frequently asked questions
How do I change tabs to commas?
Paste the TSV and keep comma as the new separator. Each tab becomes a comma, and cells that hold commas are quoted.
Why were quotes added?
A cell that contains the new separator would otherwise be split in two. Quotes keep it in one piece.
Can I go from CSV to TSV with this?
No, this tool reads tabs. Use the CSV to TSV Converter for the opposite direction.
Which separator should I choose?
Comma is the most common. Use a semicolon for spreadsheets set to a decimal comma, and a pipe when the data holds many commas.
What if my file has no tabs?
Then the whole line is read as one column. Check that the text really is tab-separated and was not pasted with spaces.
Is my data uploaded?
No. The conversion runs in your browser.