UltKit

CSV to TXT Converter

Save the rows of a CSV as a .txt file. The data stays the same; what changes is how operating systems, email filters and upload forms treat the file, which is often the whole point.

Data Converter

or drop CSV, TSV, TXT … files here ·

Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes

Output

Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.

How to use this tool

  1. 1

    Upload the CSV

    Add up to 20 CSV files, 95 MB each. Comma, semicolon, tab and pipe files are recognized by Auto detect.

  2. 2

    Set quoting and encoding

    Under Advanced settings, turn on Quote every value if the receiver wants each field in double quotes, and pick a Text encoding such as UTF-8 with BOM for Windows tools.

  3. 3

    Convert to text

    Press Convert to Plain text, download the .txt file and upload it or send it on.

CSV to TXT keeps every row and value of your CSV and writes them to a plain .txt file, so the data opens in any text editor and passes forms that accept text files only.

Why convert CSV to TXT when both are plain text

A CSV file is already plain text; RFC 4180 even registered text/csv as its media type in 2005. So the reasons to convert are practical, not technical. Some upload screens were written to accept .txt and nothing else. And on most computers, double-clicking a .csv launches Excel, which reformats long numbers, drops leading zeros and guesses dates before anyone has looked at the data.

A .txt sidesteps both. It opens in Notepad, TextEdit or any code editor, exactly as written. If the next step is a spreadsheet after all, CSV to XLSX gives the person a workbook with the columns already split.

Where a CSV to TXT file is expected

Common destinations for a delimited .txt file
DestinationWhat it readsPick here
Amazon Seller Central inventory filesTab-delimited text (.txt)TSV, renamed to .txt
Mailchimp audience importCSV or tab-delimited .txtPlain text or TSV
Google Sheets, File › ImportDelimited .txt with a chosen separatorPlain text
A colleague on Windows.txt opens in Notepad on double-clickPlain text

CSV to TXT example

Semicolon CSV from a European Excel, written to TXT
Input  : sku;name;price
         00417;Desk lamp, brass;39,90

Output : sku,name,price
         00417,"Desk lamp, brass","39,90"
DoDon't
Send the .txt when the reader must see 00417, not 417Rename .csv to .txt by hand when the separator also has to change
Use UTF-8 with BOM if the file goes to an older Windows toolExpect Excel to split columns on double-click; import it instead
Keep the header row so the importer can map columnsMix tabs and commas in one file

CSV and plain text format facts

CSV

Comma-separated values

CSV is a plain-text format for tables in which each line is a row and commas separate the columns. It has been used since the early days of computing and is described in RFC 4180, though many variants use semicolons or tabs and different text encodings. Nearly every spreadsheet, database and analytics tool can import and export it, which makes it the default format for moving data between systems. CSV stores only values, with no formulas, formatting, multiple sheets or data types.

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CSV converter

TXT

Plain text

A TXT file contains only plain characters with no formatting, fonts, images or layout. Modern text files are usually encoded in UTF-8, which covers every language, though older files may use other encodings and show garbled characters. Plain text is tiny, never becomes obsolete and opens on every device, from phones to servers. It cannot hold bold text, tables or pictures, so structure must be expressed with spacing or simple markup.

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CSV is saved as TXT when the extension matters more than the content: an upload form that lists only .txt, a script that picks up only *.txt files, or a reader who should see raw values in a text editor instead of letting Excel reformat them.

CSV to TXT FAQ

Is a TXT made from a CSV any different inside?

Barely. With Delimiter on Auto detect, the converter reads whatever separator your CSV uses and writes the rows with commas. Values containing a comma or a line break are wrapped in double quotes, as before. The file name ends in .txt, and that is what changes how it is treated.

How do I get a tab-delimited text file instead of commas?

Choose TSV under Convert to. A TSV is tab-separated plain text, so renaming the downloaded .tsv to .txt gives you exactly the tab-delimited .txt that Amazon Seller Central and similar importers describe.

Why does my TXT open in Notepad instead of Excel?

Windows associates .txt with Notepad and .csv with Excel. That is often the reason to convert: a recipient sees the exact characters, including leading zeros and long ID numbers, instead of Excel's automatic reformatting. In Excel you can still load it through Data › From Text/CSV.

Can every value be wrapped in quotes?

Yes. Turn on Quote every value and each field, numbers included, is written inside double quotes. Some older bank and payroll importers require this; most modern ones accept either form.

Can I turn the TXT back into a CSV later?

Yes, with TXT to CSV. Because the content never changed, the round trip is exact; Auto detect finds the separator again.