Thread: CSV and Excel issues in MemSource

Things got complicated when I received a comma-delimited CSV file from a client in UTF-8 and with the need to deliver a bilingual file. The dilemma was: a) if I was to duplicate the source language (column) by opening the CSV file in Excel and save it again in CSV format, commas were replaced by semicolons, b) if, in exchange, I would try to go saving it in Excel format, by later using the Concatenate function gluing all cells with commas, an additional set of quotation marks would be added when rebuilding the CSV file. Any tips you'd like to share?

Hi gentle, we never know the final use of the CSV file, so we have to preserve all the internal formating (separator, delimiter, encoding) from file. For this preservation, you cannot rely 100% on MS Excel, so you ever have to open the file with a text editor.


I think the easier way to get the work done is:


- Open original file with Ms Excel and duplicate the Source Language column, save it with other name.
- Open with a text editor both the file with duplicate column and the original file, compare and find/replace to put again the correct separator, delimiter and encoding (most of advanced text editors like JEdit, Notepad++, etc. can manage encoding).
- Translate it setting in MemSource the number of the column that you have created by duplicate the source.
- We are done, you can open it after the translation with the text editor, only to check, but I am pretty sure that MemSource will preserve separator, delimiter and encoding.

I had seen some options and macros to arrange the .csv, but they change the formating. As you say, it's better to preserve the structure because we need to deliver an identical and ready-to-use file.

Originally Posted by Salvadorm

- Open original file with Ms Excel and duplicate the Source Language column, save it with other name.

I think that to do that I will need to open in Excel and then go to Data, Text in Columns, right? Then, after replicating the text that needs to remain bilingual in a clean column, should I save the file again as a comma-delimited CSV?

Originally Posted by gentle

I think that to do that I will need to open in Excel and then go to Data, Text in Columns, right? Then, after replicating the text that needs to remain bilingual in a clean column, should I save the file again as a comma-delimited CSV?

Yes, you always use CSV format, never change it to xls/xlsx.