Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Text to Excel Tools

ziyuPublished on: August 5, 2025
ExcelMistakesTipsConversion

Many people use text to Excel tools now. They want to change text into Excel files. It is fast. It is easy. But some people make mistakes. These mistakes make the Excel file look wrong. The table is broken. The format is gone.

In this blog, I will tell you the top 5 mistakes. I will also tell you how to fix them. After reading, you can use text to Excel convert tools better. Your Excel will look clean and good.

Mistake 1: Choosing the Wrong Separator

This is the most common mistake.

When you convert text to Excel, the tool asks: What is the separator? It can be:

  • Comma (,)
  • Tab (↹)
  • Space ( )
  • Semicolon (;)

If your text looks like this:

Name, Age, Country
Alice, 22, USA
Bob, 24, UK

You must choose Comma as the separator. If you choose Tab or Space, the result will be wrong. Everything will be in one cell.

Tip: Before you click convert, check how your text is separated.

Mistake 2: Mixing Different Separators

Sometimes, users mix commas and tabs. For example:

Name, Age    Country
Tom, 21    USA
Jane, 20    Canada

This is a bad idea. The tool will get confused. Your Excel will have broken rows or too many columns.

Tip: Always use only one kind of separator in your whole file. If you start with commas, keep using commas.

Mistake 3: Skipping the Preview

Some tools like TextToExcel.com have a Preview button. But people don't use it. They just click convert. Then the result is bad.

If you skip preview, you can't see the problems. You may download the wrong file.

Tip: Always click Preview first. Check rows and columns. Make sure it looks right. Then convert and download.

Using preview is a smart way to avoid bad results when using txt to excel tools.

Mistake 4: Uploading Messy Text

Bad text = bad Excel.

If your text has:

  • Extra spaces
  • Empty lines
  • Uneven data
  • Strange symbols

The result will not be good. Some rows will be empty. Some columns will not match.

Tip: Before you use a text to excel online tool, clean your text.

Use Notepad or any text editor. Remove extra spaces. Delete empty lines. Make all rows the same format.

A clean input will give you a clean output.

Mistake 5: Not Checking File Encoding

Some .txt files are saved in a bad format. They may use a different encoding like ANSI or UTF-16. If your file has strange symbols after converting, this may be the reason.

Tip: Save your file as UTF-8. Most online tools work best with this.

In Notepad, click "Save As" → choose "UTF-8" → then upload to the convert text to Excel tool.

Bonus Tips for Best Results

To help you even more, here are some extra tips when using text to Excel convert tools:

  • Use a fixed-width font like Courier when editing text.
  • Always keep one header row (like Name, Age, Country).
  • Don't add color or bold in the .txt file—it won't go into Excel.
  • Use TextToExcel.com if you want a free and simple tool.

Summary: Avoid These to Win

Let's quickly review the top 5 mistakes:

Mistake Why It's Bad How to Fix
Wrong separator Makes all data in one cell Pick the correct one
Mixed separators Breaks table format Use only one separator
No preview Can't see errors Always check before download
Messy text Extra spaces, empty lines Clean text before upload
Bad encoding Strange symbols appear Save as UTF-8

If you avoid these, your file will look great. Your data will be easy to use. And you will save time.

Final Words

Text to Excel tools are very helpful. But small mistakes can break your table. Now you know how to use them the right way.

Remember: Clean your text, choose the right separator, and preview your result.

Try a free tool like TextToExcel.com today. It is easy to use, and you don't lose your format. You can convert text to Excel in seconds.


Preventive checklist (print and keep)

  • Use a single delimiter for all rows (comma/tab/semicolon/space)
  • Always preview before downloading
  • Mark ID/ZIP columns as Text to keep leading zeros
  • Remove stray spaces and empty lines
  • Prefer .xlsx export for best fidelity

See also: Formatting guide and Beginner’s how‑to.

Ready to avoid these common mistakes? Try our reliable text to Excel converter that handles all these edge cases perfectly!

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