Spreadsheet imports often fail because the file is not being split the way the target system expects. A file may be called CSV but use tabs. Another export may use semicolons because of regional settings. A pasted sample may look aligned in a spreadsheet but collapse into one column when parsed with the wrong delimiter.
That is the practical difference behind TSV vs CSV delimiter problems. The important question is not only what the file extension says. It is how the rows are actually separated. Converty’s CSV Validator helps by detecting delimiters and showing a parsed preview before the import system becomes the first place you discover the issue.
CSV and TSV are both delimiter-based formats
CSV usually means comma-separated values. TSV means tab-separated values. Both store rows as text and separate fields with a delimiter.
The problem is that real exports are not always cleanly labeled. A spreadsheet may save a file with commas, tabs, or semicolons depending on the export path and locale. A system that assumes commas can misread a tab-separated file as one wide field. A system that assumes tabs can fail to split comma-separated rows.
Delimiter problems look like data problems
When the delimiter is wrong, everything downstream looks broken:
- headers appear as one combined column
- row lengths do not match
- fields shift into the wrong columns
- required columns seem missing
- imports report confusing validation errors
The file may not be bad. It may simply be parsed with the wrong separator.
Inspect the parsed preview before import
The safest workflow is to inspect the structure before upload or import.
- Open the CSV Validator.
- Paste the rows or upload the file.
- Review the detected delimiter.
- Confirm that the header row splits into the expected columns.
- Check the parsed preview against the source spreadsheet.
- Fix the export or delimiter expectation before sending the file downstream.
This keeps delimiter debugging close to the file rather than inside the target system.
Header validation depends on delimiter validation
Header row problems and delimiter problems are connected. If the delimiter is wrong, the header row cannot be trusted. A duplicate or missing column warning may be a real header issue, or it may be a sign that the parser never split the row correctly.
For header-specific guidance, read How to Validate a CSV Header Row Before Import. For the broader delimiter workflow, read How to Fix CSV Delimiter Problems Before an Import.
Open the CSV Validator before importing a spreadsheet export when TSV, CSV, semicolons, or pasted rows may not be using the delimiter your target system expects.
