Fixed Width Text to CSV Converter
Turn fixed-width or fixed-length text — columns aligned by spaces rather than a delimiter — into clean CSV. Auto-detect the column boundaries or set exact widths, preview the split, and export.
A live table preview of your data appears here.
Leave Column widths blank to auto-detect, or type widths like 10 8 12 to set them exactly.
Convert fixed-width text to CSV
Fixed-width files line up data by character position instead of a delimiter — common in banking, mainframe and legacy report exports. To convert fixed width text to CSV, the tool slices each line at the right positions and writes proper comma-separated values.
Paste or upload the text. Leave Column widths empty and the converter detects boundaries by finding the positions that are blank in every row; or enter the widths yourself (for example 10 8 12) for full control. The live preview shows the resulting columns immediately.
If your data is actually separated by a character, use delimited text to CSV. For the reverse, see CSV to fixed width.
How to use it
Paste or upload
Add your text or drop a file — it is read locally in your browser, never uploaded.
Preview & adjust
Check the live table and the row / column counts, then tweak the delimiter or options if a column looks off.
Copy or download
Grab the result with Copy or Download. You can reopen recent conversions from this device too.
Input and output example
Space-aligned fixed-width columns parsed into CSV (widths auto-detected).
name city
Ada NY
Lin LAname,city
Ada,NY
Lin,LADefining columns precisely
Auto-detection covers most files; explicit widths handle the tricky ones.
Auto-detecting column boundaries
With Column widths blank, the parser scans your rows and marks every character column that is a space in all of them as a gap, then treats the runs between gaps as fields. This works well when columns are cleanly separated by at least one space.
Setting exact widths
When values touch or a column can be blank, auto-detection may guess wrong. Enter the widths directly — 10 8 12 means the first field is 10 characters, the next 8, then 12, with anything left over forming a final column. Use a 0 to capture the remainder of the line.
Trimming and empty fields
Each sliced field is trimmed of surrounding spaces, so padded values come out clean. Blank positions become empty CSV cells rather than disappearing, keeping every row the same width.
Verifying with the preview
The table preview and the column-count indicator make it obvious when a width is off — misaligned data shows up immediately, so you can adjust the widths before exporting.
Tips and edge cases
- Count characters in a header row to work out exact widths quickly.
- A trailing
0width captures everything remaining on the line. - If fields run together with no gap, explicit widths are the only reliable option.
Why fixed-width files still exist
Fixed-width feeds persist in finance, government and older enterprise systems because they are unambiguous: every field has a known position. Converting them to CSV makes the same data usable in modern tools without rewriting the source. When a specification lists exact field widths, enter them directly for a perfect split; otherwise auto-detection is a fast first pass you can verify in the preview.
Fixed Width Text to CSV Converter — FAQ
How do I define column widths?
Type them in the Column widths box, separated by spaces, e.g. 10 8 12. Leave it blank to auto-detect.
How does auto-detection find fields?
It marks character positions that are blank in every row as gaps and treats the text between gaps as columns.
What if columns have no space between them?
Use explicit widths — auto-detection needs at least one space between columns.
Are surrounding spaces removed?
Yes, each field is trimmed so padded values come out clean.