Convert Single-Quote Delimited Data
Use single quotes instead of double quotes for field quoting. Learn when single-quote delimiting is appropriate and how to configure it.
Detailed Explanation
Single-Quote Delimited Data
While RFC 4180 specifies double quotes as the standard quoting character for CSV, some systems and tools use single quotes instead. The TSV/CSV converter supports both quote styles through the Quote Character option.
Example: Single-Quoted CSV Input
Name,Description,Category
'Widget, Standard','A basic widget',Hardware
'Gadget, Pro','The ''premium'' gadget',Electronics
'Cable','6'' extension',Accessories
Converted to TSV (with single quotes)
Name Description Category
Widget, Standard A basic widget Hardware
Gadget, Pro The 'premium' gadget Electronics
Cable 6' extension Accessories
When to Use Single Quotes
Single-quote delimited files are commonly found in:
- SQL exports: Some database tools export CSV with single quotes to match SQL string literal syntax
- Programming contexts: Languages like Python and JavaScript use single quotes for strings
- Legacy systems: Older mainframe and ERP systems sometimes use non-standard quoting
- Mixed-content data: When data frequently contains double quotes but rarely contains single quotes
Escaping With Single Quotes
The escaping rule is the same regardless of quote character: the quote character is doubled to represent a literal occurrence within a quoted field. With single quotes, '' represents a literal single quote.
Switching Between Quote Styles
You can use this tool to convert between quote styles by:
- Loading data with the original quote style selected
- Changing the quote character option
- The output will use the new quote style with proper escaping
Use Case
Working with data from SQL database exports, legacy systems, or tools that use single-quote quoting conventions, and converting them to standard double-quoted CSV for broader compatibility.