FAQ & Troubleshooting

Opening files

My file opened all jumbled into one column.

Smart CSV Editor guessed the wrong field separator. Tap Adjust on the post-open notice (or More ••• → Re-open With Settings) and pick the right separator — Comma, Semicolon, Tab, Pipe, or Space. The live preview shows the fix before you apply it. See Re-opening with custom settings.

The text has weird / garbled characters.

That's a text encoding mismatch. Use Re-open With Settings → Text Encoding and try a different encoding (UTF-8 and Windows 1252 are the most common). The preview updates as you try each one.

Smart CSV Editor doesn't appear when I try to open a file from another app.

Make sure the file is a .csv or .tsv. From the share sheet choose Open with… → Smart CSV Editor, or in Files long-press the file → Share → Smart CSV Editor. See Opening from another app.

Editing

How do I edit a cell?

Tap the cell to select it, then tap it again to start typing. Press return to commit and move to the cell below. See Editing Data.

Editing across a wide table is tedious.

Use the row form: while editing a cell, tap the expand icon at the right edge of the cell to open a form with every column of that row stacked vertically. Swipe left/right to move between rows. See Editing a whole row.

How do I copy several cells at once?

Select a range (drag the corner handle), then long-press a cell inside it → Copy. It's copied in a tab/newline layout that pastes cleanly into any spreadsheet. See Copying cells.

I don't want to delete a row, just empty it.

Use Clear Contents (long-press → Clear Contents) to empty cells while keeping the rows and columns. Delete removes them entirely. See Clearing cells.

I made a mistake.

Tap Undo in the toolbar. Redo re-applies it. Almost every action is undoable.

Columns & display

How do I make a column show checkboxes / stars / currency?

Long-press the column header → Column Type and pick a type. See Column Types.

My numbers show too many decimals.

Long-press the column header → Decimals and choose a fixed number of places (e.g. 2). This is display-only and doesn't change your data. See Number formatting.

The wrong currency symbol is showing.

Set the column's currency (column header → Currency), or change the app-wide Default Currency in Settings.

I hid a column by accident.

More ••• → Show All Columns, or More ••• → Manage Columns to toggle individual ones. Hidden columns keep their data. See Hiding and showing columns.

Large files

The app only shows the first 100 rows.

That's the free-tier limit. Your file is complete and safe — only viewing/editing beyond row 100 is locked. Upgrade to Pro to work with every row.

How do I jump to a specific row?

Bottom bar → Go to Row, type the number, tap Go. See Go to Row.

Charts

The Chart button has a lock on it.

Charts are a Pro feature. Tap the button to see upgrade options.

My chart is empty or says 'select numeric cells'.

A chart needs numeric columns. Select cells that contain numbers, or adjust the Values option to pick numeric columns. A pie chart also needs positive values. See Creating Charts.

Language

What languages does Smart CSV Editor support?

English, Japanese, German, French, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, and Dutch. The app follows your device's language automatically — see Language for how to pick a different one than your device's default.

Data & privacy

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No. Smart CSV Editor does everything on your device — files are read, edited, and saved locally, nothing is sent to a server.

Does Smart CSV Editor change my file's raw values when it saves?

No. Column types and formatting are display-only; your underlying values are stored as plain CSV, untouched. Smart CSV Editor only adds small #csv: comment lines at the top to remember your settings. See File Formats & Saving.

Will my file still open in Excel / Numbers / Google Sheets?

Yes — it's standard CSV/TSV. Those apps may show the #csv: setting lines as an extra comment row you can ignore or delete.