Convert Tabs to Commas
Tab-delimited in, comma-separated out. This is what you need after copying a row of spreadsheet cells.
Examples
| Input | Output | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Q1⇥120⇥340 |
Q1, 120, 340 |
| Realistic | 2026-01⇥4820⇥12.4% |
2026-01, 4820, 12.4% |
Why convert this way
Every spreadsheet copies as tab-delimited. Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers — copy a row and your clipboard holds tabs. Converting to commas is the bridge between the spreadsheet and anything that expects CSV.
When you will need it
- A row of cells copied out of a spreadsheet
- A
.txtexport that is secretly tab-delimited - Log output from a tool that uses tabs between fields
- Pasting into a CSV import that will not accept tabs
What the settings do here
- Split on tab — the tool reads
Q1⇥120⇥340as 3 separate items. - Join with ,
— producing
Q1, 120, 340.
Where this comes up
This is the conversion nobody plans for. You copy a row of cells to check something, paste it somewhere expecting commas, and get a wall of text that looks unseparated because tabs render as whitespace.
Related conversions
Going the other way, or joining with something else entirely? The delimiter converter accepts any split and join pair including custom separators, and the index has the 16 ready-made ones.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert tab-delimited text to comma-separated?
Split on tab and join with a comma. Tab-delimited is what you get from copying a row of spreadsheet cells, so this is usually the step straight after pasting.
Why does splitting on tab appear to do nothing?
The file is probably using runs of spaces rather than real tab characters, which look identical on screen. Split on space instead, or normalise the whitespace first.