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Change Arbitrary Column Delimiter

Change one custom delimiter into another for flat delimited text.

Tool

Use this tool to change the delimiter in arbitrary delimited text. It is useful when converting pipe-separated, semicolon-separated, colon-separated, or other custom flat text into a different delimiter format.

About this tool

Use this tool to change the delimiter in arbitrary delimited text. It is useful when converting pipe-separated, semicolon-separated, colon-separated, or other custom flat text into a different delimiter format.

Use change arbitrary column delimiter when you need a fast browser-based result without extra setup. It works well for quick checks, one-off tasks, and routine formatting or calculation work.

Learn more

Why use this tool

How to use

  1. Put the current delimiter on line one
  2. Put the new delimiter on line two
  3. Leave a blank line
  4. Paste the delimited text below
  5. Run the tool to rewrite the separator

Examples

Example

Input

|
;

name|email|role
John|john@example.com|admin

Output

name;email;role
John;john@example.com;admin

Useful when converting between custom flat file styles.

Example

Input

;
,

name;email;role
John;john@example.com;admin

Output

name,email,role
John,john@example.com,admin

Good for normalizing custom-delimited text.

Common errors

Using more than one character for either delimiter

Fix: Use one character for the current delimiter and one for the new delimiter.

Choosing the wrong current delimiter

Fix: Check the input format carefully before converting.

Forgetting the blank line before the data body

Fix: Put the two delimiters first, then a blank line, then the data.

FAQ

What does Change Arbitrary Column Delimiter do?

It rewrites flat custom-delimited text using a new single-character delimiter.

Can I use comma, semicolon, pipe, or colon?

Yes. Any single character works.

Does it preserve line breaks?

Yes. It changes only the field separator and keeps the row structure.

What if I choose the wrong current delimiter?

The output will not split correctly, so check the source format first.

How is this different from Change CSV Delimiter?

This tool is for arbitrary custom-delimited text, not specifically CSV parsing.

Use cases

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