Google Spreadsheets CSV Encoding not UTF-8?

Question

I was assuming that Google spreadsheet exports UTF-8 encoded CSVs. However, this does not seem to be the case — my German Umlauts, etc. (äüöß, etc.) are not recognized, i.e., when opening the file in XLS.

Here is an example file: Link

Answer 1

Actually, Google Sheets exports to CSV using UTF-8.

In Excel, instead of using double-click to open a CSV file, use the Text Import Wizard as it allows to select the "File origin".

On the "File Origin" field, select 65001: Unicode (UTF-8).

Answer 2

I question that Google is exporting CSVs as UTF-8. I exported a sheet as csv and ran the following bash command:

file -I "file_name.csv" 

and it returns...

file_name.csv: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Not sure if it matters, but used a Chrome browser for this.