MS Project cannot open CSV in UTF-8 or ANSI encoding (only works with UTF-16 LE)

Question

MS Project cannot open CSV in UTF-8 or ANSI encoding (only works with UTF-16 LE)

Yuliia Prokopenko 20

After the recent updates of Microsoft Project, the application stopped parsing CSV files encoded in ANSI or UTF-8.

In previous versions of MS Project, these files opened and imported correctly.

In the current version(2509 Build 16.0.19231.20138), the Import Wizard shows the structure of the CSV file correctly (columns, headers, preview rows). The delimiter and encoding are recognized properly, and the preview data is visible.

However, after finishing the import, the project remains empty unless the file is saved in UTF-16 LE encoding.

This indicates that the issue is not with the file format, delimiters, or user actions, but with the internal parser of the new MS Project version.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

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Answer 1

Huy-K 13,985 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Yuliia Prokopenko,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

We apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter when using our services/ products. Based on your description, kindly try these workaround steps:Use XML instead of CSV for this run- Project’s Export/Import Wizards support XML, and UTF‑8 XML avoids these CSV encoding pitfalls.

Update Project to a newer 2509 build (or roll forward).

If you’re on 19231.20138, try moving to 19231.20194 or 19231.20216 via Office Updates (File > Account > Update Options > Update Now). These are the next Current Channel builds and may contain unlisted fixes. Update history for Microsoft 365 Apps (listed by date) - Office release notes | Microsoft Learn

Temporarily roll back to 2508

If the issue began after 2509, you can revert to a prior build of Microsoft 365 Apps / Project using the Office Deployment Tool and a targeted version (e.g., 2508). Use the “update history” table to pick a specific build, then install with ODT. How to revert to an earlier version of Office - Microsoft Support

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Yuliia Prokopenko 20 Reputation points

2025-10-30T22:17:43.33+00:00

Dear @Huy-K ,

Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, the suggested workarounds are not feasible in our case:

Switching to XML is not acceptable, as our applications and integrations are built around CSV format.

I have already updated to the latest available build, but the issue still persists.

Rolling back to a previous build is also not a suitable long-term solution for us.

From our investigation, the problem seems to have started approximately with version 2508. CSV files in UTF-8/ANSI encoding preview correctly in the Import Wizard, but the data is not imported into the project.

Could you please confirm if restoring support for UTF-8/ANSI CSV import is planned for future releases of Microsoft Project, or if this behavior is considered “by design”?

Thank you.
Huy-K 13,985 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-10-31T00:35:44.29+00:00

Dear @Yuliia Prokopenko,

Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this issue has caused your team.

We also wish to clarify our role and the information currently available. We serve as Q&A community moderators and therefore do not have access to internal engineering plans or unpublished roadmap details. Based on publicly available sources at this time, the Microsoft 365 Roadmap does not list any feature in development or rolling out to restore UTF‑8/ANSI CSV import support in Microsoft Project.

Regrettably, we cannot provide confirmation beyond what is published publicly. For official updates, we recommend monitoring these Microsoft channels and sharing impact details through the feedback portal so the product team can assess priority: Project · Community.

Thank you for your understanding, and again, we apologize for the disruption this has caused. If helpful, we can provide suggested wording for a feedback submission that outlines your scenario and business impact.