The only "easy way" of doing this is as follows. First, realize that there is a difference between what is displayed and what is kept hidden in the Excel .csv file.
- Open an Excel file where you have the info (.xls, .xlsx)
- In Excel, choose "CSV (Comma Delimited) (*.csv) as the file type and save as that type.
- In NOTEPAD (found under "Programs" and then Accessories in Start menu), open the saved .csv file in Notepad
- Then choose -> Save As... and at the bottom of the "save as" box, there is a select box labelled as "Encoding". Select UTF-8 (do NOT use ANSI or you lose all accents etc). After selecting UTF-8, then save the file to a slightly different file name from the original.
This file is in UTF-8 and retains all characters and accents and can be imported, for example, into MySQL and other database programs.
This answer is taken from this forum.
