Add your DBF file
Drop one or more .dbf files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
DBF to CSV
Converting a .dbf font to .csv repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop DBF files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting dBASE table to CSV table
Converting a .dbf font to .csv repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. A .dbf file is an xBase database table: a fixed-width binary table whose header describes every field's name, type, width and decimal places, followed by records of exactly that width. It is old, simple and still everywhere — most notably as the attribute half of an ESRI Shapefile.
A .csv file is a comma-separated values table: plain-text rows with commas between fields, optionally quoted. It is probably the most widely produced data format in existence, emitted by everything from banking portals to lab instruments. For this route the practical draw is supported by effectively every data tool ever written and human-readable and hand-editable in a pinch — balanced against no type information — Excel famously strips leading zeros and mangles dates on open, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert DBF to CSV?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .dbf, field names are capped at ten characters, which mangles descriptive columns. Switching to .csv buys you supported by effectively every data tool ever written, which is why it is the better fit for exports from databases, CRMs, and banking systems. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
DBF vs CSV at a glance
| Aspect | dBASE table (.dbf) | CSV table (.csv) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Lossless — every pixel or sample is preserved exactly | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss |
| How it stores data | a 32-byte file header records the version byte, last-update date, record count, header length and record length | fields containing commas, quotes, or newlines are wrapped in double quotes with embedded quotes doubled — the rule that breaks every naive split-on-comma parser |
| Strongest at | reading Shapefile attribute tables without GIS software | exports from databases, CRMs, and banking systems |
| Weak spot | field names are capped at ten characters, which mangles descriptive columns | no type information — Excel famously strips leading zeros and mangles dates on open |
Pick CSV as the output
Select .csv in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if CSV is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid CSV file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .csv extension.
DBF to CSV questions, answered
Will converting DBF to CSV lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — dbf is lossless-oriented and csv is text-oriented, so the question is structural fidelity. Text, ordering, and basic structure are preserved; complex layout, embedded objects, and styling beyond the target's model are simplified.
Is it private to convert DBF files here?
Yes — the .dbf file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the CSV file work?
Every spreadsheet, database, and programming language handles CSV, and browsers or text editors open it as plain text. The catch is dialect drift: delimiter, encoding, and quoting choices differ enough that robust importers always offer manual overrides.
Will the CSV file be bigger or smaller than my DBF?
It depends on the content: fields containing commas, quotes, or newlines are wrapped in double quotes with embedded quotes doubled — the rule that breaks every naive split-on-comma parser. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my DBF file?
In .dbf, field names, types, widths and decimal counts are read from the header and reported; the last-update date and code page are surfaced as warnings where they matter. Re-encoding through the browser pipeline does not carry embedded metadata into the output, which doubles as a privacy scrub — check the exported file if you specifically need tags preserved.