Add your RIS file
Drop one or more .ris 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.
RIS to CSV
Converting a .ris 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 RIS 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 Research Information Systems citation to CSV table
Converting a .ris font to .csv repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. A .ris file is a citation list in a strict tagged format: every line begins with a two-character tag, then exactly two spaces, a hyphen and a space, then the value. A record starts with TY and ends with ER, and that rigidity is why it interoperates so reliably.
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 RIS to CSV?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .ris, tag vocabulary varies by vendor, so some fields are lost in transit. 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.
RIS vs CSV at a glance
| Aspect | Research Information Systems citation (.ris) | CSV table (.csv) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss |
| How it stores data | the tag column is fixed width: two characters, two spaces, a hyphen, a space. A single space instead of two is the most common export bug, and strict readers reject it | 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 | importing search results from PubMed, Scopus or Web of Science into a reference manager | exports from databases, CRMs, and banking systems |
| Weak spot | tag vocabulary varies by vendor, so some fields are lost in transit | 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.
RIS to CSV questions, answered
Will converting RIS to CSV lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — ris is text-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 RIS files here?
Yes — the .ris 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 RIS?
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 RIS file?
In .ris, core bibliographic tags are preserved; vendor-specific tags outside the shared model are dropped and the page says so. 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.