Eurostat's data validation systems expect files in formats such as CSV and SDMX-ML to be sent using UTF-8 encoding only (without BOM). If users send CSV or SDMX-ML datafiles with a different kind of encoding (including "UTF-8 with BOM"), they may thus receive a validation error report similar to the one in the screenshot below.
BOM is the acronym of "Byte Order Mark". It is a particular variant of the UTF-8 encoding. However, this variant is not supported by Eurostat's data validation systems.
In such cases, the provider will need to change the encoding of the file to UTF-8 and resubmit the file. The encoding can be changed using one of the two following approaches:
Approach 1
Open the file with a text editor like Notepad. Click on "Save as" and select "UTF-8" in the "Encoding" box upon saving. See screenshot below.
Approach 2
Open the file in Notepad++. In the "Encoding" menu of Notepad++, click on "UTF-8". Then save the file. Remark: if there is a black dot next to "UTF-8", it means that the format of the file is already correct.
