Detect and change Shapefile DBF attribute encoding, then export a repaired SHP package
Fast DBF encoding conversion for Shapefile packages
Local processing, no server uploads
Detect source encoding and preview converted attributes
Upload .shp/.dbf/.shx/.prj files or a ZIP package to detect and change DBF field encoding
Shapefile Encoding Repair fixes garbled Chinese and other non-Latin text in Shapefile DBF attribute tables. When a .dbf file was written in GBK, Big5, or a Windows code page and is opened as another encoding, field values turn into mojibake — this tool detects the source encoding automatically, converts the attributes to UTF-8, and exports a repaired Shapefile package.
It is a lifesaver when Chinese parcel names, street names, or administrative units display as random symbols in QGIS, ArcGIS, or web maps. Upload the .shp/.dbf/.shx/.prj files or a single ZIP, preview the original and repaired attributes side by side, and download a clean package. The detection and conversion run entirely in your browser.
Upload your Shapefile as a ZIP package or select the .shp, .dbf, .shx, and .prj files together; the tool auto-detects the DBF source encoding.
Confirm or override the detected source encoding and check the encoding preview, comparing the original garbled values with the repaired UTF-8 text.
Apply the encoding change and download the repaired Shapefile package with correctly encoded attributes.
AThe DBF attribute file stores text bytes in a specific encoding (commonly GBK or GB2312 for Chinese data), and a missing or wrong .cpg file makes GIS software guess incorrectly. Converting the attributes to UTF-8 with a correct encoding declaration makes them readable in every tool.
AThe tool samples the beginning of the DBF file and analyzes the byte patterns to identify the most likely encoding, defaulting to GBK when detection is inconclusive for Chinese data. You can always override the detected value manually if the preview still looks wrong.
AUpload either a ZIP containing the complete Shapefile or select the component files (.shp, .dbf, .shx, and optionally .prj) together. The .dbf file is required — it holds the attribute text — and the repair fails if no SHP file is found in the group.
ANo. Only the attribute text encoding is converted to UTF-8; geometries, field structure, and values in Latin characters are left untouched, so the repaired file is a drop-in replacement for the original.