Text Cleanup Tools › Characters and symbols
Fix Smart Quotes
Replace curly quotation marks with plain straight ones so text works in code, spreadsheets and plain-text systems.
Processed on your device. Nothing is uploaded or stored on a server.
How it works
- Paste text copied from Word, a web page or a chat.
- Decide whether dashes and ellipses should be replaced too.
- Copy the plain version.
Example
“It’s fine,” she said — ‘almost’ done…
"It's fine," she said - 'almost' done...
What this tool does
Word processors and many apps turn straight quotes into curly ones automatically. Those curly characters break code, JSON, SQL and some CSV imports, and they look odd in monospaced text. This tool swaps single and double curly quotes, including the low and high variants used in some languages, for the straight ASCII versions. With the dash option on, en and em dashes become a hyphen and the ellipsis character becomes three full stops. Typography is lost in the process, so keep the original if you will publish it.
Common problems
My code still shows an error
Check for other look-alike characters such as non-breaking spaces and zero-width characters.
German or French quote styles stayed
Guillemets like « » are not converted, only curly single and double quotes.
Questions
Why are curly quotes a problem in code?
Programming languages expect straight quotes. Curly ones are different characters and cause syntax errors.
Does it turn straight quotes into curly ones?
No. It goes one way only: curly to straight.
Does it fix apostrophes?
Yes, curly apostrophes become straight ones.
Related tools
Last reviewed 2026-10-14.