Data-driven unit testing - Problem with CSV encoding?

Question

I have the following CSV file that is used in my data-driven unit test:

File;expected
Resources.resx;default
Resources.de.resx;de
AttachmentDetail.ascx.it.resx;it
SomeOtherFile.rm-CH.resx;rm-CH

"File" and "expected" are the header. But if I want to get the "File"-column in the code like

TestContext.DataRow["File"].ToString();

I get the error

System.ArgumentException: Column 'File' does not belong to table ..

When I add the CSV file to an existing test-case over the test-method properties, it seems as if the "File"-column has some strange signs before its name, much like an encoding problem. But if I open the CSV file with Notepad, Notepad++ or even TextMate (on Mac) I don't see any such signs and I'm not able to get rid of them.

Can someone give me a suggestion about this problem?

Answer 1

If you edit the CSV file in the VS2008 you can set the way the CSV file will be saved:

"File\Advanced Save Options..."

In the "Encoding:" drop down the default will be UTF-8. Change it to "Wester European (DOS) - Codepage 850". Leave the Line endings selection alone.