Why is my CSV file not importing?

If you’re experiencing issues importing a CSV (whether for adding Members or Activities to your workspaces), we compiled a list of common issues with CSV files (and accompanying fixes).

CSV file is not UTF-8 encoded

The issue: Orbit expects uploaded CSVs to be UTF-8 encoded, but some spreadsheet software (most notably MS Excel) suggest a different encoding by default.

The fix: When exporting your CSV file from a spreadsheet software, look for a “Text encoding” option. In the dropdown, select “Unicode (UTF-8)” and re-export your file.

CSV file has an extra empty row at the top

The issue: Orbit expects the first row of the CSV file to be the headers. It can happen that spreadsheet software adds an empty first row in the exported CSV, leading to an error.

The fix: Open the CSV file with a text editor (or a code editor) and check that the first line is not empty. If it is, delete that row from inside your spreadsheet software and re-export the CSV file.

CSV file is semicolon-separated, instead of comma-separated

The issue: In some countries, like France, the usual separator for CSVs is a semicolon, not a comma (even though CSV stands for Comma-Separated Values, I know 😅). When that’s the case, Orbit will not be able to process the file.

The fix: Some spreadsheet software have an option to force the separator to be a comma. For others (like macOS’s Numbers), this is not possible. What we suggest then is either to use another editor if you have one handy (Google Spreadsheets, MS Excel, or LibreOffice) or to change the locale of your current one to en-US.

CSV file is using decimal separators other than a period

The issue: In some countries, like France, the decimal separator is a comma instead of a period (e.g. “12,45” instead of “12.45”), which can lead to structural issues in the file (as the comma is the expected CSV separator).

The fix: Some spreadsheet software have an option to force the decimal separator to be a period. For others (like macOS’s Numbers), this is not possible. What we suggest then is either to use another editor if you have one handy (Google Spreadsheet, MS Excel, or LibreOffice) or to change the locale of your current one to en-US.