SpitFire Help Desk

This article refers to common import issues using SpitFireX or SPD Pro (MySQL).

A common issue when trying to import a new list is that when the import results come up, you may see 0 records imported or a number that is much lower than the actual number of records in the csv or text file you are using.



This can be because of several reasons but all have to do with something in the list format that breaks the import query used in Listmaker Pro.

1. Make sure that any files you import do not have any punctuation in the name or in the name of the folder(s) the file resides in. For example, a list name like new numbers.csv is ok. However, new number's.csv is not ok. That apostrophe will break the import query.

2. If you have more than one dialer that is connecting to a database server, you must always import data that is on the database server's hard drive or drives that are physically attached to the database server.

3. Make sure that the file you are importing is on the Dialer's hard drive or a disk drive that is physically attached to the Dialer and not on a shared network drive.

4. The csv or text file that you are importing should not contain any back-slashes(\). Sometimes the file will have other characters that cause problems as well. If you open the file in Notepad and see small squares between some of the fields, like this:

 
This would be a problem. You can resolve that by opening the file in Wordpad (Not Notepad) and then saving it. Wordpad will strip out those forbidden characters.

5. The csv or text file that you are importing should have the same number of columns for every record. 
If the first record has 14 fields or columns, every record after it should have the same number or it will cause the Import query to fail. The best way to fix this is to open the file in Excel, copy a column that has data all the way down and paste it after the last column with any data in it. This will ensure that every record has the same number of fields.


Using Total Records Read to Find Format Problems in a Text or CSV File

For issues 4 and 5 above, often the Import Results will show a number of Total Records Read that is lower than what you know is actually in the csv or text file. In the example below, we have tried to import a list of 4 records but it only read and imported 3.



By looking at the Total Records Read result, we can see where the import query was blocked at record 3 and did not read the 4th record.
Using this result, we can then search for that record in the text or CSV file to find the problem in the formatting. In this case, the issue would be with record 3 or the record just after it.

1. To search for records in a text file or csv by record/line number, we can open the file in Notepad and press CTRL+G.




2. Now put in the number that corresponds with the point at which the Import stopped. In this case, it would be 3.




3. Now, if we look at that record we can see that it has one fewer fields than the records before an after it.

 

This would cause the import query to stop at that point.

You can also use this method in combination with a Search and Replace to remove any backslashes that are causing the import to fail.






Making Sure The Last Column Has Data For Every Record

The best way to fix the issue of missing data on the last column (especially if there are records throughout the file with the same issue) would be to open the file in Excel and copy and paste a column after the last column that has any data in it.
By using a column that has data in it for every record as the last column in the file, this insures that every record has the same number of columns or fields.

Here are the steps you would take in Excel to copy and paste a column:

1. Open the file in Excel and find a column that has data for every row.



In the example above, we could use the Zipcode column (G).

Note: If there is not a column that has data for every row, you can create one by typing a number in the first cell of the first empty column and dragging it down.

2. Then we right-click on the G column and click Copy.




3. Next, right-click on the first column that has no data in it and click Paste.




And here you can see the last column has data for every row now.




Finally, one last issue that can cause Import Results to be incrorrect is not closing out of ListMaker Pro between file imports. Always close and reopen Listmaker Pro to clear the cache settings that had been in use for the previous import.