There are a couple of locations in the Alchemer application where you might need to upload a spreadsheet of information, e.g. Email Campaign Contacts, Login/Password actions, etc. The following file formats are accepted in all locations in the application with the exception of the Data Import Tool, which requires a CSV format: .csv, .xls, .xlsx.
General Upload Issues
- If you are running into trouble with a CSV file and are using a European version of Windows, sometimes semicolons are used in place of commas as the delimiter. If this is the case, the easiest way to fix this is to upload an .xls or xlsx .file or you can convert your file to use commas instead of to fix the problem!
- If, when mapping your file, your spreadsheet fields are showing as blank make sure that you do not have any strange characters in your spreadsheet. Things like <mailto:xyz@email.com> can cause the mapping dropdowns to show up blank.
- All column headers and cells must be plain text. Check your spreadsheet for formulas and remove these before uploading.
Email Campaign Contacts
- If you have previously uploaded the contact you will not be able to upload that contact second time; this includes deleted (aka removed) contacts. If you wish to add a contact a second time select the option to allow duplicates or copy your email campaign and upload your contacts in the new campaign.
- If your email address is not valid or has previously bounced you will not be able to upload the contact. Learn more in the Invalid Emails Tutorial.
Learn more about common import errors in our Import Log Tutorial.
e sure to take advantage of the Upload Error Log within Email Campaigns. When your contacts are uploaded they will display under the Contacts step of your Email Campaign. A total count of successful contacts uploaded will display at the top. If there were any errors when uploading your file this will be listed in a warning message. Click View Upload Error Log to get more details about upload errors.
Data Import Tool: Import Errors
If you are uploading via the Data Import Tool take advantage of the option to View Import Errors.
Unless you are importing data into an identical survey, you'll likely get a few errors the first time. Importing data often requires several attempts before all fields are properly imported.
If you have either a large number of responses and/or questions, we recommend using the option to Stop import on first error option to save yourself some time in the debugging process. Using this option are quickly alerted to an error that you can then correct in the file or the survey before re-attempting the data import.
Below are the two most common errors that might result from an import attempt and the suggested action to take to fix the error:
| ERROR | DESCRIPTION | SUGGESTED ACTIONS |
|---|---|---|
| [Error:nomatch] | Displays when the values in the data file do not match the reporting values in the survey | Correct the values in the import file to match the reporting values in your survey OR Correct the reporting values in the survey to match the values in your import file |
| [Error:validation] | Displays when using the Use question validation import option. Any data that fails question validation will not be imported, however the rest of the response will be imported (unless used in combination with the Do not import response on field errors import option). | Correct values in import file to meet question validation in the survey OR Turn off the Use question validation option |
