thread Re: Invalid character Row 17 in Archived Discussions (Read Only)

Inventory Import issues: invalid character Row 17. Can you help?

qtpykell — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 21:26:07 GMT

I am trying to upload my inventory with an excel .csv file and no matter what I do it keeps telling me I have 1 error: invalid character in row 17. I have deleted Row 17 and row 18, tried downloading a new template and copy paste my data after deleting those rows, moved data out of these rows and no matter what i do i am still getting this error message. I have deleted cache as well. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 19:11:29 GMT

@qtpykell - Sorry to hear about the trouble getting your items imported! This is supposed to be the easy part. In order to figure out what is going on, I'll need to take a look at your .CSV. Since you can't share files over the Seller Community, I sent you an email. Once I hear back from you - I'd be happy to follow up. Thanks!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

allipetersen — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 23:08:49 GMT

I am getting this same message!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:50:41 GMT

@allipetersen - Sorry to hear! Have you already tried starting with a fresh .CSV template and pasting over the details you already filled out?

Re: Invalid character Row 17

qtpykell — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 04:39:22 GMT

Yes, retried a couple times, even took out row 17, pasted everywhere but row 17 and deleted row 17. Nothing worked

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 23:15:43 GMT

@qtpykell - I got your spreadsheet, and took a look at row: 282, column: G and I noticed that you input a negative number. We don't currently allow for negative item values, this is why you're unable to import as is. If you removed this row, you should be able to get the rest of the items imported. Hope this helps!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

allipetersen — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 19:50:58 GMT

Yes, I have tried that several times, andit is still giving me the same message.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 21:14:56 GMT

@allipetersen - I'd love to take a look at your .CSV. Please reply to my email with that file at your earliest convenience.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

qtpykell — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 03:57:45 GMT

@Sean - tried taking out row 282, still get same error message pointing to Row 17.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

qtpykell — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 20:42:01 GMT

Any other advice? tried taking out row 282, still get same error message pointing to Row 17.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 16:57:54 GMT

@qtpykell - Apologies for the delay. I'll take a closer look and try to import your .CSV this morning, and then follow up with you.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 19:35:21 GMT

@allipetersen - Apologies for the delay with your .CSV. I received it and imported it with out any issues. It seems like the issue must have been with your web browser. Hope this helps!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Fri, 18 Nov 2016 20:04:43 GMT

@qtpykell - Thanks for your patience during this process. Once I removed three items from your spreadsheet with negative values (Colored Pencils - Freebies - -0.01, Markers - Freebies -0.01, & Noisy Diggers -0.01) I had no issues importing your spreadsheet. Looks like we just missed a few. 🙂

Re: Invalid character Row 17

allipetersen — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 15:13:41 GMT

Oh wow! Thanks! I was using Safari, but maybe Chrome would have helped. I appreciate your help.

Re: Inventory Import issues: invalid character Row 17. Can you help?

Tad1 — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 00:52:15 GMT

I am experiencing a problem with importing a new inventory file. We exported the existing inventory file, downloaded the new template and then made sure that the new file matched the template. When we try to confirm the import we get the following message:

"Item names are required. Please update item names and try again."

We have a full column of item names. Some of the item names contain colons, dashes, ampersands and front-slashes. Are these characters not readable and breaking the import?

Here is my email address so that I can send you an example of the file we are trying to import.

[Personal information removed]

Thanks,

Tad

Re: Inventory Import issues: invalid character Row 17. Can you help?

Spenser — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 00:54:01 GMT

We'd be happy to take a look with you, @Tad1. I removed your email address here since the Community is a public forum, but contact our Support team directly and we can take a look at the file.

Head to our Contact page to get started. Sign in, browse the topics, and click "I still need help" if you'd like to send us an email or call us.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Re: Invalid character Row 17

TWG — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 14:13:13 GMT

Is there a fix that doesn't involve square support requesting csv file from user and importing in house with assurance problem shouldn't happen again? I received the same error message 6 days ago, was told there was a problem with one of the values in my token column and that I shouldn't have any problems going forward. I made minor changes to the csv file today and received the same import error message referencing row 17.

What's the recommended browser? Is the problem so random that only a square rep can solve by requesting the csv file and trying this and that method on a case by case basis? I'd prefer a clearly written comprehensive fix posted in this forum so that I won't have to rely upon square tech support. It's not that I don't appreciate the help. I do very much. But I feel like square wants to push users to this community forum which appears to be moderated by a square employee (correct?). If the fix can only be handled in house, we may as well all call square support.

BTW - I read the square support page re: importing items and am unclear how to modify my items using my csv file after the first import. If I've added items from the square terminal, do I need to export the csv to my computer if I want to make additional changes using excel? Or, can I make changes to the last version of my csv file (before items were added on the terminal) and import choosing the modify option. It seems to me I should be able to do the latter given that I am "modifying" and not replacing. Please confirm.

Thanks.

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 16:57:45 GMT

@TWG - There isn't any special sort of way that we import the .CSV. If you've sent it in before and it worked for the supporter, I do imagine that this is browser related. This definitely shouldn't be happening on a regular basis. As for a browser recommendation, we generally use the latest version of Google Chrome. What browser are you using? Have you tried switching?

Re: Invalid character Row 17

TWG — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 05:28:16 GMT

I was using Firefox. I just dowloaded Chrome, tried to import/modify and got the same error message.

Could you answer my "BTW" question? Still unclear after the first import how to import/modify using the original csv file. I tend to make change in the App in the shop and on my computer (direclty to the csv file) when at home.

If you have any suggestions on jhow to troubleshoot the error message, please advise.

Thanks,

Dave

Re: Invalid character Row 17

Sean — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 14:25:26 GMT

@TWG - Sorry I missed that part! You'll want to download a new .CSV each time you'd like to make changes to your item library. If you added items in the app, they'll automatically sync to your dashboard and be included in your newest .CSV. If you just want to add new items to your library, just select "Modify Item Library." This option won't create duplicates if they already exist in your library. It will just add new items. Can you try again with a fresh .CSV export template?