CSV Import
Using Import from CSV, you bring data from a spreadsheet file into an existing Grid.
Requirement: UTF-8
The file must be UTF-8 encoded
The CSV file must be created in UTF-8 format.
This is the most common source of errors. Depending on version and region, Excel does not automatically save CSV files as UTF-8 — the result is broken accented characters (Müller becomes Müller).
How to be sure:
- Excel: Save As → file type CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited)
- LibreOffice Calc: Save As → CSV → in the dialog, Character set: Unicode (UTF-8)
- Google Sheets: exporting as CSV is always UTF-8
If the format doesn't match, ApptiveGrid reports The file format is invalid.
Preparation
Check before importing
- Create target columns. The import writes into existing fields. Create any missing columns with the right type beforehand.
- Check flows. If a flow with the New entry trigger is attached to this Grid, it starts for every imported row. With 500 rows, that's 500 emails going out. Turn the flow off beforehand, or import into an intermediate Grid.
- Mind the entry limit. The number of entries per Grid depends on your plan.
- Take a backup. Before importing into a populated Grid, do a CSV export first.
Process
The import walks you through four steps.
1 · Read CSV file
- Use Load file to choose the file.
- Header row? indicates whether the first row contains column names.
- Read CSV starts the analysis.
Afterward, you map the columns to each other. The table has two columns:
| Heading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Grid | The target column in ApptiveGrid |
| CSV | The source column from the file |
Set columns you don't want to bring over to Ignore.
A header row saves mapping work
With a header row, the mapping shows meaningful names instead of "Column 1," "Column 2." For more than five columns, that's a noticeable difference — and one less source of errors.
2 · Preview
Shows how the data would arrive.
Actually look here
The preview is your last chance before writing. Check in particular:
- Accented characters — broken means wrong encoding, cancel the import
- Dates — do they arrive as a date or as text?
- Numbers — is the decimal separator interpreted correctly?
- Select fields — do the values match the existing options?
Click Import data to start.
3 · Importing
Progress is shown: Importing {number} entries.
4 · Complete
Completion message: {Number} entries imported successfully.
Cross-check the number
Compare the reported number with the row count of your file. If they differ, rows were skipped — usually due to values that didn't fit.
Common issues
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
Müller instead of Müller | File isn't UTF-8. Re-save it, repeat the import. |
| The file format is invalid. | Not a valid CSV. Check the delimiter and encoding. |
| Unrecognized date format: {date} | Date format isn't readable. YYYY-MM-DD is the most reliable. |
| Numbers arrive as text | Target column is of type Text. Change the type first. |
| Select fields stay empty | The CSV values don't match any option. Create the options first, or enable Allow other options. |
| Fewer entries than rows | Rows with values that didn't fit were skipped. |
| Sudden flood of flow runs | A flow with New entry is attached to the Grid. |
A test run pays off
Start with ten rows
For larger datasets: copy the first ten rows into their own file and import that first. If the result looks right, import the rest — otherwise you'll be cleaning up ten rows instead of a thousand.
To clean up a botched import, bulk deletion helps; find the most recently imported entries by sorting on Created at.
What the import can't do
- Update existing entries. The import always creates new entries. There's no matching via a key column.
- Create links. References to other Grids can't be imported directly.
- Bring in files. Attachments have to be uploaded separately.