Skip Navigation
Expand
Importing or exporting odd characters in .csv files
Answer ID 134   |   Last Review Date 07/11/2022

Can the comma separated value (CSV) import/export utility handle special characters like tildes, square brackets, quoted strings, and vertical pipes, when importing or exporting text files?

Environment:

Data Import Wizard
Oracle B2C Service

Resolution:

CSV handles all of these different characters when it imports or exports in that format. The CSV file uses quotes to identify the beginning and end of a field.

Quotes:
When importing, if quotes exist in the body text, then there needs to be an additional set of quotes surrounding that text. In other words, double quotes are necessary so that the import utility does not treat the quoted text as an additional field. This acts as a comment for the quotes so that it is not treated as a new field in the CSV file.

Pound Sign (#):
When importing, lines beginning with a pound sign (#) are treated as comments and the import wizard will ignore them.


For additional information, refer to the 'How Data Import Works' section in the Online Help User Guide documentation. To access Oracle B2C Service manuals and documentation online, refer to the Documentation for Oracle B2C Service Products.