Why is the Data Import Wizard failing?

Environment:

February 2012, Data Import Wizard

Resolution:

If a comma-separated value (CSV) contact list was created and saved in Microsoft Excel as a spreadsheet, this process can sometimes alter a special character, such as an apostrophe, in the file. If Excel was the application where the CSV file was created, please try creating the CSV file from a text editor (instead of Excel). This will increase the likelihood that the characters will appear correctly in the text editor and save the file to CSV format with an extension of .csv in a way that will enable the import to be successful.  This can also be done in Excel by saving with a .csv extension.  In any case, the encoding option you use in Excel or another program to create the CSV will need to match the encoding you choose for the import.  For example, if you are using UTF-8 in Oracle RightNow CX, then please confirm you have chosen UTF-8 in the application you are creating the .csv file with.

Notes:

If you are using the Data Import Wizard, the File Encoding field is the first field on the second page. Each time you perform an import, you will need to specify the correct encoding through this field.

According to Answer ID 134: Importing or exporting odd characters in .csv files

"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.

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."