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Tax return import / export

Troubleshooting steps for import files

If you're experiencing issues with your CSV import file, follow these troubleshooting steps. You may need to download Microsoft Visual Studio Code, a free text editor, to complete these steps.

Issues involving data row values

Sometimes, an import file completes successfully, but data from one or 2 lines doesn't appear in the locator. Here are 3 common reasons for this:
  1. The line is missing from the import file.
  2. The line is blank instead of containing the desired value.
  3. The import file has a duplicate line, and the value for the 2nd line is blank. In this case, the desired value imports, but the blank value overwrites it, resulting in a blank value in the locator.
To resolve this, open the import file and identify the import field name for the line that didn't import. Use the
Find
 option to search for all instances of this field name. Ensure the field name appears the correct number of times and contains the desired information. Here's an example of case #3: 
"GENERAL INFORMATION","0","0","0","0","0","DOMESTIC ADDRESS LN 1","123 Street","O"
"GENERAL INFORMATION","0","0","0","0","0","DOMESTIC ADDRESS LN 1","","O"
Another issue could be that the system can't parse certain special characters. In Visual Studio Code, use the
Find
 feature and toggle the box with a square and an asterisk icon to enable
Find using Regular Expressions.
 Search for the following expression: 
[^!-~\s]
This is an expression enclosed in square brackets.
  • The caret symbol means “not” in regular expressions.
  • The exclamation point, hyphen, and tilde specifies a range of special characters starting with the exclamation point (ASCII 33) ending with the tilde (ASCII 126).
  • The backslash and letter S represents a space.
This range also includes all lowercase and capital letter letters and numbers. All these characters should import and render inside a locator without issue. This expression will find all characters that are not the aforementioned. If your import file includes any other special characters, create a separate import file with 1 line to test these special characters to verify they import and render successfully.

Issues involving file syntax

Import files often fail validation due to unintended empty lines, carriage returns, or problems with quotes.
  • Ensure all fields are enclosed in quotes and separated by commas. Avoid using quotes inside fields that let alphabetical characters.
  • Import files should not contain empty lines except for the last line. In Visual Studio Code, use the
    Find
     feature and toggle the box with a square and an asterisk icon to enable
    Find using Regular Expressions
    . Search for the following expression: 
    ^\s*$
Ensure there is only 1 empty line, and it is at the end of the file.
To find data rows unintentionally split by a carriage return, select all rows in your file using CTRL + A. Copy and paste these rows into a new Excel worksheet in cell B1. Copy the following formula into cell A1 and double-click the green square to apply the formula down to your last row: 
=IF(B1="",0,LEN(B1)-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(B1,",","")))
This formula checks that your data row is not null and then evaluates the total length of the data row minus the total length with all commas removed. A data row with 9 fields should contain 8 commas. Check for results with values less than 8.

This article applies to:

  • Product: GoSystem Tax RS
  • Subject: Export, Import
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