Importing Data with Special Characters

Why are there diamond question mark symbols (�) in my imported data?

Due to how Microsoft Excel encodes text when exporting to a CSV (Comma-separated value) format, importing data containing special characters, such as accented letters (e.g. å, è, í, ô, ü) or non-Latin script (e.g. Greek, Cyrillic, East Asian script), can result in display issues in NeonCRM.

Incorrect:

Correct:

If your data contains special characters, follow the steps below to change the character encoding of your CSV file prior to import into NeonCRM. You will use three tools: Excel, Notepad, and NeonCRM.

Exporting from Excel on Windows

In Excel

1. Save your data file by clicking File Save As.
2. In the Save As menu, select CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv) under the the Save as type dropdown menu.
3. Click Save.
4. Close Excel

In Notepad

5. Find your saved CSV file.
6. Right-click on the file and click Open with  Notepad.
7. Notepad will open with your data in a comma-separated format.
8. Click File  Save As.
9. In the Save As menu, select All Files (*.*) under the Save as type dropdown menu.
10. In the Save As menu, select UTF-8 under the Encoding dropdown menu.
11. Click Save.

In NeonCRM

12. Go to Account  Import Manager to begin your data import. For more guidance, please review Importing Data in NeonCRM.