Text that displays incorrectly after an import, with odd symbols instead of accented letters, is fixed by saving the file in UTF-8 encoding and running the import again. Quanda expects UTF-8, and when a file is saved in another encoding, the characters break during the import. The easiest way is to save the file in Excel as xlsx or as CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited).

How to fix the file encoding

  1. Check the source file. If the characters are broken already there, converting the encoding will not help. Fix the text, ideally also in the software you exported the contacts from.
  2. Save the file in UTF-8. In Excel, choose File, Save As and the type CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited), or save the file as an xlsx workbook.
  3. If your software does not offer an encoding, save the file as CSV and convert it with the steps below.
  4. Import the file again under Contacts, Bulk Contacts Import.

How to convert a CSV to UTF-8 in Notepad

  1. Right-click the CSV file and choose Open with, Notepad.
  2. Do not change anything in the file.
  3. Choose File, Save As.
  4. In the Encoding field, select UTF-8 and save the file.
  5. Run the import from this file.

How to fix contacts that were already imported

Import the corrected file again and choose that Imported Contacts have priority. Quanda overwrites the mapped data of existing email addresses with the correct text. How the priority works is described in the Contact import guide.

Garbled characters also appear when you open CSV files in Excel. How to load them correctly is shown in How to open a CSV file in Excel.

Do you have questions? We will be happy to answer them. Just contact our customer support at +420 605 163 892, e-mail: support@onquanda.com.

Frequently asked questions

The file is saved in a different encoding than the one Quanda reads. Quanda expects UTF-8. When you save the file as xlsx or as CSV UTF-8, accented letters display correctly.

Choose File, Save As and the file type CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited). You can also save it as an xlsx workbook, which Quanda imports without any conversion.

Right-click the file, choose Open with and Notepad. Do not change anything, choose File, Save As, set the encoding to UTF-8 and save the file. Then run the import again.

Then converting the encoding will not help. Fix the text in the source file, ideally also in the software you exported the contacts from, so the error does not come back with the next export.

Import the corrected file again and choose that Imported Contacts have priority. Quanda then overwrites the data of existing email addresses with the correct text.