Refuses to import CSV price history

Avi Dee

I have Quicken Mac 2019. I do

Edit Security > Options > Import History from CSV file...

I give it a file:

Date,Close

08/04/2013,0.005874

08/05/2013,0.005875

08/06/2013,0.005637

08/07/2013,0.004669

(2000 more lines)

I get:

"File selected did not have the required format / The provided CSV header was invalid."

I can fiddle with the line endings. I can give more header fields. No matter what I do, it doesn't like the header.

What does Quicken want here? Why is it failing?

Avi Dee

OK, here's the answer.

You must give all the required header fields. I thought I had done that but I hadn't.

Here's a format that works for me:

Date,High,Low,Open,Volume,Close
08/04/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005874
08/05/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005875
08/06/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005637
08/07/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004669
08/08/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004397
08/09/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004257
08/10/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004291
08/11/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004314
08/12/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004414
08/13/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004463

Special thanks to Hopper. The secret code word is -[SecurityPriceHistoryCSVImportWindowController parseSelectedFileURLWithError:].

NotACPA

Where, in your CSV file, do you indicate what security these dates and prices relate to?

This graphic is from QWin ... but I'd expect QMac to have the same requirement

Avi Dee

It doesn't indicate in my file what security.

None of the sample files do either.

I have a security window up, and am instructing Quicken to import into that security. How is that not enough? Does Quicken want a column that it's not telling me it wants?

NotACPA

Have you looked in HELP for how to import prices?

Avi Dee

As a note,

Security,Date,Close

XRP,08/04/2013,0.005874

XRP,08/05/2013,0.005875

XRP,08/06/2013,0.005637

XRP,08/07/2013,0.004669

XRP,08/08/2013,0.004397

fails in the same way.

NotACPA

Again, look in Q Help.  Your file layout is incorrect.

Avi Dee

That is what help says. It is of no help.

If you know what the correct format is, please share it.

Avi Dee

Also, this is what the QMac import screen looks like:



*That* is what QMac says to do, and that's what I was trying to do, and that's what was failing.

I will try with the information you shared from QWin.

Avi Dee

The format QWin says to use is:

Security,Close,Date

XRP,0.005874,08/04/13

XRP,0.005875,08/05/13

XRP,0.005637,08/06/13

XRP,0.004669,08/07/13

XRP,0.004397,08/08/13

That *still* fails.

NotACPA: thank you for your help, but obviously QMac and QWin are totally different here.

Are there any QMac people who know what's up with this?

Avi Dee

OK, here's the answer.

You must give all the required header fields. I thought I had done that but I hadn't.

Here's a format that works for me:

Date,High,Low,Open,Volume,Close
08/04/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005874
08/05/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005875
08/06/2013,0,0,0,0,0.005637
08/07/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004669
08/08/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004397
08/09/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004257
08/10/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004291
08/11/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004314
08/12/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004414
08/13/2013,0,0,0,0,0.004463

Special thanks to Hopper. The secret code word is -[SecurityPriceHistoryCSVImportWindowController parseSelectedFileURLWithError:].

jeffboujoukos

Avi Dee  Hello, thanks for the help.  I downloaded the CSV into excel, changed the headers as you indicated, saved it as a CSV file and still get the "the provided CSV header was invalid"  message.  What are you downloading into above to view the CSV file?  Thanks

jeffboujoukos

I am usine QMac 19 version

Avi Dee

I'm using the text editor BBEdit, but you can pull it into any text editor. TextEdit will do.

I look at it in a text editor to see what's really going on inside the text file. I don't know what Excel does. 

Avi Dee

jeffboujoukos said:

Avi Dee  Hello, thanks for the help.  I downloaded the CSV into excel, changed the headers as you indicated, saved it as a CSV file and still get the "the provided CSV header was invalid"  message.  What are you downloading into above to view the CSV file?  Thanks

Jeff:

Right click on the CSV file, and from the "Open With" menu, pick TextEdit. Paste in the first few lines of the file here. Let's see what's going on.

jeffboujoukos

Avi thanks  

date,high ,low,open,volume, Close, 

4/15/19,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,41.9196, 

Avi Dee

The thing that jumps out at me is extra spaces. If you look closely, you'll see that the column isn't named "high", but rather "high " with a space at the end. The same thing with "close"; it has an extra space before it (" Close").

Jeff, I suspect that Quicken isn't happy with those spaces. Go into your file, and make super sure there are no spaces before or after any of your column headings.

Let me know if that helps, or if we have to keep digging.

If that helps, then Quicken really should be fixed to ignore the extra spaces. It's already super picky about the format of this file...