Refuses to import CSV price history

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?

Best Answer

  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    Answer ✓
    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:].

Answers

  • NotACPA
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited April 2019
    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

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Have you looked in HELP for how to import prices?

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    Again, look in Q Help.  Your file layout is incorrect.

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭


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

    If you know what the correct format is, please share it.
  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    Answer ✓
    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:].
  • 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
  • I am usine QMac 19 version
  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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.
  • Avi thanks  

    date,high ,low,open,volume, Close, 
    4/15/19,0.00,0.00,0.00,0.00,41.9196, 

  • Avi Dee
    Avi Dee Member ✭✭
    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... :neutral:

This discussion has been closed.