PEX cannot accept uploads in proprietary formats such as “.xls” (Excel) or “.numbers” (Numbers).
- Ensure that your file is formatted as “.csv” (comma-separated values or CSV). This is the same format the file was downloaded in.
Some uncommon characters, such as accented characters (e.g., é) or punctuation marks, may cause problems when importing files into the PEX system:
- The PEX system expects files to be imported in UTF-8 format (the format the Excel file is already provided in)
- To include a zip code that begins with a zero, first highlight the column (J), right click on your mouse, select Format Cells, select Special from the dropdown option, select Zip Code, press OK to save.
- After importing a file, if you see an odd character — such as a question mark, or a question mark in a black diamond where the character should be — then the problem probably occurred because a file format is different from what the system expects
- Many of the most common office applications, like Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers, let you save files in multiple file formats, including “.csv”
How to save a file as CSV in Excel
In Excel, use the “Save As” command
Select the “Comma Separated Values (.csv)” format to save your file as a “.csv” file
How to save a file as CSV in Numbers
In Numbers, use the “Export” command to save your Numbers file as a “.csv” file
Use “Format as Text” when editing in Excel
If you are editing a CSV file in Excel, you may experience issues with formatting:
- Excel appears to drop leading zeros from zip codes for fields formatted as “General”
- To ensure that your file is saved correctly, please format all columns as “Text” before saving the Excel file as CSV
Sometimes hidden white space characters can cause problems in file uploads.
Make sure that blank columns are truly blank.
- If you see an unexpected error (e.g., “State: NY is not a valid option for State”), the cause of the error may be an extra space either before or after the value
Zip code missing a leading zero
This is a common occurrence for zip codes that begin with a zero, such as for New Jersey.
To resolve this, highlight the column(s) in question, change the type of data formatting for those cells from the default to one titled zip code by right clicking. Once the column has been formatted, it will stop deleting the leading zeros.
Further Notes:
Warning alerts will not prevent a card order from being accepted and may be ignored.
All Error alerts must be corrected by either removing the incorrect data or correcting it.
