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ListManager - Import failed because of Invalid Column Name

Teague James
  • Updated

Overview

When you attempt to import users into Lyris LM using a CSV file, you receive the following error:

Import Failed: Member import failed because of the following error: The following column is invalid: COLUMN_NAME

Where COLUMN_NAME is the name of a column you are importing in your CSV file. In some cases, the column name may contain additional special characters that are not visible in the file itself. e.g. EmailAddr_

Solution

This error can occur when the columns in your CSV file do not match the columns Lyris LM is expecting. Compare the columns in Lyris LM to the columns in your CSV file and ensure that they match. If they do, proceed to the second section of the Solution to create a copy of the data for cases where the file itself is corrupted in a non-obvious way.

Check the Lyris LM Import Column Headers

  1. Navigate to Members > View Members

  2. Click the Excel file icon on the top right

  3. Hit Save in the next window to download the file

  4. Open the file to view the column headers available in Lyris LM

  5. Modify your file so that the column headers match, then reattempt the import. If everything matches, proceed to the next section to rebuild the CSV file.

After modifying the column headers to match, the import is successful.

Rebuild the CSV File

  1. Open your import file after verifying that your column headers are correct using the steps above

  2. Select all of the data on the sheet and copy it; CTRL+A, then CTRL+C

  3. Open a new spreadsheet and paste the data into the new sheet; CTRL+V

  4. Save As a CSV file, then reattempt the import

After rebuilding the CSV file, the import is successful.

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