You may encounter an error message when uploading your file to one of our bulk functionalities for finding or verifying emails.
Type of error messages and their meaning
Some of the most common error messages include:
"File is incorrect (illegal quoting in line.)" or "File could not be parsed: illegal quoting in line" or “File is incorrect (row has an invalid columns count).”
All of these error messages indicate that certain formatting in the spreadsheet is preventing Hunter from using this file to find or verify emails.
While formatting can improve the visual appeal and readability of data, excessive formatting may hinder compatibility and readability when interfacing with other services.
This means that in order for Hunter to read your spreadsheet data, the formatting must be cleaned first.
How to address the error messages
Should you encounter any of these or similar error messages, there are several steps you can take to resolve them by cleaning your formatting and successfully uploading your file.
We've created a guide for two major spreadsheet solutions, Google Sheets and Excel. However, similar steps can be applied across most platforms, giving you a basic framework for understanding the necessary actions to take. If you prefer, you can also directly refer to Google's and Microsoft's Help centres here:
How to clear your formatting in Google Sheets
To clear your formatting in Google Sheets, you can perform the following steps:
Clear Formatting
Click and drag to highlight the cells you want to clear, or press "Ctrl+A" (or "Cmd+A" on Mac) to select all cells in the sheet.
Go to the "Format" menu, select "Clear formatting". This removes any text styling, cell background colors, and borders without affecting the data itself.
Data Cleanup: trim white spaces and remove duplicates
Highlight the range, and select the column from which you want to remove duplicates. You can also press "Ctrl+A" (or "Cmd+A" on Mac) to select all cells in the sheet.
Click on "Data" in the top menu, then select "Remove duplicates". A dialogue box will appear, letting you confirm the columns to check for duplicates.
Do the same to trim any white spaces from your file, by selecting "Trim white space"
You can also use the "Cleanup suggestions" option available under Data. This feature will review your file and provide suggestions for cleaning up your data, such as removing extra spaces or fixing inconsistent formatting. Google Sheets will process the data and provide a report on how many duplicates were removed and in which collumns any white space was trimmed.
Make sure also to delete any unnecessary or empty collumns from your file.
Finally, save and export your file as CSV.
How to clear your formatting in Excel
To clear formatting and clean up data in Microsoft Excel, you can follow these steps to ensure your spreadsheet is optimized and compatible with other services:
Clear formatting
Click and drag to highlight the cells you want to clear, or press Ctrl+A to select all cells in the workbook.
Go to the Home tab, and then click on the eraser symbol (Clear). From the dropdown menu, select "Clear Formats" to remove any formatting such as fonts, colors, and borders without deleting the data.
Make sure also to delete any unnecessary or empty collumns from your file.
Finally, save and export your file as CSV.
Data cleanup
Excel lacks Google Sheets' automated "Data Cleanup" feature, which suggests and applies fixes for you. However, should clearing the formatting as explained above not help with uploading your file, you can use some of Excel's functionalities to Remove Duplicates and use the TRIM Function to eliminate extra spaces.
👉 Should you still need assistance uploading your file, don't hesitate to contact our support team.