Hi Everyone! 
I have spent a number of day and hours
trying to get my csv into a format
that will upload properly for my observations.
I have attached a screenshot of a small number of birds in an csv as a sample test.
Any help in what I am doing wrong is well appreciated.
Stay safe,
and God Bless.
Jeff :)
Oh!
As well,
Here is a screen shot for the import settings
for the csv into Openoffice Calc.
Jeff :)
what errors are you seeing when you try to upload the file?
if you still see errors:
- please capture the errors and share screenshots
- instead of providing screenshots of your CSV opened in OpenOffice Calc, please open it up in a simple text editor (like Notepad, if you’re using Windows), and copy and paste that text into a post here so that we can see what the actual CSV looks like. (after pasting the text, you’ll want to highlight it, and click the preformatted text button (the one that looks like </>, or press Ctrl+Shift+C).
Pisum,
Thanks so much for your help!
The first screenshot above in my post
shows you the way that i set up my rows and columns.
Here is the text of what I am told is wrong with my csv ==>
translation missing: en.we_tried_to_process_your_upload_named_filename
The species listed below were not found in the iNaturalist database.
- Single taxon not found: Rock Pigeon Columba livia livia 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 2
- Single taxon not found: Rock Pigeon Columba livia livia 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
- Row(s): 3
- Single taxon not found: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris 1972-06-08 Bridgeport—Seaside Park-Connecticut-USA 41.1614 -73.188
- Row(s): 4
- Single taxon not found: Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
- Row(s): 5
- Single taxon not found: Anna’s Hummingbird Calypte anna 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
- Row(s): 6
- Single taxon not found: Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
- Row(s): 7
- Single taxon not found: Allen’s Hummingbird Selasphorus sasin sasin 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
- Row(s): 8
- Single taxon not found: Heermann’s Gull Larus heermanni 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 9
- Single taxon not found: Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 10
- Single taxon not found: Western Gull Larus occidentalis wymani 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 11
- Single taxon not found: California Gull Larus californicus califonicus 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 12
- Single taxon not found: American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 13
- Single taxon not found: Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis californicus 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 14
- Single taxon not found: Great Egret Ardea alba egretta 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
- Row(s): 15
- Single taxon not found: California Condor Gymnogyps californianus 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
- Row(s): 16
- Single taxon not found: Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura ara 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
- Row(s): 17
- Single taxon not found: Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis calurus 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
- Row(s): 18
- Single taxon not found: Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri carbonacea 1978-06-03 Big Sur–Pfeiffer State Park-California-USA 36.2447 -121.777
- Row(s): 19
- Single taxon not found: California Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica californica 1978-06-03 Big Sur–Pfeiffer State Park-California-USA 36.2447 -121.777
- Row(s): 20
- Single taxon not found: Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia 1968-06-22 Denver—Saint Vincent’s Orchard-Colorado-USA 39.7742 -105.037
- Row(s): 21
- Single taxon not found: American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
- Row(s): 22
- Single taxon not found: Common Raven Corvus corax sinuatus 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
- Row(s): 23
- Single taxon not found: Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota tachina 1976-06-05 San Clemente—Doheny State Beach-California-USA 33.4616 -117.681
- Row(s): 24
- Single taxon not found: American Robin Turdus migratorius migratorius 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
- Row(s): 25
- Single taxon not found: House Sparrow Passer domesticus domesticus 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
- Row(s): 26
- Single taxon not found: Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia heermanni 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
- Row(s): 27
- Single taxon not found: Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta confluenta 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
- Row(s): 28
- Single taxon not found: Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
- Row(s): 29
Thanks!
Jeff :)
the reason why i asked you earlier to paste the plain text of your file was because it’ll be easier to see what’s happening if we can see exactly what the text of the file looks like, not what it looks like after it’s been imported into a spreadsheet program. specifically, it would be helpful to see exactly whether your columns are actually separated by commas, or whether they’re separated by some other delimiter.
i’m guessing based on the error messages that there’s some other delimiter being used, but it’s hard to tell without being able to see the actual text of the file. if you don’t want to share the text of the whole file, that’s fine, but it would be helpful to see at least the text of the header row and the first row with data.
also, based on what i see at https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/import#csv_import, it looks like your Date Observed and Description are the third and second columns instead of the second and third columns, respectively. i’m not sure if the column order matters though.
1 Like
let me try and upload the file if that helps… hopely i have it in the correct view you are looking for
Taxon name Description Date observed Place name Latitude / y coord / northing Longitude / x coord / easting Tags Geoprivacy
Rock Pigeon Columba livia livia 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
Rock Pigeon Columba livia livia 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris 1972-06-08 Bridgeport—Seaside Park-Connecticut-USA 41.1614 -73.188
Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
Allen's Hummingbird Selasphorus sasin sasin 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
Heermann's Gull Larus heermanni 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
Western Gull Larus occidentalis wymani 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
California Gull Larus californicus califonicus 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis californicus 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
Great Egret Ardea alba egretta 2018-01-10 Santa Barbara—Hendrys Beach-California-USA 34.4033 -119.745
California Condor Gymnogyps californianus 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura ara 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis calurus 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri carbonacea 1978-06-03 Big Sur--Pfeiffer State Park-California-USA 36.2447 -121.777
California Scrub-Jay Aphelocoma californica californica 1978-06-03 Big Sur--Pfeiffer State Park-California-USA 36.2447 -121.777
Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia 1968-06-22 Denver—Saint Vincent's Orchard-Colorado-USA 39.7742 -105.037
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
Common Raven Corvus corax sinuatus 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
Cliff Swallow Petrochelidon pyrrhonota tachina 1976-06-05 San Clemente—Doheny State Beach-California-USA 33.4616 -117.681
American Robin Turdus migratorius migratorius 1987-04-24 Santa Barbara-California-USA 34.3993 -119.707
House Sparrow Passer domesticus domesticus 2018-01-02 Port Hueneme—Moranda Park-California-USA 34.1454 -119.191
Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia heermanni 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158
Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta confluenta 1979-06-16 Ventura County—Mt. Pinos-California-USA 34.8124 -119.146
Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus 1977-05-07 Oxnard-California-USA 34.1571 -119.158yes. this makes things clearer. based on what you’ve pasted in the above post, you’re using a tab as your delimiter instead of a comma, you need to make sure that your CSV (comma separated value) file is actually delimited by commas. so if your spreadsheet isn’t handling the conversion to CSV correctly for you, you can use a text editor to replace the tabs with commas.
from https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/import#csv_import, here are 3 examples of what the text should look like:
Anna's Hummingbird,2008-03-03 2:54pm,"An aggressive male dive-bombed my head, so I took cover.","Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, CA, USA",37.8953,-122.249,"attack, danger",obscured
Sharp-tailed Snake,2007-08-20,"Beautiful little creature","Leona Canyon Regional Park, Oakland, CA, USA",37.7454,-122.111,"cute, snakes"
Golden Eagle,,"I'm not really sure when or where this was",,,,"mysterious",private
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Thanks pisum!
let me give a try and let you know
Jeff :)
2 Likes
Hi Pisum!
Well,
I had to edit more to fit the requirements you referred to in the uploading csv to iNaturalist.
As well, you were correct in that the headers must remain in the same place. I wanted to denote subspecies after the name. but it ended up in the notes finally, which is fine.
THE IMPORTANT THING I had to do was then open up the csv in Microsoft excel (haha I have 2007, so old). Then when I saved it, it imported correctly into iNaturalist. I did make sure “comma” was set.
LOL i only have excel in Japanese with no upgrades to 2010. I have the English language pack available in excel, but it wont play nice at all. So i have to use international shortcut keys to get things done.
my final csv import is 1600 lines, so that will take awhile. There is alot of hand editing.
Pisum, and all think about this problem thanks! I VERY much appreciate your help!
Jeff:D
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i’m happy to hear that you were able to get your first batch of data uploaded, and i’m glad to help. welcome to the forum.
you may want to try putting your scientific names in the taxon name column to see what happens. for example, instead of putting “Rock Pigeon” in the taxon name column, you could try putting “Columba livia livia”, and see if that imports at the subspecies level.
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