File formats

Getting good email results from imported and exported data depends on careful planning when importing. Only specific formats are accepted.

Database worksheets such as Excel, Lotus®, and Microsoft Works that store customer information in a table format on your computer are often simple text databases, but they can contain complex data that is listed by type.

The file formats CSV, TSV, and PSV refer to the characters used to separate information in an imported or exported text file. Only one character is used. These standard characters are commas, tabs, or pipe characters ( | ).

For example, you can save a file from Excel as Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt), and then import it into Acoustic Campaign as a .TSV, and Acoustic Campaign will properly import the file.

Types of file formats

CSV, TSV, and PSV are the characters used to separate information in an imported or exported text file. Only one character is used. These standard characters are commas, tabs, or pipe characters ( | ).

  • Tabs are not a visible character.
  • A carriage return, line break, paragraph mark, or using the Enter key, all of which are common in word processor programs, are not compatible data delineators. Line breaks are used in the data text file to indicate a new record. But if the file has paragraph marks used as data separators, many word processors can convert paragraph marks to any of these three formats, and then save data in a text file.

Database worksheets, such as Excel, Lotus, Microsoft Works, and customer management programs, that store customer information on your computer, typically use proprietary formats. But they generally can import and export data in common formats. Several common formats are compatible with Acoustic Campaign Databases. Databases can be imported or exported in the following formats:

  • Comma Separated Value (CSV)
  • Tab-separated Value (TSV)
  • Pipe-separated Value (PSV) - recommended for greater compatibility.

Because Acoustic Campaign allows up to 400 columns in a database, it is very important to separate the information in a readable form. Acoustic Campaign lets you choose one of three common separators (sometimes called prefixes or delineators) to identify these fields.

CSV, TSV, and PSV file formats export information in a way that both humans and computers can read. The information appears in a row that has several columns. (The intersection of a row and column, where information is contained, is commonly called a field).

Example of a database worksheet with rows, columns, and fields:

  • Commas ',' (CSV)
  • Spaces ' ' (TSV), created using the Tab key on your keyboard
  • Pipes '|' (PSV), created by holding the Shift key while pressing the backslash ( \ ) key

Which file format should you use?

Use the table below to understand which file format to use.

Table 1.
Format Advantages Disadvantages
CSV Compact, easy to read. In Europe and other locales, commas are used as decimal points.

Information in the file, such as text, might already contain commas.

Computer operating systems in many regions of the world actually use the semicolon (;) in place of the comma in CSV files.

CSV files might not be exchangeable with computers that use different list saparators.
TSV Easy to read. Tabs are difficult to discern from spaces in a database field.
PSV Easy to read.

Not influenced by regional settings, so these files are exchangeable with other computers.