Skip to main content
smillerttl
smillerttl
Participating Frequently
January 31, 2019
Question

French accents through csv data-merge come out as "é"

  • January 31, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 4626 views

I build myself a new business card template for a client's company.  I used a csv file created through libreoffice to perform a data merge into various linked text boxes.  I have checked the csv file and its saved as a UTF-8 file separated by commas.  Some of the names have french accented letters such as e.g: "é" but they come out after the data import as "é".  Any ideas?

Thanks

2 replies

Colin Flashman
Community Expert
Colin FlashmanCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 1, 2019

I see this often when importing text data that was not UTF-16 and contained characters such as "open single quote" or characters with diacritical marks. InDesign's Data Merge is designed to work with UTF-16.

To this end I would recommend the following:

1) From Libre Office, export the CSV file BUT choose UTF-16 as the option.

2) In your InDesign Data Merge file, when you are selecting the data source, make sure the checkbox for "show import options" is checked on. Unlike showing the import options for a picture for a one-off occasion, holding shift and clicking open won't work in this dialog - the checkbox has to be selected.

3) In the data source import options dialog box, make sure to select unicode.

I've knocked up a quick "proof of principle" that shows a resulting data merge using this technique, and the text that I used to create it:

If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!
    Kevin Stohlmeyer
    Community Expert
    Kevin StohlmeyerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 31, 2019

    Do a find and replace to search for the code and replace with the accents.

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices