Only first line of TextEdit csv data will copy into Numbers

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Level 1

8 points

Only first line of TextEdit csv data will copy into Numbers

After downloading banking activity as a .csv file into TextEdit, I am normally able to copy and paste that data into an existing Numbers spreadsheet. Although this has sometimes been buggy, it has always worked with a little coaxing.

However now Numbers will only paste the very first line of that CSV data. Doesn't matter if there are 4 lines or 40, it only pastes the first one. I tried again after quitting numbers, restarting, uninstalling Numbers, reinstalling it but still the problem persists.

Copying and pasting the same csv data into another program (such as Mail) works perfectly well. So it's not the copy/paste function that's an issue, but something about the pasting of this data into Numbers specifically. The settings for Numbers and TextEdit are the default settings and have never been changed.

This issue remains after upgrading to Sonoma 14.4.1 today. Macbook Air 8MB 125GB

Thanks very much for any suggestions you might have. I have tried to find a similar problem cited elsewhere to no avail.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 14.6

Posted on Sep 11, 2024 11:31 AM

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Answer 1

Badunit

Level 7

28,324 points

Sep 11, 2024 4:13 PM in response to FrCanuck

Two thoughts:

If you save the Textedit document as CSV and open it using Numbers does it import all the rows?

If it pastes correctly into other apps, I am led to believe it is something with the Numbers "table import" code. There may be a strange/unhandled character or something not quite right with the text of the CSV. Other apps (like Mail) don't care because it is just text to them, they are not converting it from CSV into a table. If you look at the CSV data in TextEdit, do you see anything odd or wrong (i.e., not correct CSV format) in the first or second row?

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Answer 2

FrCanuck Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 11, 2024 4:54 PM in response to Badunit

Thanks for your thoughful suggestions. Unfortunately I do not see anything that would indicate there's a mistake or problem with the CSV text.

I'm able to copy/paste each line into the existing spreadshseet *individually*, a very slow workaround! That would seem to confirm that there's nothing wrong with the csv formatting but for some reason Numbers doesn't want to board the whole group at once.

I had this happen on a few occasions before, but as soon as I tried a second time, it would work. Not so here.

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Answer 3

Badunit

Level 7

28,324 points

Sep 11, 2024 5:07 PM in response to FrCanuck

FrCanuck wrote:

I'm able to copy/paste each line into the existing spreadshseet *individually*, a very slow workaround! That would seem to confirm that there's nothing wrong with the csv formatting

Unless it is the invisible character(s) at the end of each line of text. If you still want to diagnose the problem, delete whatever is at the end of row 1 (so row 1 and row 2 become one line) then put in a return of your own. For good measure, do the same to rows 2 and 3. If rows 1 and 2 (and maybe 3) now copy/paste correctly, that would indicate that the character(s) at the end of each line are the issue. And if that is the case, you might be able to use find/replace all to turn them all into normal line feeds.

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Answer 4

FrCanuck Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 11, 2024 10:26 PM in response to Badunit

Before I got your second reply, I tried something else that didn't make a lot of sense but which worked. That is, I selected the single cell to the right of the row number and pasted there. All the data was then squeezed into that one cell. Subsequently CMD+Z, then clicked this time on the appropriate row number. Everything was then as it should be.

But then I tried your latest suggestion, and put in my own returns for the first 7 lines (out of about 25). I figured it might then paste only those 7, but lo and behold everything went in nicely. Was this because I'd already done a workaround? Impossible to say. But I will not forgot your suggestion and will do that first the next time this happens, as I'm sure it will.

I've had the experience before of Numbers pasting in one cell instead of across the entire row (even when I selected the row number and not the cell itself) but after backtracking and repeating the operation a couple of times, it would then paste properly.

Thank you very much for your help and excellent explanations.

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Only first line of TextEdit csv data will copy into Numbers

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