Reports are downloaded by exporting to a .csv file, or you can export a filter section within Attendee List, Orders...A .csv file is a text file using UTF-8 encoding format, that has data separated by ‘comma’.

For some cases, you may end up having special characters, or you cannot view Chinese characters in the CSV file exported from GEVME, which isn't because of the file, but because of the program that reads the file (usually Excel). 


In order to view the content properly, follow the below steps to open and view .csv file in its correct format:

1.    Open a New spreadsheet on Excel




2.    Click on ‘Data’ menu bar option and click the ‘From Text’ icon to get the data from text:




3.    Text import Wizard – Step 1 of 3:




4.    Text import Wizard – Step 2 of 3:



5.    Text import Wizard – Step 3 of 3:





The data preview window shows how the data will appear in Excel.


6.    Import data completion dialog box:




7.    Imported data as seen on Excel:



Special Columns:


1.    How to fix the data on the ‘Date of Birth’ column:


Date was submitted during registration as dd/mm/yyyy, for eg: 10/02/1995



But when opening the exported .csv file on Excel, it shows as dd/mm/yy, for eg: 10/02/95
Open the .csv file on Excel as mentioned above.


 



Note: If this file is imported back into attendees, the date will be modified to dd/mm/20yy, from the above eg: 10/02/2095


Date format can be fixed by changing the default Excel format as follows:




 



2.    How to fix the data in some columns like: RSVP Respond Time, Checked in Time, Created On, Last Updated On




This data is of the format ‘Feb 14, 2019 at 4:55 PM’ in the Attendee Grid. 


Open the .csv file on Excel as mentioned above.


But when opening on Excel, it is by default of the form ‘14/02/19 16:55’. 



Here’s how to change the date format to same as Attendee Grid:


By using a ‘custom’ format: mmm dd, yyyy at h:mm AM/PM





 

3.    How to open a credit card number or other number field data on Excel


Case 1: Credit Card Number field containing 16-digit data



Data on Attendee Grid can be as follows:And show up on Excel as follows:              

   

Changing the Excel format to Number shows the data as follows with data loss:




Outcome: 



Even opening the .csv as text on Excel as explained above will not help, the data is lost. Because ‘1234123412341234’ is saved in the .csv as ‘1.2341234123412E+15’.

The way to keep data intact is by making this ‘Credit Card Number’ field on Attendee Grid as ‘Single Line Text’ field from the beginning.


In case registration has started and there is data, then if the Attendee Form field is changed, it will have other repercussions… Always export the data before making changes to the Form, so that it can be imported if required…

And if the Credit Card Number field is setup as a ‘Single Text Field’, when you open the csv file as Text on Excel as explained earlier, the data is seen correctly as follows:




Case 2: Number field containing leading Zeros


Similar action to using 'Text' field to hold the data. Keep in mind that registrants are now allowed to enter non-number characters in this field.


Tip: 


If your report consists of Chinese characters, after you export the report in .csv file and opening the .csv file, it shows gibberish, you can upload the file onto Google Drive, and open it in Google Sheet - the Chinese characters will show up, and you can re-download the file again as .xlsx format.