Practical guidance
Choose CRLF or LF line endings for a product CSV
A line ending tells a parser where one record stops. It is separate from a line break typed inside a product description. Choosing the wrong record ending can make a file look like one long row, or split one description across extra rows.
Two different kinds of line break
RFC 4180 describes CSV records as separated by CRLF, the carriage return plus line feed used by Windows. Many exports from macOS, Linux, and web tools use LF only. Both can be valid if the importer agrees. A break inside a quoted field is part of that field, not a new product.
SKU,Description
00008,"Stone bowl
Dishwasher safe"
Match the importer, then check the values
- Keep the original download.
- Note whether the file uses CRLF or LF before you resave it in a spreadsheet. Spreadsheet apps often rewrite the ending.
- In Golanto, pick Excel when you want CRLF, or keep the file’s formatting when the importer already accepts it.
- Open the downloaded file in a text editor and confirm the description is still one cell.
Worked example
The same two records with Windows line endings
SKU,Title
00008,Stone bowl
SKU,Title
00008,Stone bowl
The SKU and title do not change. Only the bytes between records change.
What this check cannot establish
Changing CRLF to LF, or the reverse, does not repair a wrong delimiter, a bad quote, or text that was already damaged. Some older systems still expect a lone carriage return; Golanto downloads LF or CRLF.
Check your file
Start with a copy. Review changes before downloading your import file.
Open the CSV tool