---
schema_version: "1"
id: 25da2f95e40b4fd935977bcc8e4ab0dcf26a87d1e91511fd120fbb2bc14eef30
title: Why doesn’t Data Loader import special characters?
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/xcloud/264-0-0/faq_import_dataloader_specialchars.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=xcloud.faq_import_dataloader_specialchars.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
source_site: help.salesforce.com
content_type: documentation
content_hash: 994d5cc162e39485edbeac74278ce5e1cd4b26548ca6597c8c45dd0f4b268060
description: If Data Loader fails to import special characters such as ö, ñ, or é, your source data file isn’t properly encoded.
products:
  - Salesforce Platform
  - Cross Cloud
release: "264"
---
# Why doesn’t Data Loader import special characters?

If Data Loader fails to import special characters such as ö, ñ, or é, your source data file isn’t properly encoded.

To ensure that the file is properly encoded:

1. Modify your source data file in .xls format.
2. In Microsoft® Excel®, save a copy of your file as a Unicode Text file.
3. Open the Unicode Text file you saved with a text editor.
4. To change these file settings, click **File** | **Save As**:
    - File name extension—.csv
    - Save as type—**All Files**
    - Encoding—**UTF-8**
5. Click **Save**, and close the file.
    
    ![Note](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-xcloud-setup-264-0-0-production-enus/6f21df35-9ea0-4f53-ac94-45c3b5dfd5bc/images/icon_note.png)
    
    Note Don’t open the file after you have saved the settings or you can revert the encoding changes.
6. Import the data using Data Loader as you normally do, and select the newly created .csv file.