Error when importing a CSV File to Assets - "invalid_file"

Summary

Sometimes, when creating a new Assets Import Configuration, an "invalid_file" may appear:

Cause

The most common causes for this error are as follows:

1. The file has a header column with no name. These can easily be identified when opening the file in a text reader by seeing two commas (or other separators) side by side in the first line:

   1 2 3 First Name,Last Name,Address,City,, Mike,Cannon-Brookes,Level 29/363 George St,Sydney,, Scott,Farquhar,Level 29/363 George St,Sydney,,

2. There are two or more header columns with the same name. This can be trickier to identify in larger files, so opening it on a spreadsheet editor is advised:

   1 2 3 First Name,Last Name,Address,Address,City Mike,Cannon-Brookes,Level 29,363 George St,Sydney Scott,Farquhar,Level 29,363 George St,Sydney

Solution

Double-check your .csv file for the symptoms above and make sure they are corrected before attempting to upload the file again.