#246 java.lang.NullPointerException

[Anonymous]

hello, I get the error message "java.lang.NullPointerException" every single time I try to import the .CSV file from my credit card company. What does it mean? How do I resolve it? I need to import .csv files from 5 banks and this is the only one that fails every time. It drives me to frustration! Thanks in advance for any advice.
:)
Nicole

[Wyatt]

Hello Nicole,

That is due to a bug in the plugin... which CSV plugin is it? There are a few, all written by third parties. Your best bet is to try to contact the author for that plugin.

Cheers

[Nicole]

Hi Wyatt, Thanks for your speedy reply.
To answer your qu's -

I am trying to use both of the available CSV plug-ins (not at once) and neither work. That is "Import CSV" and "CSV Import done right".

Could you please tell me how I can contact the author of these plug-ins? I can't find that info on your site.

After spending 1.5hr trying to import the file without success (reformatting the data in Excel; downloading the latest Buddi, redownloading all the plugins, restarting my Mac) I wrote to my bank about the problem. The bank replied they can not change the way their data is formatted for downloading. So I'm stuck.

Because I don't know what's causing the bug my work-arounds aren't working and like I said, there are 4 other banks whose data imports fine.

Thanks again - and thanks for a great program.
:)
N

[Nicole]

Hi Wyatt,
I forgot to mention I'm on Mac OS X 10.6.6.

Late last week I downloaded the latest Buddi version as a 'fix' but found the CSV import plug-ins wouldn't import anything, even files that used to work fine. Looking over other comments on this site, I realised the OS might be causing the java problem.

I have since gone back to the 2008 versions of Buddi and the plug-ins. Everything is ok now EXCEPT for that credit card file I first mentioned. It still has the same error message.

Could you please let me know how to contact the 'CSV import' plug-in people?
i'm clocking up days trying to find a work-around.
ta
N

[Wyatt]

"Import CSV" is no longer maintained by the author, and I don't even have current contact information. "CSV Import Done Right" is written by Raphael Charwot, and has contact information inside the Readme file.

About your Java problem, have you tried upgrading to the most recent versions of the plugins? A week or two ago I released new versions of all plugins which had been compiled against Java 1.5 (previously it was defaulting to Java 1.6). (The exception to this are the couple of plugins which require Java 1.6). If there are any Java compatibility before, it should have been fixed now.

Going forward, I would recommend you first try using the newest build of CSV Import Done Right. If that doesn't work for the file in question, try contacting the author for CSV Import Done Right, and see if he can help at all.

If not, you can try posting the entire stacktrace (look in ~/Library/Logs/Buddi.log) containing the Null Pointer Exception and I will see if I can figure out what is happening with the other CSV plugin. However, given that some files work, I am not sure that there will be anything I can do without breaking other formats; that particular plugin makes assumptions about the format of the CSV, and if a given financial institution does not use the supported format, there may be nothing which can be done.

Let me know...

[Nicole]

Dear Wyatt,
I have been offline and unable to respond. Thank you very much for these tips. They worked :D I have been able to import the file for the first time in four months. So, confirming: I downloaded the latest 'CSV import done right' and the latest Buddi (version 3.4.0.8). The dates will need to be manually updated (I use Aus/UK convention) but otherwise all well. Many thanks