Find rows with missing values in a CSV
An import that fails on row 4,182 because one invoice has no amount is a slow way to find gaps. Upload the file, tell SpreadsheetFix which columns must always be filled in, and it flags every row with a blank in any of them, so you can fix them before the import rather than after. The check runs in your browser without uploading the file. Validate Required is a Pro rule.
- Plan
- Pro rule
- Account
- Not required
- Upload
- None
No file to hand?
Before and after
invoice,customer,email,amount INV-101,Acme Ltd,ap@acme.io,1200.00 INV-102,Birch & Co,,640.00 INV-103,Cobalt GmbH,billing@cobalt.de, INV-104,Dune LLC,ops@dune.io,310.00 INV-105,Elm Studio,,
invoice,customer,email,amount,reason INV-102,Birch & Co,,640.00,Missing required: email INV-103,Cobalt GmbH,billing@cobalt.de,,Missing required: amount INV-105,Elm Studio,,,"Missing required: email, amount"
With email and amount ticked as required. Flagged rows also stay in the cleaned file.
How it works
- 1
Upload the CSV or Excel file you’re about to import.
- 2
Open the column picker on Validate Required and tick the columns that must never be blank. Until you pick at least one, the rule has nothing to check.
- 3
Run it, review the flagged rows, and download the cleaned file plus a quarantine CSV listing each flagged row and what it’s missing.
You decide what “required” means
A blank notes field or a missing phone number may be fine; a missing invoice number or amount is not. Validate Required only checks the columns you select, and flags a row when any of them is empty or contains only spaces. Each flagged row records which columns were missing, for example “Missing required: email, amount”.
Flagged, not deleted
Rows with gaps aren’t removed. They stay in the cleaned file in their original order and are also collected in a quarantine file with the reason, so you can fill in the blanks or drop the rows deliberately. Fully empty rows are different: they hold no data at all, so SpreadsheetFix removes them before checking, and they don’t show up as hundreds of false alarms.
Check before the import, not after
Accounting tools, CRMs and e-commerce platforms usually reject an import at the first bad row, or accept it and leave empty fields that surface weeks later. Running the check first gives you the full list of incomplete rows at once, which is much quicker to work through than one error message at a time.
Questions
How do I find blank cells in a CSV?
Upload the file above, select the columns that must be filled in on the Validate Required rule, and run it. Every row with a blank in those columns is flagged and listed with the columns it’s missing.
Does a cell with only spaces count as missing?
Yes. A value made only of spaces or tabs is treated as blank.
Why was nothing flagged?
Validate Required only checks the columns you pick. If its column picker still shows “All columns”, no column has been chosen, so tick at least one column and run it again.
Are rows with missing values deleted?
No. They stay in the cleaned file and are also listed in a separate quarantine CSV you can download, so nothing disappears without you deciding.
Is it free?
Validate Required is a Pro rule (€12/month). Free users can still remove fully blank rows and validate email addresses on files up to 5,000 rows.