Troubleshooting

Having trouble? Don't hesitate to contact us for help.

Unknown character detected

Just like human languages, there are many different "dialects" of computer code. This error occurs when PageFactory does not understand the "dialect" your spreadsheet is written in.

To fix this, you'll need to explicitly save your spreadsheet with UTF-8 character encoding. The process for this will be different depending on the application you're using to export the spreadsheet.

For example, if you are saving the spreadsheet using Excel on Windows, you should select "CSV (Comma delimited)" as the format to save the spreadsheet as.

If you're unable to find a way to save your CSV with UTF-8 encoding, you can upload the spreadsheet to Google Sheets and download it as a CSV. Google Sheets will automatically encode the CSV with the correct format.

Could not read spreadsheet column names

This error occurs when PageFactory can not clearly discern the column names in the first row of your spreadsheet. Often, this is a formatting issue. Take a look at the first row of your spreadsheet and make sure each cell contains only alpha-numeric characters (underscores are ok too). Be sure each column name registers in the spreadsheet as plain text, and not as a number, currency, etc.

If you continue to have trouble, you can upload the spreadsheet to Google Sheets and download it as a CSV. Google Sheets should automatically re-format the column names for you.

Invalid operation on spreadsheet data

This error occurs when PageFactory tries to perform an operation that is logically impossible, such as subtracting a letter from a number. Often, this is caused by formatting issues.

The first row of your spreadsheet should contain the names of each column. Make sure each cell in this row contains only alpha-numeric characters (underscores are ok too). Ensure each column name registers in the spreadsheet as plain text, and not as a number, currency, etc.

We suggest formatting the rest of the data in your spreadsheet so that every cell is represented as plain-text or a number. Typically this is the default behavior. But with certain data types such as dates or currency, extra formatting may be applied behind the scenes.

Certain spreadsheet software may apply formatting incompatible with PageFactory by default. If you continue to have trouble, try uploading the spreadsheet to Google Sheets and download it as a CSV. Google Sheets should automatically re-format the spreadsheet for you.

Jinja Error

Occurs when PageFactory tries to run incorrect Jinja code. If you're seeing this error, double check the Jinja code written in your template is configured properly.

It's also possible that spreadsheet data may have been passed to an incompatible Jinja function (for example, passing a number to a filter that is intended to capitalize words). This is also common when empty values are passed to Jinja functions.

Be sure any Jinja code you write can handle any possible value it is passed from the spreadsheet.

See here for our brief guide on using Jinja, and see the official Jinja documentation to learn more.