The following guide helps you better understand and navigate possible error messages that could appear while working with Smartsheet Control Center.
Useful terms
Refer to these terms to understand the error messages, causes, and steps to fix included in the troubleshooting guide.
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Profile data field name | Found in the template sheets in the primary column, under the Summary row |
| Target column | Column in the template sheet where the value for the profile data will be saved |
| Approval column | Column in the intake sheet that will be used as the source of the value (only available when values are sourced from the intake). If left blank, it is assumed that the profile data field name is identical to the source column in the intake sheet. |
| Behavior | How the value from the intake sheet will be added to the project sheet |
Apply the fix to project
Run Edit Project Information for the project as it works in most use cases.
Exceptions:
- If the Behavior option in the profile data settings is set to One-time write (that is, the value is sourced from the intake sheet and saved in the project sheet once during provisioning without cell-links), you need to run an Add Profile Data Global Update instead.
- If you apply the change to a summary sheet, you need to run an Add Profile Data Global Update as well.
Consider the following:
- Ensure the Link project profile data from intake sheet to project sheet checkbox in the Profile Data Options is checked.
The first two options can be checked or unchecked. Since this is an existing profile data, those are skipped.
- Select the profile data, templates, target, and behavior as they appear in the blueprint.
- Run the update for this particular project only.
- If there’s placeholder data in the target cell in the project sheet, remove it before running the Global Update. Control Center skips updating the value if data is already present in the cell.
You don’t need to remove any placeholder values from the blueprint template sheet.
- You may see warnings that the field already exists in the sheet. This is expected.
OR
- If the Profile Data Field name and the Approval column name are different, you can’t use a Global Update to fix the project. This is because the available options for profile data in the Add Profile Data Global Update work for existing columns in the intake sheet.
- For this edge case, a possible workaround is to update the Behavior of this field to Editable or Cell link in the blueprint. Then you can use Edit Project Information to apply the fix to the project.
- If this doesn’t change the behavior, another option is to match the Profile Data Field name with the Approval column name in the intake sheet and use the Global Update.
Troubleshooting guide
Here are some of the common metadata update errors that may occur during the provisioning of projects. Use this guide to troubleshoot.
Target column is not showing in the project but is defined in the blueprint
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Project Start Date in row 7 of sheet 2017 Cost Analysis - Tasks because the target column Start Date could not be found.
Please verify the column exists in the sheet or select a different target column in the blueprint, and select edit project information.
Cause
The target column, as defined in the profile data settings, doesn’t exist in the project sheet (and the blueprint template sheet).
Steps to fix
- Correct the target column name in the project sheet to match the settings.
- Apply the same change to the blueprint template sheet to prevent the same error from occurring in future projects.
OR
- If the profile data settings are incorrect/outdated, update the blueprint after selecting the correct target column (or leave it blank to use the default column next to the primary one).
See Apply the fix section for more details.
Target column is not showing in the project sheet and is blank in the blueprint
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Description in row 3 of sheet Upgrade to EXP05 - Metadata because there are no columns after the primary column where the value can be written.
Please select a target column in the blueprint or verify the sheet has at least one column after the primary column, and select Edit Project Information.
Cause
Control Center uses the column to the right of the primary one in the sheet as the default target column. This error occurs if Control Center can’t find a column next to the primary one.
Steps to fix
- Reorder columns or add a new column to the project sheet, so that there’s at least one column next to the primary column.
- Apply the same change to the blueprint template sheet to prevent the same error from occurring in future projects
OR
- Select a specific target column (that exists in both the project sheet and the blueprint template sheet) for this field in the blueprint.
See Apply the fix section for more details.
The target cell contains a formula
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Budget in column Description row 3 of sheet Upgrade to EXP05 - Budget because the cell contains a formula.
Please remove the formula from the cell, and create a global update to add profile data with the option Link project profile data from intake sheet to project sheet selected.
Cause
The target cell in the project sheet and the blueprint template sheet contains a cell or column formula.
Steps to fix
- Remove the formula in the cell in the project sheet.
- Apply the same change to the blueprint template sheet to prevent the same error from occurring in future projects.
OR
- Select a different target column that doesn’t contain formulas.
See Apply the fix section for more details.
The profile data field value is empty if the profile data is sourced from an intake sheet with a cell link
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Budget in column Description row 3 of sheet Upgrade to EXP05 - Budget because the source column was not found in the intake sheet.
Please verify the source column budget exists in the intake sheet, and create a global update to add profile data with the option Link project profile data from intake sheet to project sheet selected.
Cause
The source column, either the approval column defined in the profile data settings or the column with the same name as the profile data field name, doesn’t exist in the intake sheet.
Steps to fix
Correct the column name in the intake sheet.
OR
If the profile data settings are incorrect/outdated, update the blueprint after selecting the correct approval column.
See Apply the fix section for more details.
The profile data field value is empty if the profile data is sourced from the intake sheet without a cell link (i.e. one-time write or editable)
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Budget in column Description row 3 of sheet Upgrade to EXP05 - Budget because the source cell in the intake sheet is empty.
Please verify the cell in the intake sheet has value and select Edit Project Information.
Cause
The source cell in the intake sheet, which contains the data for the profile data value, is empty (that is, there’s no value to write to the project sheet).
Steps to fix
Populate the source cell with data
OR
If the data isn’t yet available (but will be as the project progresses), change the profile data settings to use a cell link.
See Apply the fix section for more details.
The profile data field value is empty if the profile data needs to be manually entered by the user
Example error message
Unable to update profile data field Budget in column Description row 3 of sheet Upgrade to EXP05 - Budget because the value for this required field was not provided during project creation.
Please update the profile data field in the blueprint to source the value from the intake sheet, and create a global update to add profile data with the option Link project profile data from intake sheet to project sheet selected.
Cause
You didn’t provide a value for this required profile data field.
This occurs when automation is enabled on a blueprint with manual profile data fields that aren’t set as optional.
Steps to fix
Use the intake sheet to source the value for this field by updating the profile data settings. Before updating the blueprint, you need to disable the automation and then re-enable it.
OR
Set the profile data field as optional if you can’t source it from the intake sheet, but you need the automation.
OR
Disable automation for this blueprint and only provision manually by providing data for each project.
See Apply the fix section for more details.