Known issues – add-ons for Google Sheets

The only option in the add-on menu is Help

Sometimes when you're trying to run the add-on, the only option you can see in the drop-down menu is Help. This is usually caused by Google internal problems.

Current solution: Reload the spreadsheet a few times and see if other options appear. If this doesn't help, email us to support@ablebits.com

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

drive.google.com refused to connect

This problem is caused by an issue on the side of Google when you are logged in under more than one account.

Current solution: Sign out of all accounts and log back in only under the account you used to grant permissions to the add-on. If this doesn't help, email us to support@ablebits.com

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

The add-on doesn't install at the first attempt

This is a known Google problem that affects all add-ons in Google Workspace Marketplace. You click Install, allow permissions, see the spinning arrows working, then they disappear but the page still says Install. There's no confirmation of the successfull installation whatsoever.

Current solution: Since we can't control the problem, we have to ask you to try and install the add-on a few more times.

Before you do so, make sure to sign out and log back into only one Google account — it often helps.

Also, please try to install from both the Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons menu in your spreadsheet and from a Google Workspace Marketplace page in a new browser tab.

If the installation still doesn't go through, please report the problem to Google — this will help them in debugging. Just click the icon with a question mark at the upper-right corner of the installation page/window and select Send Feedback:

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

I removed the add-on but it's still in the list of my tools

First, check if you share you spreadsheet with someone. If so, the Extensions menu will show all add-ons used by all users in this document. It's just the way spreadsheets work. Even if you make a copy of this shared spreadsheet, its settings will inherit all add-ons used in the original document. Hence, you'll see the option to install the tools.

If you don't share the spreadsheet with anyone, contact your Admin to make sure the add-on is not installed on your entire domain. If it is, please ask your Admin to remove the tool for you or simply change its settings.

If the add-on is not installed to the entire domain (and you're not in a shared spreadsheet), or if you make a copy of the shared file, just click that Install button to get the add-on back and then uninstall it from your account the standard way.

If this doesn't help, email us to support@ablebits.com

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

The add-on doesn't work (the Next button is disabled, "working" arrows are spinning all the time, or there is no result)

This issue occurs if you are logged in under more than one Google account. It happens due to an issue with multiple Google accounts on Google side.

Possible solution: Please sign out and log back in with an account under which you want to work with your spreadsheet.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

Tools remain blank or unresponsive

When you try to run add-ons from Power Tools, nothing happens — the tools don't start and remain unresponsive. Standalone tools may load blank without any controls at all.

This may happen if your computer web filters or antivirus software block the add-on requests to the servers it relies on.

Solution: You, your Workspace Admin, or System Administrator need to whitelist the following URLs used by the add-on:

1. docs.google.com
2. aapgate.ablebits.com
3. cdn.apps4gs.com
4. cdna.apps4gs.com

Once the URLs are whitelisted, the tools should work as expected.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

Custom functions don't work — #NAME, Loading..., etc.

Some add-ons return the result as a formula. In this case, they use custom functions that we created for Google Sheets. The performance of any custom function fully depends on the work of Google Sheets which is beyond our control. There may be troubles to load all custom functions and we're unable to change this.

We've already reported this behavior in the Google internal bug tracker system and will continue investigating the issue and searching for ways to influence it.

Possible solution: Sometimes, the issue is a temporary glitch that causes formulas to freeze or show "Loading...". The first step is often the simplest: refresh your browser or wait several minutes for the spreadsheet to recover.

When unsuccessful, try setting the locale in File > Settings. If you're not the spreadsheet owner, ask the owner to refresh formulas for you using the tool. If this doesn't help, please try to clear cache in your browser, sign out of and back into your Google account, or even make a copy of the problem spreadsheet. The formulas may load eventually.

Issue-prone add-ons: Function by Color, Combine Sheets, Consolidate Sheets, Power Tools.

API call to sheets.spreadsheets.values.update failed with error: Unable to parse range

When the add-ons are trying to update the info on the sheets with a plus sign (+) in their names, they stop with an error saying API call to sheets.spreadsheets.values.update failed with error: Unable to parse range.

The issue is new and first occurred in April, 2023 after Google Sheets updates. We reported it in their internal bug-tracking system, so please star it as well to let them know how many people are affected.

Current solution: Remove the plus signs (+) from the names of the sheets that you're about to process with the add-ons.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

The add-on cannot paste the formula: limit for 50k chars in a cell

When you insert the result as a formula with some tools, the length of the formula depends on the number of sheets/files you refer to. In some cases (mainly with Combine Sheets and Consolidate Sheets), the formula may exceed the maximum of 50,000 characters in a single cell. To our regret, Google Sheets prevents such long inputs into cells.

Current solution: Process data by parts.

Issue-prone add-ons: Combine Sheets, Consolidate Sheets, Function by Color, Filter and Extract Data, Power Tools, IF Formula Builder.

IMPORTRANGE — internal error

When you combine data from multiple sheets into one, the IMPORTRANGE function used for this purpose may return an internal error. Since this function is standard for Google Sheets and we simply utilize it for our add-on, we cannot control or affect it.

The bug has already been reported to Google. But, unfortunately, they can't fix it since too many different circumstances cause it. So here are the found temporary workarounds.

Possible solution: Change the case of a letter used in the range (the second argument), like this:

IMPORTRANGE("id", "A:A") > IMPORTRANGE("id", "A:a")

If the above solution doesn't help, duplicate your IMPORTRANGE inside IFERROR, where the first IMPORTRANGE is your original one, while the second features a letter of another case. For example:

IFERROR(IMPORTRANGE("id", "A:A"), IMPORTRANGE("id", "A:a"))

Do this for each IMPORTRANGE from your formula.

Get help from the Google support team: Open a new Google Workspace Support Case where your particular problem can be analyzed by a support specialist.

Issue-prone add-ons: Combine Sheets, Consolidate Sheets, Power Tools.

All records starting with a single quote (') are processed without it

Due to the Google Sheets peculiarities regarding data formats, our add-ons cannot detect a single quote at the beginning of cells, e.g. '+12

Hence, values in such cells are processed without the single quote. This may result in unexpected cell content if you use single quotes at the beginning of calculations, etc.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

Custom functions are not updated automatically

Caused by a known bug in Google Sheets, unless you change a value in one of the cells, we can't automatically update the formulas we insert.

Current solution: Function by Color introduced the Refresh option to update all custom formulas it inserts into your sheet in one go.

Issue-prone add-ons: Function by Color, Power Tools.

Scenarios don't appear in the Extensions menu

When you place the results into a new spreadsheet, you won't see your saved scenarios in that file under the Extensions drop-down.

Current solution: Run the add-on once in that new spreadsheet and all your scenarios will appear in the Google Sheets menu.

Issue-prone add-ons: Remove Duplicates, Merge Sheets, Power Tools.

Cannot process images

Our add-ons cannot process images in your data because we don't have a technical possibility to access pictures. The Google Sheets team has confirmed on their internal bug-tracking system that they don't plan to implement this.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

Cannot process dates

When the add-ons process dates, they don't get them in the same way you see them. When the add-on script gets an array of data to process, it receives the date as a combination of numeric characters that differ from the date format displayed to you in the sheet, e.g. the script sees "Mon May 05 2014 00:00:00 GMT" instead of "5/5/2014". This is the reason why neither search nor replacement will return correct results. And that's why many of our add-ons do not process dates — to avoid data corruption.

Issue-prone add-ons: Advanced Find and Replace, Merge Values, Modify tools in Power Tools.

The add-on gives a Server error

This is a very general error. It may be caused by exceeding the limit of 10 million cells in Google Sheets. If you have a large spreadsheet, you can check this by trying to duplicate the sheet with your data, you will see the error right away.

Current solution: Avoid the options that add cells and skip the option to create a backup copy of the sheet.

Issue-prone add-ons: All Google Sheets add-ons.

The add-on returns no results

When you work with a large range of various data and if you have a very slow Internet connection, the add-on may hit Google's 360-second time limit for operation. Our developers work hard to avoid such issues, please let us know if you encounter it with any Ablebits tools.

Issue-prone add-ons: Advanced Find and Replace, Table Styles.

The Clear tool doesn't remove comments

When you run the option Clear all, it removes everything but comments from cells since Google Spreadsheet Service doesn't allow to access and manage comments at the moment.

Issue-prone add-ons: Power Tools.

Function by Color cannot process large data sets (over 200K cells) with one formula

Due to some Google Sheets limits for custom functions, our Function by Color tool cannot process large data sets (over 200K cells) with one formula.

Current solution: Process your data in smaller parts with a few Function by Color formulas. You can sum up their results afterwards if needed.

Issue-prone add-ons: Function by Color, Power Tools.

Function by Color freezes when trying to refresh results for numerous formulas. Some valuesByColor formulas disappear

Due to Google limitations for custom functions, in order to recalculate formulas there has to be some change made in the values. Instead, our Function by Color temporarily deletes its own formulas and inserts them back triggering the recalculation. Once the process is over, all formulas are back and updated.

Nevertheless, in rare cases with too many formulas, the add-on freezes unable to return all results.

Current solution: Restore your data through File > Version history > See version history and process data in smaller parts.

Issue-prone add-ons: Function by Color, Power Tools.

Function by Color doesn't support Theme colors

Though theme colors were introduced to Google Sheets a few years back, their algorithm still doesn't allow our add-on to get all colors in the selected range.

Current solution: Use standard Fill colors rather than Theme colors.

Issue-prone add-ons: Function by Color, Power Tools.

Filter and Extract Data returns incorrect results

When looking for matches in a column with both dates and time, the add-on pulls incorrect/not all matches.

Current solution: Apply the same number format to the entire column with your records: Format > Number > Date time in the Google Sheets menu.

Otherwise, with values formatted differently within the column, for instance, pure dates (9/27/2019) and date and time (9/27/2019 9:00 AM), the add-on won't be able to process data correctly.

Issue-prone add-ons: Filter and Extract Data, Power Tools.

Sheets Manager copies/moves a Chart sheet incorrectly

When Sheets Manager copies/moves a Chart sheet (a sheet without cells, with a Chart separated from its source data), you may sometimes see that the Chart looks different or it is empty whatsoever. This happens due to the Google Sheets limitations and affects Charts without the data in the X-axis.

Issue-prone add-ons: Sheets Manager, Power Tools.