"Create failed! - key: "value", values: "", type: string: invalid value" Error Troubleshooting
This error typically occurs when you copy and paste text directly from a word processing program, like Microsoft Word, into Acenda's text fields, such as product descriptions, bullet points, or attribute values.
The error message indicates that the system has encountered invalid or non-standard characters that it cannot process. These characters are often "smart" quotes, em dashes, or other formatting symbols that look correct but are represented by a non-standard character code when copied from a rich text editor.
Understanding the Issue with an Example
The error happens because the system expects plain text but receives hidden formatting or "special" characters.
Example of Invalid Character:
You type a quote in Microsoft Word: “high-quality”
When pasted into Acenda, the system may register the curly quotes (“ ”) as invalid characters, leading to the "Create failed!" error.
The system expects straight quotes (" "), which are standard plain text characters.
Easy Fix (Single Instance): Paste as Plain Text
The most straightforward and most immediate solution is to remove the invalid formatting before or during the pasting process.
Copy the desired text from its source (e.g., MS Word).
Open a plain text editor (like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac) or use a temporary online plain text tool.
Paste the text into the plain text editor. This action strips away all hidden formatting and converts the special characters into their plain text equivalents (e.g., curly quotes become straight quotes).
Copy the now-cleaned text from the plain text editor.
Paste this clean text into the relevant field in Acenda.
Re-submit the product/data update.
Alternatively, some browsers/operating systems allow you to paste as plain text using a keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+V (Mac).
Bulk Fix for Microsoft Excel (Clean Function) & Google Sheet (REGEXREPLACE function)
If you are preparing product data in bulk using Microsoft Excel, you can use a built-in function to automatically clean these non-printable, invalid characters from your data before uploading it to Acenda.
Use the CLEAN function:
Excel
=TRIM(CLEAN(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,CHAR(160)," "),CHAR(8203),""),CHAR(8212),"-"),CHAR(8220),""""),CHAR(8221),""""),CHAR(8216),"'"),CHAR(8217),"'")))
Google Sheet
=TRIM(REGEXREPLACE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,CHAR(160)," "), "[^[:ascii:]]", ""))
How to Use It:
Assume your product description text that needs cleaning is in cell A2.
In an adjacent, empty column (e.g., B2), enter the formula: =TRIM(CLEAN(SUBSTITUTE(A2, CHAR(160), " "))).
Press Enter. Cell B2 will now contain the cleaned version of the text from A2.
Drag the fill handle (the small square at the bottom right of cell B2) down to apply the formula to all other cells in column A.
Copy the entire new column (Column B).
Paste Special -> Values over the original column (Column A) or into your final upload sheet. This replaces the uncleaned text with the clean, plain text values, making your data ready for Acenda.