Troubleshooting Custom Merge Field Errors

For: District Admins, School Admins, and Teachers of AFC+, School Engagement, and District Engagement partners

If something's not quite right with your file or your message, TalkingPoints will let you know before anything gets sent. This article explains what each message means and what to do about it.

These are checked the moment you upload your CSV.

Some values are blank or missing

One or more students are missing a value for a field used in your message. You can go back and fix it, but you don't have to — it's your choice. If you send as-is, that spot in the message will just be blank for that family.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Blank/missing values warning — see "image 11.png" in source doc]

A field name uses characters that aren't allowed

Your column header can only use letters, numbers, and underscores. You'll need to fix the file and upload it again before you can send.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Invalid field name error — see "image 12.png" in source doc]

Two columns have the same name

Every column needs its own unique name. You'll need to fix the file and upload it again before you can send.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Duplicate field name error — see "image 13.png" in source doc]

A field name matches a standard merge field

Your column name is already used by TalkingPoints for a built-in field. Rename the column and upload the file again.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Conflict with standard field error — see "image 14.png" in source doc]

Too many custom fields

Your file can only include up to 10 custom fields. Remove any extra columns and upload again.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Too many fields error — see "image 15.png" in source doc]

No student IDs matched

None of the IDs in your file matched a student at your school. Double-check that you're using the right IDs (SIS ID or manual ID) and upload again.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: No IDs matched error — see "image 16.png" in source doc]

Some student IDs didn't match

At least one student matched, but a few rows didn't. This is your choice to fix: you can send as-is, and those unmatched rows just won't receive the message.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Some IDs not matched warning — see "image 17.png" in source doc]

A student ID matches more than one student

This can happen if one row's ID matches a student through their SIS ID, and another row's ID happens to match a different student through their manual ID. This is also your choice to fix: you can send as-is, and those rows just won't receive the message.

[SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Ambiguous ID error — see "image 18.png" in source doc]

You used a field that isn't in your file

If you type a merge field into your message that doesn't match any column in your file, TalkingPoints won't flag it — it will just show up as plain text, exactly as you typed it. Double-check your spelling and capitalization against your file's column headers.

You added a field but never used it

If your file includes a column you never added to your message, you'll see a warning asking you to confirm that's intentional. You can still send if that's what you meant to do.

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