Spreadsheet Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions when working with spreadsheets in ChapterWise.

Spreadsheet Not Rendering

Symptoms

  • Empty container where spreadsheet should be
  • "Error loading spreadsheet" message

Solutions

  1. Check Jspreadsheet is loaded
  2. View page source, look for jspreadsheet.min.js

  3. Check browser console for loading errors

  4. Validate CSV syntax

  5. Ensure consistent column count per row
  6. Quote values containing commas: "Value, with comma"

  7. No trailing commas

  8. Check include path

  9. Paths starting with / are relative to project root
  10. Verify file exists at specified location

Formulas Not Calculating

Symptoms

  • Formula text shows instead of result
  • #ERROR! in cells

Solutions

  1. Use correct cell references =B2-C2 =[@Budget]-[@Spent] (structured refs not supported)

  2. Capitalize formula names =SUM(B2:B10) =sum(b2:b10)

  3. Check cell reference format =A1 (column letter + row number) =1A (wrong order)

CSV Parsing Issues

Commas in Values

# Wrong - breaks parsing
Name,Description
Widget,A useful, handy tool

# Correct - quote the value
Name,Description
Widget,"A useful, handy tool"

Line Breaks in Values

# Use quotes for multi-line
Name,Notes
Widget,"Line one
Line two"

Numbers Parsed as Text

# Ensure numbers aren't quoted in YAML
data:
  - value: 100      # Number
  - value: "100"    # String

Dark Mode Issues

Symptoms

  • Text invisible on dark background
  • Cells don't match theme

Solutions

  • Ensure spreadsheet.css is loaded
  • Check for CSS specificity conflicts
  • Verify dark mode classes are applied to container

Performance Issues

Large Spreadsheets

  • Keep under 1000 rows for best performance
  • Consider pagination for larger datasets
  • Use server-side processing for big data

Many Formulas

  • Complex formulas recalculate on every change
  • Pre-calculate in Python when possible
  • Limit cross-references between cells

.spreadsheet.yaml Validation

Common YAML Errors

# Wrong - missing quotes on time-like values
data:
  - time: 10:30    # Parsed as 630 (seconds)

# Correct
data:
  - time: "10:30"  # Kept as string

# Wrong - inconsistent indentation
columns:
  - key: name
   title: Name     # 1 space instead of 4

# Correct
columns:
  - key: name
    title: Name    # Consistent 4-space indent

Validate Before Use

# Check YAML syntax
python -c "import yaml; yaml.safe_load(open('file.spreadsheet.yaml'))"

Getting Help

If issues persist: 1. Check browser console for JavaScript errors 2. Validate YAML/CSV syntax with online tools 3. Test with minimal example to isolate issue 4. Check ChapterWise documentation for updates