Troubleshoot Spreadsheets issues | Geckoboard Help Center

Troubleshoot Spreadsheets issues

Learn how to resolve possible issues with Spreadsheets.

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Common issues
Issue Error message
Data in the sheet does not load in editor We were unable to build your widget or File too large, spreadsheet exceeds 5MB
Unable to link a spreadsheet directly FetchError: Could not find spreadsheet file
Cannot see any files for Google Drive There was an error fetching the list of spreadsheets
Expecting to see 0 value within your widget No data to visualize
Specific Excel file not available -
Data not updating after changes to the sheet -
Pivot table data from Google Sheets is not visible -

We were unable to build your widget or File too large

If you see a We were unable to build your widget error on the face of your Spreadsheets widget, or File too large, spreadsheet exceeds 5MB message while editing the widget, this means the spreadsheet file in use exceeds the 5 MB file size limit.

To use the file with Geckoboard, the file size must be below 5 MB. To reduce the file size, there are two solutions:

  1. Clean up the spreadsheet:

    • Remove non-essential cell formatting: Check for styles applied to empty rows or columns and remove them.
    • Remove non-essential worksheets: Delete any worksheets that are not in use.

  2. Create a dedicated sheet specifically for Geckoboard: Start a new spreadsheet for metrics displayed on Geckoboard.

Could not find spreadsheet file

If you receive the message FetchError: Could not find spreadsheet file, this can happen for two reasons:

  1. The sharing settings for the link are not configured correctly.
  2. The file has been renamed, moved, or deleted.

There was an error fetching the list of spreadsheets

You'll need to allow Google Drive permission to share data with Geckoboard. An admin must follow steps to allow users to install Google Drive apps.

No data to visualize

Formulas can reset to zero or blank, interpreted differently in Geckoboard. Use IFERROR or ISBLANK to show zero instead of empty cells.

IFERROR example

=IFERROR(QUERY(Calculations,"select count(A) where E is not null and N matches '"&Calculations!$R$2&"' and E like '%"&A2&"%' label count(A) ''"),0)

ISBLANK example

Use this formula to change empty cell outputs:

=IF(ISBLANK(A2),0,A2)

Specific Excel file not available

If your file isn't showing up, try searching for its name or ensure it’s in the correct format (.xlsx).

Data not updating after changes to the sheet

Possible reasons include widgets not refreshing or uploaded files failing to overwrite the previous version.

Your widgets haven't refreshed yet

Widgets refresh every 15 minutes. Manual refreshing is also an option when needed.

Your uploaded file failed to overwrite the previous version

Avoid creating duplicates by using the desktop app to overwrite files.

Pivot table data from Google Sheets is not visible

Update your pivot table and add a value summarized by COUNTUNIQUE to make it accessible in Geckoboard.