Error reference guide

Error	What it means	Quick fix
Formula not recognized	Formula format is incorrect	Use UPPERCASE Do not start your formula with "="
Unknown column name	Column doesn't exist or misspelled	Check exact spelling Use the left panel to insert the column name Make sure the column exists in your extracted data
#VALUE?	Wrong data type or format	Convert with VALUE()
#ERROR!	Syntax error	Check parentheses and operators
#NAME?	Unknown function or column	Verify spelling
#DIV/0!	Division by zero	Use IF() to check for zero
#NUM!	Invalid mathematical operation	Check for negative square roots
#CYCLE!	Circular reference	Remove self-references
#REF!	Missing column	Update column references
#N/A	Value not found	Use IFNA() for fallback
#NULL!	Non-overlapping ranges	Check range references

Formula errors

Unknown function: Formula not recognized

A formula that is not recognized will be underlined in red with an "Unknown function" error.

Solution

Functions must be in UPPER CASE: VALUE() not Value().
Don't start formulas with = sign.
Check for typos in function names.
The function you're using might not be supported. Use the library to search for an alternative formula to use.

Examples:

✗ Wrong: =VALUE({price})
✓ Right: VALUE({price})

✗ Wrong: concat({first}, {last})
✓ Right: CONCAT({first}, {last})

Unknown column name

Column values will be underlined in red if the referencing column does not exist.

Solution

Check exact spelling of column names.
Use the left panel to click and insert column names.
Make sure the column exists in your structured data.

💡 If you enter a column name that has a similar column in your table, the formula builder will suggest the correct column for you.

Common mistakes

✗ {product_name} when column is {productName}
✗ {Price} when column is {price} (though this works - not case sensitive)
✓ Click the column name in the left panel to insert correctly

Regular expression (Regex) limitations

💡 Browse AI uses RE2, Google's open-source regex library known for speed and safety. Some advanced patterns aren't supported, but all common text extraction patterns are supported.

❌ What's not supported

Backreferences - can't refer to previously matched groups (e.g., \1).
Lookahead/Lookbehind - can't check what comes before/after without matching.
Possessive Quantifiers - no ++ or *+ patterns.
Atomic Groups - no (?>...) syntax.

✅ What is supported

Basic matching - letters, numbers, special characters.
Character classes - [abc], [a-z], [0-9]
Wildcards - . (any character)
Quantifiers - * + ? {n,m}
Anchors - ^ (start) $ (end)
Alternation - cat|dog
Groups - (pattern) for capturing.
Shortcuts - \d (digit) \w (word) \s (space)

Workarounds

Backreferences workaround

❌ (.)\1 (match repeated character)
✅ Use two separate patterns or match the full text

Lookahead workaround

❌ \d+(?=USD) (number followed by USD)
✅ \d+USD then extract just the numbers

💡 You can use regex101.com with Golang flavor to test RE2 patterns.

Calculation errors

#VALUE!

This error means that the data is in wrong format for the operation.

Common causes

Math operations on text: "$50" * 2
Invalid regex patterns
Output exceeds limits (>1,000,000 chars)
Wrong parameter types

Solutions

Convert text to number

VALUE(SUBSTITUTE({price}, "$", ""))

Check data before operations

IF(ISNUMBER({value}), {value} * 2, 0)

#NUM!

Invalid number which means that the operation has produced an invalid result.

Common causes

Square root of negative: SQRT(-1)
Number too large/small
Undefined mathematical result

Solutions

Check before calculation

IF({value} >= 0, SQRT({value}), "Invalid")

Use ABS for absolute values

SQRT(ABS({value}))

#DIV/0!

Division by zero - you are attempting to divide by zero or an empty value.

Solutions

Check denominator first

IF({quantity} = 0, 0, {total}/{quantity})

Use IFERROR

IFERROR({total}/{quantity}, "N/A")

Set default for empty

{total}/IF({quantity}=0, 1, {quantity})

Reference errors

#NAME?

Unknown function or column which means that the formula has either a function or column it can't recognize.

Common causes

Typo in function: CONCATT instead of CONCAT.
Function doesn't exist in Browse AI.
Column referenced incorrectly.

Solutions

Verify function names are UPPERCASE.
Check our function reference for available functions.
Click column names to insert them correctly.

#REF!

Referenced column no longer exists.

Common causes

Column was deleted.
Column was renamed.
Incorrect reference syntax.

Solutions

Update formula with current column names.
Re-select column from left panel.
Check if column exists in your data.

#CYCLE!

Formula as created an infinite loop (i.e. circular reference). For example:

Column A formula: {Column B} + 1
Column B formula: {Column A} * 2

Solutions

Remove self-references or break the dependency chain.
Create intermediate columns if needed.

Data and lookup errors

#N/A

Value could not be found or does not exist.

Common causes

Lookup function found no match.
Required data is missing.
Intentional NA() marker.

Solutions

Provide fallback value

IFNA({lookup_result}, "Not Found")

Check before the lookup

IF(ISBLANK({search_value}), "No search term", {lookup_result})

#NULL!

Formula references non-overlapping ranges. This is rare, since we don't use traditional spreadsheet ranges. Review the formula for any range operations to make sure they are valid.

Error handling functions

Use these functions to manage errors in your syntax.

Function	Purpose	Example
`IFERROR(value, fallback)`	Catch any error	`IFERROR({price}/{qty}, 0)`
`IFNA(value, fallback)`	Catch only #N/A	`IFNA({lookup}, "Not found")`
`ISERROR(value)`	Check if error	`IF(ISERROR({calc}), "Error", "OK")`
`ISNA(value)`	Check if #N/A	`IF(ISNA({result}), "Missing", {result})`
`ISERR(value)`	Check non-#N/A errors	`IF(ISERR({calc}), "Calculate manually", {calc})`

Best practices for error prevention

Validate before calculating

IF(AND(ISNUMBER({price}), {qty} > 0), {price}/{qty}, "Invalid")

Set defaults for missing data

IF(ISBLANK({discount}), 0, {discount})

Chain error handlers

IFERROR(
  VALUE(SUBSTITUTE({price}, "$", "")),
  0
)

Test with edge cases

Empty values
Zero values
Text instead of numbers
Very large numbers

What are calculated columns?

Calculated columns troubleshooting guide

Error reference guide

Formula errors

Unknown function: Formula not recognized

Solution

Unknown column name

Solution

Regular expression (Regex) limitations

❌ What's not supported

✅ What is supported

Workarounds

Backreferences workaround

Lookahead workaround

Calculation errors

#VALUE!

Common causes

Solutions

Convert text to number

Check data before operations

#NUM!

Common causes

Solutions

Check before calculation

Use ABS for absolute values

#DIV/0!

Solutions

Check denominator first

Use IFERROR

Set default for empty

Reference errors

#NAME?

Common causes

Solutions

#REF!

Common causes

Solutions

#CYCLE!

Solutions

Data and lookup errors

#N/A

Common causes

Solutions

Provide fallback value

Check before the lookup

#NULL!

Error handling functions

Best practices for error prevention

Validate before calculating

Set defaults for missing data

Chain error handlers

Test with edge cases