Common Issues

Connection issues

Cannot connect Google account — OAuth popup fails or closes

Problem: Clicking "Connect" opens the Google sign-in screen but it fails to complete, or closes without saving the connection.

Fix:

1. Disable browser popup blockers and ad blockers for coupler.io and accounts.google.com.

2. Clear browser cookies and try again in an incognito window.

3. Make sure you're signing in with the Google account that has access to the spreadsheet you want to export.

4. If your Google Workspace account has restricted third-party app access, ask your Google admin to allow Coupler.io.

Google 400 error — "The server cannot process the request. Sign in is required."

Problem: When selecting a spreadsheet in the file picker, you see a Google 400 error or a "Sign in is required" message instead of your files.

Fix:

1. This typically happens when browser cookies for Google are blocked or expired. Allow third-party cookies for coupler.io and accounts.google.com in your browser settings.

2. Try using a different browser or incognito mode.

3. If your Google account uses multiple sessions (e.g., personal + work), make sure you're signed in to the correct account in the same browser tab.

4. Disconnect and reconnect the Google Sheets connection at coupler.io/app/connections.

Spreadsheet not appearing in the file picker

Problem: The spreadsheet you want to export is not visible in the file picker when setting up your data flow.

Fix:

1. Confirm the spreadsheet is shared with the connected Google account — it must have at least Viewer access.

2. If the spreadsheet is on a Google Workspace shared drive, ensure the connected account has access to that drive.

3. Try searching for the spreadsheet by name in the file picker search box.

4. If the spreadsheet was recently shared, allow a few minutes for Google Drive to propagate permissions.

"The API developer key is invalid" error when selecting a spreadsheet

Problem: When trying to select a spreadsheet in the file picker, you see an "API developer key is invalid" error. Despite the name, this is not an API key issue.

Fix: This is a known Google issue — it happens when you are not signed into the correct Google account in the same browser where you're using Coupler.io.

1. In the same browser where Coupler.io is open, open a new tab and go to Gmail or Google Drive. Sign in with the Google account you want to use.

2. Go back to Coupler.io, reload the page, and try selecting your spreadsheet again.

3. If you use multiple Google accounts, make sure the correct one is the active session in that browser. Google does not share login sessions between different browsers.

Missing data

"A specified worksheet/range was not found" error

Problem: The data flow fails with an error stating the worksheet or range was not found.

Fix:

1. Check that the sheet name in your configuration exactly matches the tab name in the spreadsheet — including capitalization and spaces.

2. Verify the range format is correct: use standard A1 notation (e.g., A:Z, A1:Z100). Do not include the sheet name in the Range field — it is set separately via the sheet selector.

3. If you renamed or deleted a sheet in the source spreadsheet, update the data flow to point to the new sheet name.

4. If using a regex pattern, test your pattern against the actual sheet names to confirm it matches at least one.

Only part of the data is exported — rows are missing

Problem: The export completes successfully but fewer rows are returned than expected.

Fix:

1. Check your Range setting. A fixed range like A1:Z100 only exports up to row 100 — use A:Z or A1:Z to include all rows.

2. If exporting multiple sheets, check whether all selected sheets have data. Empty sheets contribute zero rows.

3. Empty rows in the middle of the sheet are skipped. If there is an empty row separating two data blocks, rows below the empty row may not be exported.

4. Verify that the header row is in the first row of the range. If the first row is empty, the actual headers may be treated as data, and columns may be misaligned.

Data is truncated due to plan row limits

Problem: The export runs successfully but only returns a fraction of the rows in your spreadsheet — for example, only 100 or 1,000 rows.

Fix: Google Sheets is a metered source in Coupler.io. The number of rows you can pull per run depends on your billing plan:

• Free: 100 rows/run

• Personal: 1,000 rows/run

• Professional: 10,000 rows/run

• Team: 100,000 rows/run

• Business: unlimited

If your sheet has more rows than your plan allows, upgrade to a higher plan. Alternatively, split the data across multiple sheets and set up separate data flows for each, using Append mode in the destination.

Sheet Name column is missing from the output

Problem: When exporting multiple sheets, no Sheet Name column appears in the output.

Fix: The Sheet Name column is only added when two or more sheets are selected (or when a regex pattern matches multiple sheets). If only one sheet is selected — even via a pattern that matches only one sheet — the column is not added. Select at least two sheets or use a pattern that matches multiple tabs.

New sheets added to the spreadsheet are not being picked up

Problem: You've added new tabs to the spreadsheet but they don't appear in the export.

Fix:

1. If you selected sheets by name, you need to manually add the new sheet to the data flow configuration.

2. To automatically include new sheets, switch to a regex pattern that matches the naming convention of your sheets (e.g., Sales 202.+ for yearly sheets, .* for all sheets). Coupler.io will pick up any new sheets matching the pattern on the next run.

Data format issues

Dates are imported as text instead of date values

Problem: Date columns from the spreadsheet appear as text strings in the destination rather than proper date values.

Fix: The Google Sheets API returns cell values as strings when dates use custom formats that include text (e.g., 2025-01-12 (Mon)). Standard date formats work correctly (e.g., 2025-01-12, 10-Jan-2021, January 14, 2021).

Option 1 — Fix the format in the source spreadsheet: Change the custom date format in Google Sheets to a standard format without text components. Then apply your preferred display format in the destination file (Coupler.io does not override destination formatting).

Option 2 — Add a formula column in Coupler.io's Transformation step: Use the DATETIME_FORMAT formula to convert the text value. For example: DATETIME_FORMAT({Date}, 'YYYY-MM-DD')

Option 3 — Add a formula in the destination file: If you cannot change the source format, add a formula in the destination spreadsheet to parse the text date: =DATE(LEFT(A2,4), MID(A2,6,2), MID(A2,9,2))

Numbers are imported as text

Problem: Numeric columns arrive as text strings, causing issues with calculations or sorting in the destination.

Fix:

1. Check the cell format in the source spreadsheet — cells formatted as "Plain text" export as text even if they contain numbers. Change the format to "Number" or "Automatic" in Google Sheets.

2. Numbers with currency symbols (e.g., $1,234) or percentage formatting may arrive as strings. Strip formatting in the source or use a formula column in Coupler.io's Transformation step to convert.

Percentage formatting is lost after import

Problem: Cells formatted as percentages in the source spreadsheet lose their formatting in the destination — they appear as decimal values (e.g., 0.75 instead of 75%) or the destination formatting gets overwritten on each run.

Fix: Coupler.io exports raw cell values, not formatting. Percentage cells are exported as their underlying decimal value. Additionally, when writing to a Google Sheets destination, Coupler.io overwrites cell formatting on each run.

Workaround: Import data into a dedicated "raw data" sheet. Create a separate sheet that references the raw data using formulas (e.g., =RawData!A2) and apply your percentage formatting there. This formatting sheet won't be overwritten by Coupler.io.

Formula results are not exporting — seeing formula text instead of values

Problem: Cells containing formulas are exported as the formula string (e.g., =SUM(A1:A10)) rather than the computed result.

Fix: This typically happens when the cell is formatted as "Plain text" in Google Sheets, which prevents formula evaluation. Change the cell format to "Automatic" or the appropriate type. If the formula is in an array formula, make sure the array formula is not returning an error.

Timeouts

Timeout: "we could not import your data within 9 minutes"

Problem: The data flow fails with a timeout error, typically when the spreadsheet is very large or contains many complex formulas.

Fix:

1. Reduce the range — Instead of A:Z, use a more specific range that excludes empty columns (e.g., A:K if only 11 columns have data).

2. Split the export — If the sheet has many rows, consider splitting it into smaller sheets and setting up separate data flows for each.

3. Remove heavy formulas — Spreadsheets with many ARRAYFORMULA, QUERY, or IMPORTRANGE functions take longer to process. Consider replacing complex formulas with static values where possible.

4. Check for errors in the sheet — Formula errors (#REF!, #DIV/0!, etc.) can slow down Google Sheets API responses. Fix broken formulas before exporting.

5. For very large data (hundreds of thousands of rows), consider using a different source format (CSV or database) instead of Google Sheets.

Destination overwrites

These issues apply when Google Sheets is used as a destination (not just a source). Since Google Sheets is commonly used as both, these are among the most frequent support topics.

Coupler.io overwrites formulas and data to the right of the imported range

Problem: After each import, formulas, custom columns, or manually entered data to the right of the imported data disappear.

Fix: This is expected behavior. Coupler.io starts writing from the cell specified in the importer settings and replaces all data below and to the right of that cell.

To protect your formulas and custom columns:

1. Use a fixed destination range — Set the range to match your source columns exactly (e.g., A1:T if you have 20 columns). Coupler.io will only write within that range.

2. Place formulas to the left — Move custom columns to the left of the import start cell.

3. Use a separate "raw data" sheet — Import to a dedicated sheet, then reference it from a second sheet where you build formulas and dashboards. The reference sheet won't be touched by Coupler.io.

Multiple data flows overwrite each other in the same destination sheet

Problem: You have two or more data flows writing to the same Google Sheets tab, and one importer's data disappears when the other runs.

Fix: Data flows run in parallel and the execution order is not guaranteed. When two importers write to the same sheet in Replace mode, whichever runs last overwrites the other.

Solutions:

1. Write each importer to a separate sheet — then create a combined view sheet using ARRAYFORMULA or ={Sheet1!A:Z; Sheet2!A:Z} to merge the data.

2. Use fixed destination ranges — Set non-overlapping ranges for each importer (e.g., importer 1 writes to A1:H, importer 2 writes to J1:Q).

3. Use Append mode — If both data flows add rows to the same dataset, use Append mode so they don't overwrite each other. Be aware that Append accumulates rows on each run.

Google API errors

Google API 500 error — "Internal error encountered"

Problem: The data flow fails with a Google API 500 error.

Fix: This is a transient error from the Google Sheets API — it is not caused by Coupler.io. It typically occurs when:

• The Google Sheets API is temporarily unavailable or under maintenance

• The spreadsheet is overloaded, contains many heavy formulas, or has slow loading time

• The spreadsheet has formula errors or broken references

Steps to resolve:

1. Wait a few minutes and re-run the data flow. Transient API errors usually resolve on their own.

2. Open the source spreadsheet in Google Sheets and check for visible issues (slow loading, formula errors, broken references).

3. Try exporting a simpler test spreadsheet to confirm the issue is with the source file and not a general API outage.

4. If the error persists, copy the relevant sheet to a new spreadsheet and set up the data flow from the copy.

Google API "Service unavailable" error

Problem: The data flow fails with a "Service unavailable" error from the Google Sheets API.

Fix: This is a transient Google-side error, separate from the 500 "Internal error." It typically means the Google Sheets API is temporarily overloaded or under maintenance.

1. Wait 5–10 minutes and re-run the data flow. These errors almost always resolve on their own.

2. If the error persists across multiple runs, check the Google Workspace Status Dashboard for ongoing incidents.

3. If your spreadsheet is very large or formula-heavy, it may be contributing to the issue — try simplifying the sheet.

"Resource has been exhausted" — Google API quota error

Problem: The data flow fails with an error like "Resource has been exhausted (e.g. check quota)."

Fix: This means your Google account has hit the Google Sheets API rate limit. This is a per-user Google quota — not a Coupler.io limit. It typically happens when multiple tools, scripts, or data flows read from or write to the same spreadsheet heavily.

Coupler.io retries with exponential backoff (1s, 3s, 9s, 27s, 81s, ~4min) but gives up after approximately 6 attempts.

To resolve:

1. Reduce the number of tools and scripts accessing the same spreadsheet simultaneously.

2. Split the data across multiple spreadsheets to spread the API load.

3. If you have many Coupler.io data flows reading from the same file, stagger their schedules so they don't run at the same time.

4. Reduce the complexity of the source sheet — fewer formulas and smaller ranges generate fewer API calls.