Sum a column UNPARSEABLE error

Jamila

I keep getting an UNPARSEABLE error when I am trying to sum a column named Contract Monthly Payments using the formula =SUM([Contract Monthly Payments]:[Contract Monthly Payments]).The formula is in a row at the top of the sheet. I ensured that everything is spelt correctly by copy and pasting directly from the column properties.

I've had this problem before in sheet summary. The column name would not highlight in blue while writing the formula. I corrected this by simply backspacing and trying again a few times. I figured it was some kind of glitch. This did not work this time. Any ideas on what could be wrong?

Devin Lee

Hey @Jamila,

You have found a mystery. A repeatable one at that. For some reason if I copy/paste in your code it doesn't work but when I write it myself it does. Might be some freaky minor issue like wrong font. Try to copy/paste in the code below to see if it works. Rather than typing it out generally I will highlight two cells and delete the numbers from the formula.

=SUM([Contract Monthly Payments]:[Contract Monthly Payments])

On a side note, one day I found out there are different types of commas which can cause errors so in the code world not all symbols are treated the same. Might be on of those situations.

Christina09

Hi @Jamila

#UNPARSEABLE

Cause

The formula has a problem which prevents it from being parsed and interpreted. This can happen for many reasons, such as misspelling, incomplete operators, using the wrong case for a column name, or using single quotes instead of double quotes.

Resolution

Ensure that all column names are spelled correctly in cell references, operators are being used correctly, and any text strings in the formula are surrounded by double quotes (" ").

It doesn't look like there is a problem with the formula.

Can you share a screenshot of it?

Jamila

Screenshot 2022-01-05 at 5.49.14 PM.png

Devin Lee

Hey @Jamila,

You have found a mystery. A repeatable one at that. For some reason if I copy/paste in your code it doesn't work but when I write it myself it does. Might be some freaky minor issue like wrong font. Try to copy/paste in the code below to see if it works. Rather than typing it out generally I will highlight two cells and delete the numbers from the formula.

=SUM([Contract Monthly Payments]:[Contract Monthly Payments])

On a side note, one day I found out there are different types of commas which can cause errors so in the code world not all symbols are treated the same. Might be on of those situations.

Jamila

Thanks a lot @Devin Lee ! I tried highlighting a cell and deleting the numbers. That worked! ....Weird though.