"invalid name: ....." error

Hi community.
When trying to import into a list I receive the error "invalid name".
Do you know where I can find the explanation of this error?

Thank you.

Accepted answers

DavidSmith

@arthursch

It could be that, or it could also be that the name already exists in the parent list if you are using a composite hierarchy

David

All comments

PavanKumar

Hi,
This could be because of name exceeding 60 character limit.
Workaround : Use numbered list, but ensure code does not exceed 60 characters.

Regards,
Pavan

arthursch

I also found this explanation.
However, I checked with a "count" on excel and all values have less than 35 characters.

Would it be possible that this error is created when a record already exists with the same name?

DavidSmith

@arthursch

It could be that, or it could also be that the name already exists in the parent list if you are using a composite hierarchy

David

arthursch

Thank you David.
It was my feeling as weel.

Could you explain exactly what a "composite hierarchy is"?

The strange thing is that this error happens when I am filling the first level of my hierarchy.
It has been solved by "adapting names to avoid duplicates" 🙂

DavidSmith

Sure - A Composite Hierarchy is where you have 2 lists that make up one list

So, a list called L1 Country is the parent of a list called L2 Cities

The advantage of this structure is you can model at the L1 level as appropriate

If you are getting the error on the first level, then the same description must exist for different items.

If that is what you want they as @PavanKumar mentioned, you can use a numbered list to display the same description, but try an use a code in all cases if possible; it is much easier later on if you have a code!!

David

nickvandesype

Hi Both - I am also bumping into this issue today. I did not had it for a very long time.

1. it's not due to a composite Hierarchy issue (only one list - a flat list)

2. the name does not exceed 60 characters

The name i want to use is 'Reverse Logistics - Extension' , so no special characters either.

Anyone an idea?

Constantin

Hey Nick,

I had a similar issue recently. What solved it for me where two things:

1. Use the UPPER & TRIM formulas to make sure all your items are aligned

2. Make sure that the PARENT item exists in the parent list when loading the child item

Hope this helps!

Costa

Constantin

Coming back to this post, another reason for this error if you use CODE and then some items have a CODE and some others dont have a CODE.

Thanks!

CommunityMember126639

I ran into this issue and found that the reason was because Anaplan cannot handle Names with underscores at the beginning or at the end.

Hope this helps anyone who is also investigating why they're receiving an "invalid name" error.

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