Electronic Submittal of Information (ESI) - Frequently Asked Questions
Section 7.0 Common ERROR Messages During Data Upload
7.1 "Incorrect number of fields" (GEO)
If your error message says "incorrect number of fields", it indicates that you have either too FEW or too MANY delimited fields per line (row) in your text file.
If you are using a spreadsheet program such as Excel to create your table and are leaving the last field (i.e. the far right column) of your table empty, it is important that you place a single "space" (i.e. hit the space-bar once) in each empty cell in that last column (field). Excel will then know how many fields your table is supposed to contain and will provide the proper number of field delimiters in your text file. See section 4.2.1 in "GeoTracker Survey_XYZ, Well Data, and Site Map Guidelines & Restrictions" for instructions on how to avoid this error.
To help avoid having too many fields or blank rows, it is important that you start with either a new, clean (blank) worksheet or a copy of the downloadable Excel template from our website. This will ensure that there are no remnants of character-containing cells (including characters you can't see) hiding on your worksheet outside the boundaries of your table that could cause Excel to add additional field delimiters or blank rows to your delimited text file because it thinks your table is taller or wider than it really is.
Apple/Mac computer users: If you are using Microsoft Excel for Mac, save your Excel worksheet as "Windows text" instead of "Text (Tab delimited(*.txt)".
7.2 "Value is not valid" or "Not a valid value" (GEO)
If a non-valid value is entered in a field that requires a "valid value," an error will be generated. "Valid values" are abbreviations that the SWRCB specifies to ensure universal consistency.
Valid Values can be looked up on the public ESI webpage or from a secure ESI account.
Public ESI webpage https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/ust/electronic_submittal/index.shtml
Scroll down to the "Technical Information on Uploading Data" section
Click on "Valid Value Lists (VVL) for ESI
Click on the type of submittal (GEO_XY, GEO_WELL, etc.)
From the "FIELD NAME" drop down list, select the field name that you need valid values for
Click on "Search For Values" to view the entire list of valid values for that field name
Secure ESI account
At upper left under TOOLS, click on "VVL Search Tool"
Click on the type of submittal (GEO_XY, GEO_WELL, etc.)
From the "FIELD NAME" drop down list, select the field name that you need valid values for
Click on "Search For Values" to view the entire list of valid values for that field name
7.3 "Field Point Name (LOCID): is invalid." (EDF)
The Field Point Name in the EDF is not on list of Field Point Names (see FAQ 5.3) for the Global ID contained in the EDF.
When you see this message after trying to upload or error-check an EDF file, click on the "VIEW ERROR FILE" link to view the error report.
7.5 "This file is not a zip file" or "THE FILE YOU ARE UPLOADING MUST BE A ZIP FILE" (GEO file)"
Your EDF and GEO text files must be "zipped" using a file compression utility such as the built-in one included with later versions of Windows. The "zip" file name MUST have a ".zip" file extension. The individual “text” file names MUST have a “.txt” file extension. Do not repeat this extension if the file already has one.
Another common reason for receiving this error is when attempting to upload a PDF file of a written report/document as an "EDF" submittal type (the lab analytical data submittal) rather than as a "GEO_REPORT" (the correct submittal type for a report/document).
7.6 "Invalid global ID/field point name" (GEO file)
This error is telling you that the Global ID referenced in the upload file is either not one of your "Associated Facilities" or the "Edit Field Points" list for that Global ID does not include one or more of the FPNs listed in the file you are trying to upload.
Check that the file you are trying to upload contains the correct Global ID and each of the FPNs have an exact match on the correct Global ID's FPN list. The FPN list can be viewed by clicking on "Edit Field Points" (under TOOLS) and then clicking on the facility's name.
Note: only one Global ID can be in an EDF file. If different Global IDs are listed in the same EDF file, the system will select one Global ID as correct and flag the other Global IDs (and associated field point names) as an error.
If the file you are trying to upload is a delimited text file, be sure there's no extra space after the Global ID's last digit, or the FPN's last character. An extra space is not visually apparent when viewing a tab delimited text file, but it is treated by GeoTracker as part of the GLOBAL_ID or Field point name by GeoTracker. An extra space sometimes occurs when you use your mouse to copy and paste the Global ID or Field point name from another source (e.g. web page) and inadvertently include a space after the last character in the copied text.
You can check for a space in a tab-delimited text file by placing your cursor just to the right of the last GLOBAL ID digit or Field point name character and use the right arrow key to see if the cursor immediately tabs over to the next field or if it first moves over a space before tabbing over.
If the file you are trying to upload is an EDF in "fixed length" format, FIELD POINT NAMES longer than 10 characters are truncated to 10 characters. FIELD POINT NAMES can be up to 15 characters in all types of files except fixed length EDFs. It is recommended that you always keep your FPNs to 10 or less characters to avoid this issue.
7.7 "Global ID access not found" (EDF file)
This error message is telling you that the Global ID in the EDF file is not one of your "Associated Facilities." If the Global ID is correct, then it is probably not yet in your "Associated Facilities". Or, it could be due to typo in the Global ID, such as a letter "O" instead of a number "0". Or, sometimes labs enter "NA" for the Global ID if they don't know what it is. In the EDF, depending on which EDF file format your lab used, you will find the Global ID in either the EDFFLAT.txt, EDFSAMP.txt, or NPDLSAMP.txt file.
