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Happie Pingol
Community Manager
January 21, 2025

How do I troubleshoot error messages in Targeted Email?

  • September 24, 2026 at 6:32 PM
  • 8 replies
  • 281 views

When you encounter an error or warning while creating or sending a Targeted Email, use this reference to understand what the message means and how to fix it. 

 

Errors (must be resolved before sending) 

 

Error Text 

Causes and Resolution 

Message contains click tracking URLs 

You likely pasted content from a previously sent email that includes click tracking links (links that start with “click.”). Replace those URLs with your intended URLs, or use Copy From Existing when creating your email instead of pasting content. 

Message contains an invalid URL 

Check your email content — especially images and links — for any URL that wouldn’t function correctly. In the Drag & Drop editor, this is commonly caused by an image URL that contains “…” . Send a test email and inspect the HTML if you can’t locate the issue, or contact support. 

An ‘end’ keyword is missing an ‘if’ conditional statement 

Your content includes an {{end}} without a matching {{if}} before it. Check for an accidentally deleted {{if}} statement or an extra {{end}}. 

An ‘elseif’ conditional statement is missing an ‘if’ or ‘end’ keyword 

Your {{elseif}} needs a {{if …}} before it and an {{end}} after it. 

An ‘if’ conditional statement is missing an ‘end’ keyword 

Your {{if}} is missing a closing {{end}}. Check your content for the missing end statement. 

A merge field is missing the end curly braces (‘}}’) 

This happens if you typed over a merge field, accidentally deleted the closing braces, or inserted line breaks inside a merge field. 

Merge field contains an unexpected character 

A character like punctuation or a space appears inside a merge field where it shouldn’t. Replace the content inside the merge field with the expected value. Example: {{Disclaimer}} should not read {{Paid for By Pepper for the People}}. 

A calculation cannot be performed on ‘{0}’ because it is not a number 

This can happen if you used made-up merge field syntax or merge field names that start with digits. 

A calculation cannot be performed on ‘{0}’ because it is not a number or is a numeric field that may be empty 

When using contribution fields: you may need to nest the field inside an {{if}} or use {{zero_if_null}}. Also caused by using incorrect merge field names (e.g., changing {{FirstName}} to {{First-Name}}). EATools and older merge field syntax are not compatible with Targeted Email. 

There is a syntax error near ‘{0}’ 

Look for: a partial merge tag (opening or closing curly braces without the other), spaces in merge field names, nested merge fields, or missing closing parentheses on macros. 

There is an unexpected character near ‘{0}’ 

Look for: markup inside a merge tag, smart quotes in merge field names, random single or double quotes in merge field names, or encoded spaces inside merge fields. 

 

 

Warnings (can send with these, but review them first) 

 

Warning Text 

Causes and Resolution 

Per our Terms of Service and based on CAN-SPAM requirements, a legitimate physical address should be visible to the email recipient. 

The {{OrganizationAddress}} merge field is not present. If you’re including your address without the merge field, or your email is exempt from this requirement, you can send. 

[Merge Field] is present multiple times 

The merge field appears more than once in your HTML or plain text — possibly due to a theme or reusable. Remove the unintended instance or ignore if intentional. 

Your email is over 102,000 characters. Some email programs may clip your content. 

Simplify your content. In the Drag & Drop editor, use fewer rows and columns. 

SPF/DKIM Invalid 

Your SPF and DKIM records are not correctly set up. See How do I configure my DKIM or SPF for Email Deliverability? 

Using a Personal Email 

You’re using a personal domain (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc.) as your From Address. Purchase your own domain for better deliverability. 

 

Not quite what you were searching for? 

 

How do I fix a Targeted Email error in EveryAction? | What does message contains click tracking URLs mean in Targeted Email? | How do I fix a missing end keyword error in EveryAction Targeted Email? | How do I fix an invalid URL error in Targeted Email? | What does SPF DKIM Invalid warning mean in EveryAction? | How do I fix a merge field syntax error in Targeted Email? | What does the email over 102000 characters warning mean in EveryAction? 

8 replies

Explorer
January 26, 2026

And what does it mean when the error text is “Remove any <script> syntax from the 'HTML Message'”?

peter ritcheson
Bonterran
January 27, 2026

That error occurs when JavaScript code is detected in email content, which isn’t allowed in TGE.

Some Causes:

  • Browser extensions: ExpressVPN and Grammerly extensions are known to inject JavaScript snippets into HTML content during editing.
  • Copy-Paste issues: When copying content from websites or other sources, JavaScript can inadvertently be included. 
Explorer
April 26, 2026

And what does it mean when the error text is “Remove any <script> syntax from the 'HTML Message'”?

We are running into this issue out of nowhere and are suddenly unable to save or create any new emails -- whether existing templates or completely new templates from scratch.

Support hasn’t responded in more than several days either. 

Maddening.

Did you have any luck with a remedy?

Happie Pingol
Community Manager
May 7, 2026

Hi ​@Antonio,

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. I know how frustrating it is when something that should work suddenly stops—especially when you're trying to create or save email templates.

Good news: Someone from our support team has already reached out to you to help tackle this. They should be able to guide you through getting this resolved.

Please feel free to reply directly to them or let us know if there's anything else we can do to help!

Thanks for your patience!

Happie at Bonterra
bluetxchick
Rising Star I
Rising Star I
June 13, 2026

I started receiving this “Remove any <script> syntax from the 'HTML Message'” error months ago and can’t get any help to fix it.  I’ve tried everything - I DO NOT have any browser extensions, I’m not connecting via VPN, cleared cache and data numerous times and getting the same thing.  It’s obvious this is an issue for more than one person so if there is a solution why not add it to the troubleshooting FAQ instead of giving a resolution privately.  This is very frustrating and needs to be fixed.

Erica Greene
Community Manager
June 15, 2026

Hi ​@bluetxchick !

We're sorry for the frustration this issue has caused. Thank you for sharing the details of what you've already tried.


We've reached out to our Support and Product teams to investigate the "Remove any <script> syntax from the 'HTML Message'" error and will share any updates we receive.


We also appreciate your feedback about improving our troubleshooting documentation. Thanks for your patience while we look into this further.

Explorer
June 16, 2026

I also receive the “Remove any <script> syntax from the 'HTML Message'” error occasionally. It has been a few months since this has happened, but it is happening again now. I agree with bluetxchick that it would make sense to add the solution to this issue to the troubleshooting FAQ. 

Happie Pingol
Community Manager
June 17, 2026

Hi ​@akk, thanks for sharing your experience. We're sorry this issue has resurfaced for you. Our team is already working on updating the help article, and we'll be including guidance for this error to help others troubleshoot it more easily. We appreciate your feedback and patience while we make these improvements.

Happie at Bonterra