If some rows in your spreadsheet don't become posts, or come through wrong, the cause is almost always in the sheet. Here's how to find it and fix it.
In this article, you'll learn:
🔎 How to find which rows failed
When some rows can't become posts, you'll see "Some posts were not created." with a "download failed posts" button.
Click it to download an .xlsx file of your sheet. The new column at the far right shows the error for each row that failed (1 column for each profile you picked).
In your original sheet, fix the rows with errors and delete the rows that worked (they're already posts). Then upload the sheet again.
🛠️ How to fix each error
IMPORTANT: Most failed uploads come from media links. Links from Google Drive, Dropbox and other file-sharing sites don't work, because they open a page instead of the file. Upload your images and videos to your Library instead. Tick the files, click "Bulk actions", then "Download links of selected", and paste those links into the MEDIA column.
Error in the failed-posts file | Why | Fix |
"Cannot create an empty post - please provide a status, a file or a link" | The row has no CAPTION, LINK or MEDIA. | Fill in at least 1 of the 3, or delete the row. |
"Cannot determine post type!" | The MEDIA link isn't a direct link to the file. This happens with Google Drive and Dropbox links, and with any link that doesn't end in the file type (.jpg, .png, .mp4, and so on). | Use your Library links (see the IMPORTANT note above). |
"Link is Invalid url" or "File is Invalid url" | A LINK or MEDIA cell (File means MEDIA) isn't a full web address. | Paste the full link, for example https://example.com/page. |
"Cannot parse datetime" | The POSTING TIME isn't in a format Post Planner can read. | Use MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM with a 24-hour clock, for example 07/04/2030 14:30. |
"Cannot create a scheduled post inside a bucket - please use the Queue instead." | The row has a POSTING TIME, and you uploaded to a Bucket. | Upload to profiles (choose "None" in Step 1), or remove the dates to queue the posts. |
"Unsupported TOBI name" | The TOBI BACKGROUND name doesn't match a background. | Copy the name from the Composer's "Choose Background" picker. |
"A thumbnail file is required for a link type post." | Post Planner couldn't get a preview image from the page in LINK. | Paste the link into the Composer to see if a preview loads. If it doesn't, use another page, or put the link at the end of the CAPTION and leave LINK blank. |
"Link posting to X is not allowed. Please remove the link and try again." | Post Planner doesn't support link posts to X, in LINK or in the CAPTION. | Remove the link from posts going to X. |
"First Comment Delay must be less than 24 hours (1440 minutes)" | The FIRST COMMENT DELAY is 1,440 or more. | Use a number from 0 to 1,439. |
This error shows in the Composer instead of the file, and no posts are created:
Error | Why | Fix |
"With this operation you would be creating [number] new posts, which will be over the limit of planned posts for your plan" | The upload would take you over your plan's "Scheduled posts" limit. Each row counts once for every profile you picked, and posts in Pending count too. | Upload fewer rows or to fewer profiles, or delete old posts in Posts > Planned. For the limits, see What are the differences between plans? |
🧩 How to fix an upload that came through wrong
What you see | Why | Fix |
Only the caption came through. The media, first comment or other details are missing. | A row or column at the top was deleted, added or moved, or the "BULK UPLOAD VERSION" cell was changed. This often happens when an AI tool builds its own sheet instead of filling in the sample sheet. | Download a fresh sample sheet, paste your content into the matching columns, and change nothing else. |
The upload counts your posts, then creates none. | Same cause as above. | Same fix. |
Your images show as broken in Planned. | The MEDIA links are Google Drive, Dropbox or other share links. | Use your Library links (see the IMPORTANT note above), and upload the sheet again. |
A post has a link you didn't add. | Some example cells in the sample sheet hold links. Clearing only the text can leave the link behind, and it uploads with the row. | Delete the example rows instead of clearing them. |
The example posts from the sample sheet showed up in Planned. | The example rows were left in the sheet. | Delete those posts in Posts > Planned, and delete the example rows before your next upload. |
Posts fail later with "missing or invalid image file". | The file was deleted from your Library, or taken down from your website, before the post published. | Keep every file online until its post has published. For recycled posts, keep the file until the post stops recycling. |
Reels publish at first, then later ones fail with "Unable to fetch media from URL". | Your media host is blocking Facebook's crawler. | Allow facebookexternalhit and meta-externalagent on your host, or host the videos in your Library. Use MP4 or MOV files for Reels. |
TIP: For posts that were created but failed when they published, see How do I manage my failed posts?