Error Message

This error indicates that something is wrong with the template(s).

Cause

This error indicates that something is wrong with the template(s). Unfortunately the error doesn't correspond to one specific issue within the template so it can sometimes be challenging to diagnose and find the source of the problem; the below steps will help narrow down the cause.

  1. If you are using multiple templates in your merge process, merge to each of them separately to find out specifically which template is causing the "bad mojo" error. If the error message results from more than one of the templates, you'll need to take the following steps with each of the templates individually. Also, if you're merging to PDF output, you may want to try the below steps with merging to both PDF output and "same as template" output to see if the error message results are different one way versus the other.
  2. Save a new copy of the problem template (the one resulting in the error message) to your local computer (e.g. My Documents, Desktop) and run it through the merge process as a local template (no need to upload it to Conga Templates since we'll be testing this way over and over again) to ensure you still get the error after saving a new copy of the template (if you do receive the error message again, proceed to step 3). If you do not receive the error again, try simply re-uploading this new version of the file to your template record in Conga Templates and run your merge process using that version of the template.
  3. Open the template in its native program (e.g. Microsoft Word). Click to the end of the template, delete the last section (e.g. table, paragraph, etc.), do a Save As to save your changes, and run it through the merge process as a local template. If you receive the error message again, that indicates that the source of the problem was not located in the last section of the template (the section you just deleted).
  4. Proceed once again to the end of the template, delete the next section, save your changes, and run the template through the merge process as a local template. If you receive the error message again, you'll need to repeat this step (#4) until you run the template through the merge process and do not receive the error, at which point you can proceed to step 5.
  5. When you can run your template through the merge process and not receive the error, you should be able to isolate the section of the template that is causing the error (e.g. the table using TableGroup on page 2). You can confirm it is indeed that section by adding in the other sections you previously deleted but leaving out the section you believe is causing the error and run the template through the merge process again.
  6. You've now isolated which section of your template is causing the "bad mojo" error. Try deleting this section and recreating it from scratch to fix the error. For instance, if it's a table that's causing the problem, delete the entire table and its contents, insert a new table from scratch, and re-insert the merge fields and any static text within the table. DO NOT copy and paste from the previous version(s) of the template as this likely could be what was causing the problem in the first place. Save your changes and run this new version of the template through the merge process as a local template. If it merges and does not result in the error message, upload it to Conga Templates and run the merge again to confirm that it still works without issue. If the merge results in the error message again, proceed to step 8.
  7. You've isolated the section of the template that is causing the error and have recreated that section but it still hasn't fixed the template. Therefore, try recreating that section in a brand new, fresh template with no other data in it, save it to your local computer and run it through the merge process as a local template. You can also try adding back in just one component of that section at a time. For instance, you might start with a blank table and if you don't receive the error then you can add the static text and run it again. If that works without error, then add back in a couple of merge fields, and so forth.

What To Do

After following the above instructions, you should be able to isolate and fix the source of the error. If not, then you can try the below steps as well:

  • If using a Word .docx file, save a new copy of the template as .doc and run that version through the merge process instead.
  • Are you merging the output file to PDF? If so, try merging to "same as template" (e.g. Word template to Word output) to see if the error still results. The contrary method can also be helpful - if you're merging to "same as template," try PDF output instead to see if the error results are different.
  • Are you using the &AWD parameter in your Conga Composer button URL? If so, remove the parameter or change it to &AWD=0 (either accomplishes the same behavior) and run the merge process again.

If you're still experiencing difficulties after following all of the above troubleshooting advice, please contact our support team.