This article covers the most common issues when connecting and syncing a Google Sheets Data Provider in Viz Flowics. For a general setup guide, see
When a sync problem occurs, an error message will appear in the Data Provider section of the Elements Tree. Click View Error Details for more information.
Quick checklist — start here
Before diving into specific errors, verify these first:
Is a Google account connected in Settings → Connected Accounts?
Is Google Drive Access enabled for that account (separate step from connecting)?
Is the spreadsheet shared with the connected account, or set to "Anyone with the link can view"?
Does the sheet tab name match exactly what Flowics expects?
Is the Data Provider showing a red status indicator in the Elements Tree?
Have you clicked Synchronize Connector after making changes?
Do the column headers in the sheet match the bindings in the Inspector?
If all of the above check out and the data is still not syncing, use the sections below to diagnose further.
Error 42709 — Sheet not found
What it means: Flowics cannot find the sheet tab it was originally connected to.
Common causes:
The sheet tab was renamed inside Google Sheets
The sheet tab was deleted
How to fix:
Check the sheet tab name in Google Sheets — it must exactly match the name Flowics is looking for (shown in the error details).
Either rename the tab back to its original name and click Sync, or reconnect the Data Provider using the updated sheet name.
Unexpected Error
What it means: Flowics lost access to the spreadsheet. This is usually a permissions issue.
How to fix — work through these in order:
Check if the file is still publicly shared. Open the spreadsheet in Google Drive, click Share, and confirm it is set to "Anyone with the link can view." If it was changed to restricted, re-share it and click Sync in Flowics.
Check if the Google account is still linked. Go to Settings → Connected Accounts and confirm the account used to connect the sheet is still listed and active. If it was removed, reconnect it and re-link the spreadsheet from the Data Provider Inspector.
Check if the file was permanently deleted. A permanently deleted file cannot be recovered. You will need to recreate the spreadsheet and reconnect the Data Provider.
Cannot add or connect a Google account
If the Google account does not appear in the account selector, or the connection fails:
Go to Settings → Connected Accounts and check if the Google account is listed.
If listed but not working, click Enable Google Drive Access next to the account — this step is required separately from adding the account.
If you need to connect multiple Google accounts, connect them one at a time from the Company Admin user. Having multiple accounts connected by different users to the same spreadsheet can cause conflicts — use a single admin account as the primary connection.
After connecting the account, return to the Graphics Editor, open the Data Provider inspector, and click Connect a Spreadsheet to re-link.
Error when adding the Google Sheets provider to a graphic
If you see an error immediately after adding a Google Sheets Data Provider to the Elements Tree:
Check that a Google account is connected. Go to Settings → Connected Accounts — at least one Google account with Drive access must be connected before you can use the provider.
Check the spreadsheet permissions. The connected Google account must have at least view access to the target spreadsheet.
Try adding the spreadsheet by URL instead of by account. In the Data Provider inspector, choose Add by URL, paste the public URL of the spreadsheet, and make sure the file is publicly shared (anyone with the link can view).
If the error persists, share a screenshot of the error message with the support team.
Token / API not working (JSON Push Connector)
If you are using the JSON Push Connector to send data from Google Sheets via a script or API and cannot find where to enter the token:
The token is the Graphics Token of your graphics package — not a Google token.
To get it: open the Graphics Package in the editor, go to Settings → Get Token (or check the article Getting the graphics token).
Paste this token into your Google Apps Script or external tool as the authentication header.
The endpoint format is:
https://api.flowics.com/v2/graphics/{GRAPHICS_ID}/control/variables
If you copied a Graphics Package from another project and duplicated the Google Sheet along with it, make sure the new package has its own token — each package has a unique token. Using the token from the original package will send data to the wrong graphic.
Data is not updating in the graphic
If the Google Sheet is connected, but changes in the spreadsheet are not appearing in the graphic:
Check the sync status in the Data Provider inspector — look for a green indicator. If it shows a warning or error, re-sync manually.
Click Synchronize Connector in the Remote Control or editor. This forces a fresh data pull and resolves most cases of stale data.
Check the binding. Open the Elements Tree and confirm the text or image element is correctly bound to the right column in the sheet. A missing or broken binding will show the last cached value or nothing at all.
Check the sheet structure. Flowics reads data by column headers. If a column was renamed or moved in the spreadsheet, the binding will break. Restore the original column name or update the binding in the inspector.
GIF or image not refreshing — if an image URL cell is updated but the graphic keeps showing the old image, this is a browser caching issue. Append a cache-busting parameter to the URL in your sheet (e.g.
https://example.com/image.gif?v=2) to force a refresh.
The copied or duplicated sheet is not working
If you duplicated a Google Sheet from another project and the new graphic is not connecting correctly:
The duplicated sheet retains the original sharing permissions — verify it is shared correctly with the connected Google account.
If the original sheet was connected by a social/Google account that is not on your team, reconnect using an account you control.
Make sure you reconnect the Data Provider to the new duplicated sheet — Flowics stores the original sheet ID, which will not change automatically when you duplicate.
When to contact support
Contact the support team if:
You see an error code not listed in this article.
The Data Provider shows a persistent error after going through all the steps above.
The spreadsheet is correctly shared, and the account is connected, but Flowics still cannot access the file.
When contacting support, include: your Graphics Package URL, a screenshot of the error details from the Data Provider, and the URL of the spreadsheet (if it is publicly shared).