Error: Initializing form TypeError: Cannot read properties of null (reading 'dataset')

Question

Our survey is giving the error in the subject when opening in the web browser. It works fine in the app, but we need to use it in the web browser. I've tried clearing cache and using different browsers to no avail. Any ideas what might be causing this or how best to troubleshoot?

abureaux · Answer

Just worry about that second column (name). You don't want any green triangles there.

There are many cases where other columns within the XLSX Form may end up with a green triangle. For example, the select_one and select_multiple questions will ALWAYS result in that because you are adding a custom list name. It is expected that you add a custom list name, and thus the "warning" can be ignored. It's just a quirk of Excel.

cmartorano_CNPS · Answer

thanks! I do have little green error tags on the select question types for some reason. Still not sure why it works perfectly with the App and totally broken on the web browser. Still troubleshooting...

abureaux · Answer

Oh, derpy me didn't realize the error was the title... Thank you all the same!

Suggestions (in order):

* Unfortunately, my first go-to for this error would try clearing browser cache. But as you stated, that was already tried. So, skip this one.
* If you are using Connect, run the XLSX checker and see what it comes back with. Two important things to watch out for are A) An up to date XLSX Form Template, and B)  You are not using any reserved words (you should see a green triangle next to the reserved word)

* There may be a specific part of the form that isn't web compatible, resulting in this error. In that case, I would create a copy of the form (to avoid unnecessarily interfering with your already published form) and systematically add/remove components of the form until it breaks. Starting from a "blank" form should result in no errors. Just go from there until you encounter an error.
* Log a support case with Esri may be a good option.