Update a data field automation failed

Last updated: October 2, 2026

Applies to: Super Admins, Creators, and Integrators

Project automations are available when they're turned on for your organization. If you don't see an Automations tab on your projects, contact your OnRamp team.

An Update a data field action writes a value to one of the project's data fields each time its automation runs. If the field didn't change, the project's log shows what stopped it. We'll go through each cause and its fix.

Why it happens

When the write fails, the log row's Action shows Update Data Field, Success shows an X, and the data field keeps its old value. To read the reason, select View in the row's Error column, and find the message line. To find the row, see Project automation didn't run or failed.

What you see in Logs Cause
Error includes is not valid for data field The value OnRamp tried to write doesn't fit the data field's type. The message shows the value first and the type at the end.
Error includes Field ID is required for Update Data Field action or No data field found with id The action has no data field chosen, or OnRamp can't find the one it names.
Error includes Unable to determine user to attribute data field update OnRamp records who made the change: the person whose action triggered the automation, or else the project owner or the project's creator. It found none of them.
Action shows updateDataField, and Error includes A task field needs a task to read from The value comes from Task data, which only the Task completed, Any task completed, and Subtask completed triggers provide.
No Update Data Field row, and the trigger is Specific Project datafield changed or Any Project datafield changed OnRamp doesn't run Update a data field on these triggers, because its change could set off data field triggers again. It skips the action without a row. The automation's other actions still run.

For is not valid for data field, the type in the message tells you what the value must be:

Type in the message A valid value
dropdown One of the field's options, exactly as written
multi_select Only options from the field's list
date A date written as YYYY-MM-DD, such as 2026-10-02
number, or monetary for a Currency field A plain number, such as 1500 or 12.5, with no currency symbol or commas

For a dropdown or multi_select field, you pick the action's value from the field's options. If those options changed after the action was saved, the saved value may no longer match. For a date, number, or monetary field, the value can also come from Project data, Task data, or Task answers. That source may hold text that isn't a date or a number.

If Action shows updateDataField with any other message, something unexpected stopped the action. Contact support with the details in Still stuck?.

Fix it

  1. Open the project from Projects, and select the Automations tab.
  2. In the list of automations, select the one with the Update a data field step. Its first step is the trigger.
  3. Make the change for your row:
    • is not valid for data field: Select the Update a data field step. Set a value that fits the type, using the table in Why it happens. If the value comes from another field, you can select a different Field or set Value to use to Static value.
    • Field ID is required for Update Data Field action or No data field found with id: Select the Update a data field step. In Data field to update, select the data field to write to.
    • A task field needs a task to read from: Select the Update a data field step. Set a value that doesn't come from Task data, such as a Static value or a Project data field.
    • Unable to determine user to attribute data field update: Select the project's Settings tab, and select a Project Owner.
    • No row, on a data field trigger: Write the value from an automation with a different trigger, such as Task completed. Create Project Automations walks through the steps. Then remove the Update a data field step from this automation with the step's trash icon. If it's the automation's only action, select Delete Rule instead, and confirm.
  4. If you changed an automation, select Save.
  5. To check the fix, repeat the event on the project. Some triggers, such as Project created, happen only once per project.
  6. Select Logs, and then select Refresh to load the new row.

Still stuck?

Contact support with the project's name and link, the automation's trigger, the data field's name, the row's Timestamp, and the text from Error and Payload.

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