Improved Visibility for Calculated Cross Reference Field Errors

We are making an enhancement to Calculated Cross Reference Fields in Archer—a change designed to improve transparency, simplify troubleshooting, and empower administrators with better insights into application behaviour.

What is the change?

Based on enhancement requests from clients, Archer now introduces error indicators for Calculated Cross Reference fields. With this enhancement, any errors in these fields, whether due to misconfiguration or issues in dependent calculated fields will now be clearly displayed on the record page.

Previously, such errors remained hidden, making it difficult to identify and resolve underlying issues. This update brings those pre-existing errors to light, enabling faster diagnosis and resolution.

Note: These are not new errors introduced by the system. They are existing issues that were previously not visible in the UI.

Who Is Impacted?

Only applications with misconfigured calculated reference fields, or cross reference fields dependent on other calculated fields in error will be affected by this change.

Rollout Timeline

This enhancement will be enabled in SaaS environments after the Archer Platform 2025.08 release.

What Should Application Administrators Do?

Once the update is live, administrators will be able to see and act on errors directly from the UI. Here’s how to proceed:

1. Review the errors displayed on Calculated Reference Fields.

2. Use the Archer Configuration Report (under Calculated Cross References) to identify affected fields.

Default View

Expanded view with All columns

3. Fix the misconfigurations or formulas as needed.

4. Perform a field-level or module-level recalculation to clear the errors.

Note: Avoid triggering multiple recalculations simultaneously 

Understanding the Types of Errors & How to Resolve Them

a. Misconfigured or Empty Calculated Reference Fields

These errors often stem from incomplete or missing configurations.

Suggested Action:

Review whether these fields are still needed. If not, consider removing them. If they are, update the configuration with the correct dependent fields.

Example Error Messages:

• Calc Engine: Unhandled exception while processing SingleValue calc function
• Calc Engine: Unhandled exception while processing DateAdd calc function

b. Transient Errors

These are temporary issues like timeouts, deadlock or transaction log errors.

Suggested Action:

Re-run the recalculation. If the error persists, contact Archer Support.

Example Error Messages:

• Execution Timeout Expired.
• The transaction log for database 'tempdb' is full …
•  “Transaction (Process ID xxx) was deadlocked on lock resources”

c. Dependent Field Errors

These occur when a Calculated Reference Field depends on another calculated field that is in error.

Suggested Action:

Trace and fix the dependent field(s). Archer now displays the application name and field ID of the source error to help you resolve it efficiently.

Example Error Message:

• This field is in error because it is dependent on another calculated field which has been marked in error.

d. Errors Requiring Archer Support

Some errors may require deeper investigation.

Suggested Action:

If you're unable to resolve these, please contact Archer Support.

Example Error Messages:

• Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
• Value was either too large or too small for an Int16.
• The type initializer for '<>c' threw an exception.
• Value cannot be null., Parameter name: source
• Sequence contains no elements

After Fixing the Errors

Once corrections are made:

• Run a field-level recalculation or a full module recalculation.
• Verify the resolution manually or via the Archer Configuration Report.

Need further assistance?

If you have questions or need further assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Archer Support Team. We’re here to help you make the most of this enhancement.

This update will bring greater clarity, control, and confidence to your application management experience. We appreciate your continued partnership. Thank you for being a valued Archer customer!