PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet · error · PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Exception

The table name cannot be longer than 255 characters

Error message

The table name cannot be longer than 255 characters

What it means

Error "The table name cannot be longer than 255 characters" thrown in PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet.

Source

Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Worksheet/Table.php:111

    {
        return $this->name;
    }

    /**
     * Set Table name.
     *
     * @throws PhpSpreadsheetException
     */
    public function setName(string $name): self
    {
        $name = trim($name);

        if (!empty($name)) {
            if (strlen($name) === 1 && in_array($name, ['C', 'c', 'R', 'r'])) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name is invalid');
            }
            if (StringHelper::countCharacters($name) > 255) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name cannot be longer than 255 characters');
            }
            // Check for A1 or R1C1 cell reference notation
            if (
                preg_match(Coordinate::A1_COORDINATE_REGEX, $name)
                || preg_match('/^R\[?\-?[0-9]*\]?C\[?\-?[0-9]*\]?$/i', $name)
            ) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name can\'t be the same as a cell reference');
            }
            if (!preg_match('/^[\p{L}_\\\]/iu', $name)) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name must begin a name with a letter, an underscore character (_), or a backslash (\)');
            }
            if (!preg_match('/^[\p{L}_\\\][\p{L}\p{M}0-9\._]*$/iu', $name)) {
                throw new PhpSpreadsheetException('The table name contains invalid characters');
            }

            $this->checkForDuplicateTableNames($name, $this->workSheet);
            $this->updateStructuredReferences($name);
        }

View on GitHub (pinned to 65b080eef4)

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at src/PhpSpreadsheet/Worksheet/Table.php:111 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PhpSpreadsheet@65b080eef4 (2026-08-17). Data as JSON: /api/errors/feb811ce0d348842. Report an issue: GitHub.