iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI · error · ArgumentException

Anchor row {anchorRowIdx} not found in {targetSheetName}

Error message

Anchor row {anchorRowIdx} not found in {targetSheetName}

What it means

Thrown by the row-anchor resolver when the anchor row K exists syntactically but no <Row> with RowIndex == K is found in the target sheet (FindIndex returned -1). The anchor row must be a real, stored row in the destination sheet so its document-order position can be computed.

Source

Thrown at src/officecli/Handlers/Excel/ExcelHandler.Add.cs:330

            {
                int FindAnchorRowPos(string anchorPath)
                {
                    var aSegs = anchorPath.TrimStart('/').Split('/', 2);
                    if (aSegs.Length < 2)
                        throw new ArgumentException(
                            $"Anchor must be a row path like /{targetSheetName}/row[K], got: {anchorPath}");
                    if (!aSegs[0].Equals(targetSheetName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                        throw new ArgumentException(
                            $"Anchor sheet '{aSegs[0]}' must match target sheet '{targetSheetName}'");
                    var am = Regex.Match(aSegs[1], @"^row\[(\d+)\]$");
                    if (!am.Success)
                        throw new ArgumentException(
                            $"Anchor must be a row path like /{targetSheetName}/row[K], got: {anchorPath}");
                    var anchorRowIdx = uint.Parse(am.Groups[1].Value);
                    var pos = targetSheetData.Elements<Row>().ToList()
                        .FindIndex(r => r.RowIndex?.Value == anchorRowIdx);
                    if (pos < 0)
                        throw new ArgumentException($"Anchor row {anchorRowIdx} not found in {targetSheetName}");
                    return pos;
                }
                if (position.Before != null) targetIndex = FindAnchorRowPos(position.Before);
                else targetIndex = FindAnchorRowPos(position.After!) + 1;
            }

            // If the moved row sits before the anchor in the same sheet,
            // removing it shifts everything (including the anchor) up by one.
            // Adjust the resolved target index so it still points at the
            // intended slot in post-remove document order.
            if (targetIndex.HasValue && targetSheetData == sheetData)
            {
                var srcPos = sheetData.Elements<Row>().ToList().IndexOf(row);
                if (srcPos >= 0 && srcPos < targetIndex.Value)
                    targetIndex = targetIndex.Value - 1;
            }

            // Snapshot every row's old RowIndex (per sheet) so we can build

View on GitHub (pinned to 1ced45e900)

Solutions

1. Enumerate the target sheet's rows and pick an anchor index that exists.
2. Use InsertPosition.AtIndex(n) if you only need an absolute slot.
3. If the target lacks the row, seed it first or choose a different anchor.

Example fix

// before
h.Move("/Src/row[1]", "/Dst", InsertPosition.AfterElement("/Dst/row[9]")); // Dst has no row 9
// after
h.Move("/Src/row[1]", "/Dst", InsertPosition.AfterElement("/Dst/row[2]")); // Dst has row 2

var am = System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Match(anchor.Split('/', 2)[1], @"^row\[(\d+)\]$");
var k = uint.Parse(am.Groups[1].Value);
var targetRows = handler.Get(targetSheet, depth: 2).Children.Where(c => c.Type == "row").ToList();
if (!targetRows.Any(r => r.Name.EndsWith($"[{k}]") /* or match the stored index */ ))
    throw new InvalidOperationException($"Anchor row {k} not present in {targetSheet}");

try { handler.Move(src, target, pos); }
catch (ArgumentException ex) when (ex.Message.StartsWith("Anchor row") && ex.Message.Contains("not found"))
{ /* pick an anchor row that exists in the target sheet */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Anchor '/Dst/row[7]' in a target sheet that has no row 7 (sparse/empty rows not materialized); row deleted after the anchor path was built; ordinal vs RowIndex confusion.

Common situations: Anchor row removed in a prior edit; referencing a visually-present but un-stored empty row; target sheet smaller than the source.

Related errors

• After anchor not found: {position.After}
• Before anchor not found: {position.Before}
• Target sheet not found: {tgtSegments[0]}
• Row {rowIdx} not found
• Anchor must be a row path like /{targetSheetName}/row[K], go

AI-assisted analysis of iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI@1ced45e900 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7a001328be28cc62. Report an issue: GitHub.