iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI · error · ArgumentException

SharedString entry {sstIdx} not found

Error message

SharedString entry {sstIdx} not found

What it means

Thrown in the run[N] path when the cell IS a SharedString cell and points at index sstIdx, but the SharedStringTable has no entry at that index (ElementAtOrDefault returns null). This indicates a corrupt or hand-edited file whose cell references a shared-string index that does not exist — the data is internally inconsistent.

Source

Thrown at src/officecli/Handlers/Excel/ExcelHandler.Query.cs:933

            return GenericXmlQuery.ElementToNode(target, path, depth);
        }

        // Handle /SheetName/A1/run[N] (rich text run direct access)
        var runGetMatch = Regex.Match(cellRef, @"^([A-Z]+\d+)/run\[(\d+)\]$", RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
        if (runGetMatch.Success)
        {
            var runCellRef = runGetMatch.Groups[1].Value.ToUpperInvariant();
            var runIdx = int.Parse(runGetMatch.Groups[2].Value);
            ParseCellReference(runCellRef);
            var runCell = FindCell(data, runCellRef);
            if (runCell == null)
                throw new ArgumentException($"Cell {runCellRef} not found");
            if (runCell.DataType?.Value != CellValues.SharedString ||
                !int.TryParse(runCell.CellValue?.Text, out var sstIdx))
                throw new ArgumentException($"Cell {runCellRef} is not a rich text cell");
            var sstPart = _doc.WorkbookPart?.GetPartsOfType<SharedStringTablePart>().FirstOrDefault();
            var ssi = sstPart?.SharedStringTable?.Elements<SharedStringItem>().ElementAtOrDefault(sstIdx);
            if (ssi == null) throw new ArgumentException($"SharedString entry {sstIdx} not found");
            var runs = ssi.Elements<Run>().ToList();
            if (runIdx < 1 || runIdx > runs.Count)
                throw new ArgumentException($"Run index {runIdx} out of range (1-{runs.Count})");
            return RunToNode(runs[PathIndex.ToArrayIndex(runIdx)], $"/{sheetNameFromPath}/{runCellRef}/run[{runIdx}]");
        }

        if (cellRef.Contains(':'))
        {
            // Range — validate both endpoints
            var rangeParts = cellRef.Split(':');
            ParseCellReference(rangeParts[0]);
            if (rangeParts.Length > 1) ParseCellReference(rangeParts[1]);
            return GetCellRange(sheetNameFromPath, data, cellRef, depth, worksheet);
        }
        else
        {
            // Single cell — validate cell reference
            ParseCellReference(cellRef);

View on GitHub (pinned to 1ced45e900)

Solutions

1. Open and re-save the workbook in Excel/another conforming writer to rebuild the shared-strings table.
2. Validate the file with the Open XML SDK or an OOXML validator to locate the desynchronization.
3. If you control the producer, ensure every SharedString cell value is written through the SharedStringTable, not hand-set.

Example fix

// no code fix — repair the source workbook so shared-string indices are valid

null

null

try:
    doc.get('/Sheet1/A1/run[1]')
except officecli.OfficeCliError as e:
    if 'SharedString entry' in str(e):
        # corrupt file: shared-string index is stale
        repair_or_reexport_workbook(path)

When it happens

Trigger: A cell whose CellValue is an integer but that integer exceeds the SharedStringTable entry count, or the table is missing entirely. Reached only for cells that passed the 'is rich text cell' check (DataType == SharedString, integer value) but whose index is stale.

Common situations: Files edited by non-conforming tools, partial/corrupt exports, manual XML edits to sheetData or sharedStrings.xml that desynchronize the index, or a file where the shared-strings part was stripped.

Related errors

• Cell {runCellRef} not found
• Workbook not found
• Sheet not found: {cmtSheetName}
• Sheet not found: {dvSheetName}
• Sheet not found: {afSheetName}

AI-assisted analysis of iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI@1ced45e900 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4e8c8b4baffa8876. Report an issue: GitHub.