Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to diagnose them. If your specific issue isn’t here, email info@fahdmurtaza.com with a debug log attached.

Debug mode#

Append ?gt_debug=1 to any page URL while logged in as an admin. The plugin emits verbose diagnostic output for that page render only and writes a log entry to wp-content/uploads/gt-logs/.

View logs from Tables → System → Debug log.

To clear logs from the same screen, or programmatically:

gt_log_clear();

Logs auto-rotate daily and keep 7 days by default. Filter via gt_log_retention_days.

Common errors#

”Table not found”#

Cause: the id in your shortcode doesn’t match a saved table.

Fix: check Tables → All Tables for the actual ID. The ID is shown in the table’s URL.

”Failed to load entries”#

Cause: usually a Gravity Forms compatibility issue, often after an update.

Fix sequence:

1. Confirm Gravity Forms is active and at version 2.5+
2. Disable other plugins temporarily, retest
3. Check the debug log for the underlying GF API error
4. Re-save the table to flush its cache

”tb_show is not defined”#

Cause: WordPress’s Thickbox library wasn’t enqueued before the table rendered (some custom themes call our shortcode from a wp_localize_script callback that runs before WP decides which scripts to print).

Fix: v4.1.4 added an explicit add_thickbox() call inside the shortcode template render path. Update to 4.1.4 or later.

”jQuery is not defined”#

Cause: jQuery is loaded later than our admin script in some theme/plugin combinations.

Fix: v4.1.3 added a more robust dependency check. Update.

”Click to edit doesn’t save”#

Cause: the AJAX handler is hitting a 403 (capability check) or 400 (validation).

Fix: open browser dev tools → Network → click a cell, attempt edit → inspect the failing response.

• 403 → user lacks the capability set in edit_permissions. Check role config.
• 400 → Gravity Forms validation rejected the value. The error message in the response body shows the specific rule that failed.

”Export downloads an empty CSV”#

Cause: the active filter narrowed the result set to zero rows.

Fix: clear the filter, re-export. Or check the filter state, the export respects current filter exactly.

Performance tuning#

Tables with >5,000 rows#

Enable server-side pagination (default) and queue-based exports:

[gravity_table id="42" per_page="50" export_queue_threshold="2000"]

Auto-refresh on busy pages#

Auto-refresh causes a database query on the configured interval. On heavily-trafficked pages, dial the interval up:

[gravity_table id="42" auto_refresh="true" refresh_interval="120"]

(2 minutes instead of the 60-second default.)

Large entry payloads#

If individual entries are huge (long-form fields, complex repeaters), consider:

• Using include to limit displayed columns
• Lazy-loading the long fields behind a “show more” link via the gt_render_cell filter
• Storing the heavy content in a separate post and referencing by ID

Database query limits#

The query layer uses GFAPI::get_entries(), which is tuned by Gravity Forms. For tables on shared hosting with PHP memory ≤256MB, cap per_page at 25 and ensure wp-config.php has WP_MEMORY_LIMIT set appropriately.

nginx export directory#

The plugin’s .htaccess in wp-content/uploads/gt-exports/ denies direct access on Apache. On nginx, add to your server config:

location ~* /wp-content/uploads/gt-exports/ {
    return 403;
}

Then route export downloads through the plugin’s authenticated endpoint at /wp-json/gt/v1/export-download/{token} (handled automatically by the export buttons).

Compatibility matrix#

Component	Required	Tested up to
WordPress	5.0+	6.9
PHP	8.0+	8.3
Gravity Forms	2.5+	2.9.x
MySQL / MariaDB	5.7+ / 10.3+	8.0 / 11.x
Browsers	Chrome 88+ / Firefox 78+ / Safari 14+	latest

When to email support#

If you’ve reached this page and your issue isn’t here:

1. Append ?gt_debug=1 to the failing page and reload
2. Go to Tables → System → Debug log → Download CSV
3. Email the log + a description to info@fahdmurtaza.com

Reply within 24 hours, often the same day.