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Troubleshooting 'Undefined' and Disappearing Content in TablePress Cells

26 threads Sep 7, 2025 Plugin → Tablepress – tables in wordpress made easy

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Are you experiencing a frustrating issue where the content in your TablePress cells vanishes or is replaced with the word "undefined" when you try to edit it? This is a common problem reported by users, and it's often not a bug in the TablePress plugin itself. This guide will help you understand why this happens and walk you through the steps to resolve it.

What Causes This Problem?

Based on numerous community reports, the primary culprit for this specific behavior is frequently a browser extension. In particular, the LanguageTool grammar and spellchecking extension has been identified in multiple threads as the cause. This extension can sometimes interfere with the JavaScript that handles table cell editing, causing text to be cleared or replaced with "undefined" upon clicking into a cell or saving changes.

How to Troubleshoot and Fix the Issue

Step 1: Check Your Browser Extensions

The first and most critical step is to check if a browser extension is causing a conflict.

  1. Open your browser's settings and navigate to your list of installed extensions.
  2. Temporarily disable any grammar, spellchecking, or writing assistant tools. This includes, but is not limited to, LanguageTool, Grammarly, and others.
  3. Refresh your WordPress admin page and try editing your TablePress table again.

If the problem is resolved after disabling a specific extension, you have found the cause. You may need to keep the extension disabled while editing tables or check for an update to the extension, as developers often release fixes for such conflicts.

Step 2: Test in a Different Browser and Incognito Mode

To further isolate the issue, open your WordPress site in a different web browser (e.g., if you use Chrome, try Firefox or Edge). Alternatively, open a "Private" or "Incognito" window in your current browser, as these modes typically disable most extensions by default. If editing works correctly in this mode, it strongly points to an extension conflict.

Step 3: Check for JavaScript Errors

Sometimes, other plugins or your theme can cause JavaScript errors that break functionality.

  1. While on the TablePress edit screen, open your browser's Developer Tools. This is usually done by pressing F12 or right-clicking on the page and selecting "Inspect".
  2. Navigate to the "Console" tab.
  3. Look for any error messages highlighted in red. If you see errors mentioning TablePress or JavaScript failures, they could provide a clue.

Step 4: Perform a Conflict Test

If the issue persists after checking extensions, a more comprehensive conflict test is needed.

  1. Temporarily deactivate all other plugins except TablePress.
  2. Switch your theme to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four.
  3. Check if you can now edit table cells normally. If so, reactivate your plugins and theme one by one, testing after each, to identify which one is causing the conflict.

Step 5: Use the Advanced Editor

As a reliable workaround mentioned in the support threads, you can use the Advanced Editor feature in TablePress. Instead of double-clicking directly in a cell, select the cell and press Ctrl+E (or Cmd+E on Mac) to open the Advanced Editor window. This method is less susceptible to interference from browser extensions and often functions correctly even when direct editing fails.

Summary

The issue of disappearing content or "undefined" text in TablePress cells is almost always caused by an external conflict, most commonly a browser extension. By systematically disabling extensions and testing for other conflicts, you can identify and eliminate the cause. The Advanced Editor remains a powerful and stable tool for editing content if the problem is tricky to resolve completely.

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