Fix Google Ads Editor errors and issues

Fatal error

What it means: This error message may appear when Editor has received an unexpected response from the API. This often happens when you attempt to use a feature that’s been deprecated in Google Ads or a beta feature that isn’t available for the account that you’re making changes in.

For example, this error could be caused by trying to upload message assets, which are no longer supported.

How to fix: Remove the deprecated feature, such as message assets and try to upload again.

Editor has received an unexpected response from our server which it can't properly process. This often happens when you attempt to post something which has been deprecated or is no longer supported. Please follow the link below.

What it means: This error message may appear when Editor receives an unexpected response from the API. This often happens when you attempt to use a feature that’s been deprecated in Google Ads or a beta feature that isn’t available for the account that you’re making changes in.

For example, this error could be caused by trying to upload message assets, which are no longer supported.

Error: google_ads_editor.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close

What it means: This error message may appear when you upgrade to a new version of Google Ads Editor on Windows.

How to fix: Take the steps below to resolve the issue:

1. Uninstall all copies of Google Google Ads Editor.
2. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
3. Remove all copies of Google Google Ads Editor.
4. Reinstall Google Ads Editor.
5. Go to the Google Ads Editor download page.
6. Click Download Google Ads Editor for your operating system.

Issue: Removed campaign or ad group isn't visible in Google Ads Editor

What it means: This issue may appear if a campaign or ad group is missing from Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: Check your settings for campaigns and ad groups that have been removed or have ended. Take the steps below according to the Google Ads Editor version.

Google Ads Editor 11.0 and newer:

1. Go to the Tools menu > Settings (Windows) or Google Ads Editor > Preferences (Mac), then confirm that you've made the following selections from the Download and Display tab:
2. Tick the box next to 'Download removed campaigns and ad groups'.
3. Untick the boxes next to 'Hide all removed items', 'Hide removed campaigns' and 'Hide removed ad groups'.

Error: 407

What it means: This error message may appear because of proxy authentication.

Error: 502 or DEADLINE_EXCEEDED

What it means: This error message may appear as the result of a transient network issue.

Error: Sign-in failed

What it means: This error message may appear if you've recently enrolled in two-step verification. You might notice the following message when you sign in to your account in Google Ads Editor:

Sign-in failed. The username or password that you entered is incorrect.

Error: Unexpected API error

If you receive this error message, contact us.

Error: Post will cause you to exceed account limits

What it means: This error message may appear if you need to search manually for items that exceed Google Ads account limits. If you receive this message, check the counts on each tab in Google Ads Editor.

For example, the count in the 'Campaigns' tab might say 'Campaigns selected: 5 of 500'. You can use these counts to locate items that exceed the limits.

How to fix: To examine your Google Ads Editor log files for more detailed information, follow the steps below.

1. Turn on diagnostic logging for Google Ads Editor.
2. Try to post the changes again so that the diagnostic logs can capture the posting information.
3. Locate the diagnostic log file in the following folder on your computer, where [username] is your username:
   • Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Ads-Editor\Profiles
     • If the Profiles folder isn't visible, open Windows Explorer and select Tools > Folder Options > View. Select Show hidden files and folders.
   • Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Google\Google-Google Ads-Editor\Profiles
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Google-Google Ads-Editor/Profiles
     • If the Library folder isn't visible, press Command+Shift+G and type ~/Library. Click Go.
4. Open the file, named network_log_n.log, where n is a number from 1 to 5.
5. Search the file for the following phrase: EntityCountLimitExceeded. This phrase identifies the place in the account where the limit was exceeded. If you experience:
   • An ad group name: The error occurred at the ad-group level.
   • A campaign name: The error occurred at the campaign level.
   • Customer ID: The error occurred at the account level.
6. After you've identified the location in the account where the account limit error occurred, make the necessary changes and retry the post.
7. If you notice an account limit error again, repeat steps 3-6. Google Ads Editor stops posting with each account limit error. If more than one campaign or ad group exceeds the limits, the diagnostic log only shows one at a time.

If you're unable to find the cause of the account limit error, contact us and provide the following information:

1. When the error occurred, what were the changes you were trying to complete?
2. How many campaigns and ads are in your account?
3. How many changes were you trying to make when the error occurred?
4. Attach an exported file of your account to help us reproduce and identify the problem.
   1. To export your account, go to the Account menu > Export > Export whole account.

Issue: Newly added item isn't visible after Get recent changes (basic mode)

What it means: This issue may appear if you add an item in your online Google Ads account (such as a new keyword or ad) that might not be visible immediately when you use Get recent changes > Basic (faster).

How to fix: Complete one of the following actions below to view the item in Google Ads Editor:

• Wait a few minutes, then try again.
• Choose Get recent changes > More data (slower).

Issue: Unable to accept Terms of Service (Mac)

What it means: This issue may appear when you install Google Ads Editor for the first time on a Mac. You might experience a technical issue that prevents you from accepting the Terms of Service.

How to fix: Resolve the issue with the steps below.

1. Start Google Ads Editor and review the Terms of Service. Since you won't be able to click Accept, then click Cancel to close Google Ads Editor.
2. Find the following file in your home directory: Library/Application Support/Google Ads Editor/Profiles/[eight-character-string].default/localstore.rdf
3. Open the file using a text editor, and locate the following line: <RDF:Description RDF:about="chrome://ape/content/ape.xul">
4. Once you've located that line of text, replace it with the following three lines:

• <RDF:Description RDF:about="chrome://ape/content/ape.xul#ape-main-window" termsversion="1" />
• <RDF:Description RDF:about="chrome://ape/content/ape.xul">
• <NC:persist RDF:resource="chrome://ape/content/ape.xul#ape-main-window"/>

Note: Be sure to enter the lines exactly as you see above.

When you complete the steps above, complete the process with the steps below:

1. Save localstore.rdf and exit the text editor.
2. Restart Google Ads Editor. You'll be able to use the application without further need to review the Terms of Service.

Issue: Downloading account or recent changes slowly

What it means: This issue may appear because of a new feature in Google Ads Editor that allows you to select entities to make downloads faster. Download the newest version of Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: If Google Ads Editor takes longer than usual to download accounts or recent changes, check the list below for possible causes.

• Are you using the latest version of Google Ads Editor? You can upgrade to the latest version to help fix this issue. To start, check which version you're using, then visit the Google Ads Editor download page to get the latest version.
• Does your computer have a slow Internet connection? To determine if the issue is related to the computer that you're using, download the account on another computer, or ask a colleague to download the account from another location.
• Are you attempting to download too many items? If your account is very large, you can change your download settings. For example, you can deselect certain campaigns or choose not to download removed and ended items or specific ad types and assets.
• Do you have a very large account? If so, you can change the Google Ads Editor download mode and retry the download.

Error: Network error when connecting to Google Ads from Google Ads Editor

What it means: This error message may appear if you’re attempting to access Google Ads without a working Internet connection, or if your network configuration might require the use of an HTTP proxy to connect to the Internet.

How to fix: To set a proxy in Google Ads Editor, select Tools > Settings (Windows) or Google Ads Editor > Preferences (Mac). Google Ads Editor supports basic and digest proxy authentication.

Error: Problem with the communication (posting)

What it means: This error message may appear as the result of a busy time on the network.

Issue: Account listed twice in Google Ads Editor

What it means: This issue may occur if you find two copies of a Google Ads account in the Google Ads Editor accounts list. In some cases, the two accounts may have been downloaded with different credentials (username and password).

For example, if an account has several account managers that use the same computer, the credentials of each manager might appear in Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: To remove any unneeded duplicates, follow these steps according to your version of Google Ads Editor.

1. Go to the Account menu > Open.
2. Select any entries that aren't necessary.
3. Click Remove.

The campaigns within an account aren't removed from Google Ads Editor as long as at least one entry referring to the account remains in the list. If you remove the last entry, the campaigns are removed along with any unposted changes, and you must download the account again.

Error: Problem with the communication (download)

What it means: This error message may appear when Google Ads Editor is downloading a very large account and the Google Ads server stops the download before it's complete.

If you don't have a very large account, this error might simply be a result of a busy time on the network. Try to download your account again later. If you continue to receive this error after waiting a few hours, contact us.

How to fix: If you do have a very large account, you can force the download to finish by changing the download mode in Google Ads Editor. Follow the steps below.

For Windows:

1. Select Start > Run, then type cmd.
2. Press Enter.
3. Enter the following command:
   cd "C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Google\Google Google Ads Editor"
4. Press Enter.
5. Enter the following command: start google ads_editor.exe -dlMaxRequests
6. Press Enter.
7. Restart the account download.

For Mac:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter the following command: open -a 'Google Ads Editor' --args -dlthreads 1
3. Restart the account download.

Issue: Google Ads Editor appears cut off screen

What it means: This issue may appear when the side of Google Ads Editor is cut off on your computer screen.

How to fix: Try the methods below to resolve the issue.

• Adjust your screen resolution. If the resolution is set to 1024 by 768 pixels or lower, try using a higher resolution, such as 1600 by 1200, 1600 by 900, 1280 by 1024 or 1152 by 864 pixels.
• Collapse the account tree. You can hide the tree view when you're not using it by double-clicking the dividing bar between the tree view and the data view. To show the tree view again, double-click on the divider at the side of the data view. You can also click and drag the divider to make the tree view wider or narrower.
• Collapse the edit panels at the bottom of the tabs.

Issue: Items fail to post (no error message)

If this issue continues to occur, contact us.

Issue: Non-English characters imported incorrectly

What it means: This issue may appear if you haven't saved your CSV files in the correct format.

How to fix: It’s recommended that you save the file in your spreadsheet editor with UTF-16 Unicode Text encoding.

Error: Malicious script

What it means: This error message may appear when you install Google Ads Editor if your computer uses Norton Antivirus software.

How to fix: You can complete the installation safely by choosing 'Allow this activity once' or 'Allow the entire script once' from the drop-down menu.

Error: Running an outdated version of Google Ads Editor

What it means: This error message may appear if you haven't downloaded the most recent version of Google Ads Editor.

Error: Get recent changes recommended

What it means: This error message may appear if you're attempting to post an outdated version of your account. If you try to post changes to an item that has been removed from the account, Google Ads Editor continues posting all changes that can be posted, then asks you what to do about the remaining edits.

How to fix: To resolve the situation, you have the following options:

• Get recent changes now. If you choose this option, your remaining unposted changes will turn into 'additions' for the latest version of the account. You'll be able to review the changes, then post again when you're ready.
• Get recent changes, then immediately post. This option does both steps automatically (download recent changes and post your remaining edits).
• Do nothing for now.

Error: google ads_editor.exe (Entry Point Not Found)

What it means: This error message may appear when you run the new version of Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: Follow the steps below to troubleshoot:

1. Use the Windows file explorer to open the Google Ads Editor programme installation folder. By default, this folder is under C:\Program Files\Google\Google Google Ads Editor\ . If you chose a different folder, navigate to that folder.
2. Copy sqlite3.dll.
3. In the same folder, you should see another folder labelled 'xulrunner.' Paste sqlite3.dll into this folder.

You should now be able to run Google Ads Editor.

Error: 129

What it means: If you receive this error, sign in to your Google Ads account and accept the Terms and Conditions.

Error: Google Ads Editor has stopped working

What it means: This error message may appear if you're running Microsoft Security Essentials with real-time protection software. This can occur if your software conflicts with Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: To prevent this error, access your Security Essentials scanning settings and exclude the directory that contains Google Ads Editor's log files. If you’re on Windows XP, your Google Ads Editor log files can be found in the following directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\testing\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Ads-Editor\profiles

You can also exclude the adwords_editor process file:

C:\Program Files\Google\Google Google Ads Editor\google ads_editor.exe

Issue: Unable to sign in to downloaded account

What it means: This issue might appear and the sign-in dialogue might be disabled if the account email address changed since you last signed in to the account in Google Ads Editor.

How to fix: To resolve the issue, follow the steps below:

1. Cancel the sign-in dialogue.
2. Go to the Account menu > Open > + Add.
3. Enter the new email address and password.

You can now safely remove the old email address from the accounts list. Select the entry with the old email address, then click Remove.

Error: Repair the current installation, or delete it

What it means: This error message may appear when your computer already has the version of Google Ads Editor that you're trying to install.

How to fix: To determine which version of Google Ads Editor is currently installed on your computer, open Google Ads Editor and select Help > About Google Ads Editor (Windows) or Google Ads Editor > About Google Ads Editor (Mac).

Issue: Incorrect or unexpected column contents

What it means: This issue might appear if the columns of your CSV file don't match Google Ads Editor columns.

How to fix: Confirm that the columns match in the first step of importing your CSV file.

Error: Google Places location assets cannot be copied

What it means: This error message may appear if you copy a campaign that includes location assets from Google Places. You might receive this message:

Your selection includes Google Places location assets that cannot be copied. To create or update these assets, sign in to your Google Places account.

How to fix: You can safely ignore this message and click OK to continue. The warning is there to remind you how the integration between Google Places and Google Ads Editor works. Review additional details below.

• Manual assets have 'Google Ads' in the Source column on the 'Location Assets' tab. As with keywords or ads, you can copy, paste, edit and otherwise manipulate manual assets.
• Google Places assets are pulled automatically from your Google Places account when you associate the account with your campaign (at the bottom of your 'Campaigns' tab). You cannot copy or edit Google Places assets.

The purpose of the warning message is that Google Ads Editor copies everything inside the campaign except the Google Places assets. However, the Google Places account association does get copied into the new campaign. Assuming you keep the Google Places account association intact, the Google Places assets will appear in the new campaign after some time.

After you click OK, you can proceed with pasting the campaign.

When you post the campaign, you'll need to enter the Google Places password.

Issue: Text ad isn't visible in Google Ads Editor

What it means: This issue may appear if a text ad isn't visible in Google Ads Editor. In some instances, it's possible that the ad has an ad-level location asset. Google Ads Editor doesn't support ad-level location assets, so these ads don't appear in Google Ads Editor.

How to fix:

• To add, remove or edit ads with ad-level location assets, use the Google Ads online interface or the Google Ads API (AdWords API).
• To find out if an ad has an ad-level location asset, sign in to your Google Ads account at and click the edit icon for the ad. Ads with location assets have an 'Address section below the ad text.

Error: Google Ads Editor tried to modify an item which no longer

What it means: This error message may appear if Google Ads Editor doesn't have the most recent version of your Google Ads account.

How to fix:

• To resolve this issue, download the full account from the Account menu > Full download.

Issue: Approval status is different in Google Ads Editor

What it means: This issue may appear when your Google Ads and Google Ads Editor accounts don’t match. When you look at an item in Google Ads Editor, keep in mind that the approval status might have changed since the last time that you downloaded the campaign. To review the most up to date approval status, you can always sign in to your Google Ads account.

How to fix: If you run Get recent changes, be sure to choose More data (slower) if you want to include up to date approval information.

Error: Campaign target service is deprecated

What it means: This error message may appear if you're running a version of Google Ads Editor that's no longer supported.

How to fix: Learn how to Upgrade to the latest version.

Issue: Ads were replaced by new ads

What it means: This issue may appear if you haven't chosen the appropriate ad URL import setting.

How to fix: Learn how to choose your Ad URL import settings.

Issue: Unable to edit multiple accounts at once

What it means: This issue may appear if you try to edit more than one account at the same time. If you manage several Google Ads accounts, you can download them in Google Ads Editor and switch easily between the downloaded accounts. However, only one account at a time may be edited.

How to fix: Learn more About managing multiple accounts.