> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.puddin.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Troubleshooting Common Issues in Puddin Admissions

> Solutions for the most common issues encountered by admissions staff and applicants using Puddin Admissions, from invitation problems to import errors.

This page covers the most common issues you're likely to encounter when managing Puddin Admissions, along with the steps to resolve them. If your issue isn't listed here or the steps below don't resolve it, contact Puddin support via the **Help** menu in your Puddin account.

<Accordion title="An applicant cannot access their invitation link">
  **Symptoms:** The applicant reports that clicking the link in their invitation email shows an error message such as "This link has expired" or "This link has already been used."

  **Causes and solutions:**

  **Expired link** — Invitation links expire after 30 days by default. If the applicant didn't use their link before it expired, resend the invitation to generate a fresh one.

  1. Go to **Applicants** and find the applicant.
  2. Click **⋮ → Resend Invitation**.
  3. A new link is generated and the previous one is invalidated. Let the applicant know to use the new email.

  **Already-used link** — Once an applicant creates their account or signs in using the link, it cannot be used again as a sign-in link. The applicant should log in to Puddin directly at the Puddin sign-in page using the email address and password they set, or request a magic link from the sign-in page.

  **Link modified in transit** — Some email clients wrap or shorten links in ways that break them. Ask the applicant to copy and paste the full URL from the email rather than clicking it.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="An applicant says they submitted but their status still shows In Progress">
  **Symptoms:** The applicant has contacted your team to say they have submitted their statement, but the Puddin applicant list still shows their status as **In Progress**.

  **Steps to investigate:**

  1. Open the applicant's profile and check the **Activity Log** tab for a submission event. If a submission event is recorded, there may be a display delay — refresh the page.
  2. Ask the applicant to log in to Puddin and check whether their status shows **Submitted** in the writing environment. If it does, the issue is a display lag in the admissions view and should resolve within a few minutes.
  3. If the applicant's status shows **In Progress** in both the admissions view and their own writing environment, the submission did not complete successfully.

  **Resolution:** Ask the applicant to log back in to Puddin and try submitting again. If they encounter an error during the submission attempt, ask them to note the error message and contact your team so you can escalate to Puddin support.

  <Note>
    Puddin support can confirm whether a submission event was recorded server-side, even if the status hasn't updated in the interface. If in doubt, open a support ticket with the applicant's email address and cycle name.
  </Note>
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="A reviewer cannot see their assigned submissions">
  **Symptoms:** A reviewer logs in to Puddin but their **My Reviews** queue is empty or doesn't show submissions that you've assigned to them.

  **Possible causes and solutions:**

  **Submissions not yet assigned** — Verify that the assignment was completed. Go to the applicant's profile and check the **Assigned Reviewer** field. If it shows the correct reviewer, the assignment is active.

  **Reviewer is looking at the wrong cycle** — The reviewer may be viewing a different cycle in Puddin. Ask them to check that the correct cycle is selected in the cycle switcher at the top of the My Reviews page.

  **Reviewer has the wrong role** — Check that the reviewer's account has the **Reviewer** or **Admissions Officer** role in **Admin → Institutional Settings → Administrators**. Users without one of these roles cannot access the review interface.

  **Applicant status is not yet Submitted** — Reviewers can only access submissions where the applicant's status is **Submitted**. If an applicant is still **In Progress**, the submission is not yet available in the review queue.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Bulk CSV import is returning errors">
  **Symptoms:** After uploading a CSV file, Puddin reports validation errors on one or more rows.

  **Common causes and fixes:**

  | Error message                   | Likely cause                                          | Fix                                                                                     |
  | ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
  | `Missing required field: email` | The email column is empty for one or more rows        | Check each flagged row for a missing email address                                      |
  | `Invalid email format`          | The email address doesn't follow standard format      | Check for typos, extra spaces, or missing @ symbols                                     |
  | `Duplicate email in this cycle` | The email address already exists in the current cycle | Remove the duplicate row; use a different email if the applicant is genuinely different |
  | `Unrecognised column header`    | Your CSV contains a column not in the Puddin template | Remove any extra columns; re-download the template and map your data to it              |
  | `File encoding error`           | The CSV was saved in a non-UTF-8 encoding             | Re-save the file as UTF-8 CSV from Excel (File → Save As → CSV UTF-8)                   |

  Download the error report from the validation results screen for a row-by-row breakdown. Correct the errors in your file and re-upload. You only need to re-upload the rows that failed — rows that passed validation on the first attempt don't need to be included.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Invitation emails are not being received by applicants">
  **Symptoms:** Applicants report they haven't received their invitation email, even after you've sent or resent it.

  **Steps to resolve:**

  1. **Check delivery status.** Open the applicant's profile and go to the **Invitations** tab. If the status shows **Bounced**, the email address is likely incorrect or doesn't exist. Correct the email address and resend.

  2. **Ask the applicant to check their spam folder.** Emails from new senders are sometimes filtered. Ask the applicant to search for an email from Puddin and mark it as not spam.

  3. **Check institutional email filtering.** Some university and school email systems aggressively filter external emails. If applicants are using institution-provided email addresses, ask them to check with their IT helpdesk whether emails from Puddin's sending domain are being blocked.

  4. **Verify the email address.** Confirm with the applicant that the email address in Puddin matches the inbox they're checking. You can update an applicant's email address from their profile page (as long as they haven't yet submitted).

  If delivery consistently fails for applicants from a specific email domain, contact Puddin support to investigate whether that domain is blocking Puddin's sending address.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Cannot create a new admissions cycle">
  **Symptoms:** The **New Cycle** button is greyed out or not visible, or clicking it produces an error.

  **Possible causes and solutions:**

  **Insufficient permissions** — Only users with the **Administrator** or **Admissions Officer** role can create new cycles. If you have the **Reviewer** role, you will not see the New Cycle option. Contact your Puddin administrator to adjust your role if needed.

  **Cycle limit reached** — Your institution's Puddin plan may include a limit on the number of active cycles. If you've reached this limit, archive a completed cycle before creating a new one, or contact Puddin support to discuss your plan.

  **Missing required information** — The cycle creation wizard requires certain fields (such as a cycle name and submission deadline) before it can proceed. Ensure all required fields are completed.

  If none of the above applies, contact Puddin support with the error message you're seeing.
</Accordion>