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Make Google Docs: "Missing value of required parameter 'oldText'" in Replace a Text

Fix Make's Google Docs error Missing value of required parameter 'oldText': why {{placeholders}} turn into empty chips and two fixes for Replace a Text.

Updated 14 Oct 2026 · ~12 min read

Disclosure: this guide has one affiliate link to Make, marked "affiliate link", and mentions our Fiverr fix service. Error messages, settings and limits come from Make Help Center / app docs and Make Community thread 108242 checked on 14 October 2026; anything we could not confirm is flagged for review before publishing. We did not reproduce these in a live Make scenario for this guide. Prices, where mentioned, are as seen from the US.

Short answer: Google Docs › Replace a Text in a Document needs a real string in Old text to be replaced (oldText). Typing {{Name}} in the module field makes Make turn the braces into an empty mapping chip, so the required parameter is missing and you get BundleValidationError: Missing value of required parameter 'oldText'. Escape the braces, or use Create a Document from a Template with Tags instead.

Everything here works on Make's Free plan.

The exact error

Make Community reports (for example thread 108242, April to May 2026) show:

  • BundleValidationError
  • Validation failed for N parameter(s).
  • Missing value of required parameter 'oldText'. (often repeated once per replacement row)

Make's Google Docs module reference lists Replace a Text in a Document with fields Old text to be replaced and New text to be inserted. Those map to the API-style names oldText / new text in the validation message.

Why {{placeholders}} become empty chips

In the scenario editor, Make treats {{...}} as a mapping or formula token. If you type the same placeholder you put in the Google Doc (for example {{Name}}) into Old text, the editor converts it to a chip. When that name is not a real mapped value, the chip resolves to empty → required oldText is missing → BundleValidationError before Google Docs is called.

That is different from a successful replace that cannot find the string in the document (a different failure after validation). Here the module never gets a non-empty old text.

Fix 1: build the literal {{tag}} at run time

Make Community staff advised building the curly-brace string so the editor never sees a live {{tag}} while you type. One pattern from that thread:

{{replace(replace("[[Name]]"; "[["; "{{"); "]]"; "}}")}}

At run time that becomes the literal characters {{Name}} for Old text, while New text maps your Fillout (or other) answer. Use bracket pairs that never appear inside your real Doc tags.

Another Community suggestion: insert a splitter such as {{emptystring}} between braces while editing so Make does not auto-tokenize the full token, then confirm the executed old text is still the Doc placeholder.

Fix 2: prefer Create a Document from a Template

If you are filling a Doc from a form, Make's Create a Document from a Template module uses Tags / replaced values instead of Replace a Text. Put {{full_name}} in the template body; in Tags enter full_name without braces, then map the form answer. That path is what our live guide Fillout to Google Docs and free template fillout-docs-pdf-drive-free use.

Use Replace a Text when you must edit an existing document in place. Use Create from Template when each submission should become a new Doc (and optional PDF).

Checklist after the error

  1. Open the failed module: is Old text a black/empty chip instead of plain text?
  2. Confirm the Google Doc still contains the exact placeholder characters you intend to replace (same spelling and braces).
  3. Map New text from the form field (Fillout, Tally, Typeform, Sheets, etc.).
  4. Run once on a copy of the Doc so a bad replace does not wipe a production file.
  5. If you only need a filled copy, switch to Create a Document from a Template + Tags.

The same BundleValidationError family appears when any required module field is empty, for example Parse JSON's missing json after Run this module only. For the general pattern see Fix missing data errors and the Make error cheat sheet.

FAQ

What causes Missing value of required parameter 'oldText' in Make?
Old text to be replaced in Google Docs Replace a Text was empty when the module ran. Typing {{Name}} in that field makes Make turn it into an empty mapping chip.
How do I put literal curly braces in Old text?
Build them at run time, for example replace(replace("[[Name]]"; "[["; "{{"); "]]"; "}}"), as suggested in Make Community, so the editor never tokenizes the tag.
Is Create a Document from a Template better?
For a new filled copy per submission, often yes: keep {{tag}} in the template and enter the tag name without braces in Tags.

Fill Docs from a form without Replace a Text

Free template: Fillout answers into a Google Docs template, exported to PDF in Drive.

Get the free Docs template Fix my scenario on Fiverr

Still failing? Send the blueprint: Make scenario fix on Fiverr (async, from $20 as seen from the US).