Type System.StringException: Invalid id: N/A Error when trying to make a list of ID's in a custom object controller

Question

So essentially I'm trying to write simple script that, on record creation, will cause users referenced by the record's lookup fields to auto-follow the record in question. To this end, I'm creating a list of the User ID's referenced in the object, and then comparing those ID's to the SubscriberID's of the existing associated EntitySubscription objects. If an EntitySubscription object for a given ID does not exist, one is created.

Now, I am getting the System.StringException: Invalid id: N/A Error in my test method, at jobPage.AutoProcess(). All of the fields being referenced are lookup fields to Users. I am checking for null and N/A values before trying to push the users into the lest. I believe the error is occurring when I am trying to push an invalid ID into the List jobTeam, but I cannot see where this invalid ID is coming from.

Code is below- public class newJobController { private List jobTeam;

public newJobController(ApexPages.StandardController stdController){
j = (Job__c)stdController.getRecord();

}

public integer AutoFollowClass()
{       
    try
    {   
        List<EntitySubscription> followersList = new List<EntitySubscription>();
        followersList = [SELECT subscriberID, ID FROM entitysubscription WHERE parentID = :j.id ];




        Map<Id, EntitySubscription> followersMap = new Map<Id, EntitySubscription>();
        for (EntitySubscription f : followersList)
        {
            followersMap.put(f.subscriberID, f);
        }

        for(ID i :jobTeam)
        {

            if( !followersMap.containsKey(i))
            {
                EntitySubscription e = new EntitySubscription();
                e.SubscriberId =i;
                e.parentID = j.id;
                insert e;
            }           
        }
        return 0;
    }
    catch(Exception e)
    {
        return 1;
    }
}    

AutoProcess()
{
     jobTeam = new List<Id>();

        /*
        //not working reading ID as N/A?
        if(j.Associate_Creative_Director__c != null && j.Associate_Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Associate_Creative_Director__c);
        }
        //Also reading ID as N/A
        if(j.Digital_Creative_Director__c != null && j.Digital_Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {       
            jobTeam.add(j.Digital_Creative_Director__c);
        }
        //Also passing in as N/A
        if(j.Internal_Operations__c != null && j.Internal_Operations__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Internal_Operations__c);
        }
        //job id = N/A error
        if(j.iMedia_Coordinator__c != null && j.iMedia_Coordinator__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.iMedia_Coordinator__c);
        }
        */

        if(j.Account__c != null && j.Account__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Account__c);
        }

        if(j.Digital_Producer__c != null && j.Digital_Producer__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.Digital_Producer__c);
        }

        if(j.Executive_Creative_Director__c != null && j.Executive_Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Executive_Creative_Director__c);
        }

        if(j.Creative_Director__c != null && j.Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {       
            jobTeam.add(j.Creative_Director__c);
        }
        if(j.Co_Creative_Director__c != null && j.Co_Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Co_Creative_Director__c);
        }
        if(j.Copywriter__c != null && j.Copywriter__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Copywriter__c);
        }
        if(j.Art_Director__c != null && j.Art_Director__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.Art_Director__c);
        }
        if(j.Designer__c != null && j.Designer__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.Designer__c);
        }
        if(j.Producer__c != null && j.Producer__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.Producer__c);
        }
        if(j.Production__c != null && j.Production__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.Production__c);
        }
        if(j.Media_Lead__c != null && j.Media_Lead__c != 'N/A')
        {
            jobTeam.add(j.Media_Lead__c);
        }

        if(j.iMediaLead__c != null && j.iMediaLead__c != 'N/A')
        {   
            jobTeam.add(j.iMediaLead__c);
        }


        integer i;  

        i = AutoFollowClass();

    if(i == 0)
    {    
        PageReference jobPage = new ApexPages.StandardController(j).view();
        jobPage.setRedirect(true);
        return jobPage;
    }
    else
    {
        PageReference jobPage = new PageReference('/apex/UhOh?id=' + j.id);
        jobPage.setRedirect(true);
        return jobPage;
    }
}
public static testMethod void AutoFollowControllerTest()
{
            Job__c job = new Job__c();

        job.name='test123';
        job.type__c='interactive';
        job.livedate__c=date.today();


        Profile p = [select id from profile where name='Saatchi - Standard User'];

        User testUser3 = new User(alias = 'u1', email='rtu11111' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com',
        emailencodingkey='UTF-8', lastname='Testing3', languagelocalekey='en_US',
        localesidkey='en_US', profileid = p.Id, country='United States',
        timezonesidkey='America/Los_Angeles', username='rtu11111' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com', division = 'NYC', isActive=true);

        insert testUser3;


        User testUser2 = new User(alias = 'u2', email='rtu11112' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com',
        emailencodingkey='UTF-8', lastname='Testing2', languagelocalekey='en_US',
        localesidkey='en_US', profileid = p.Id, country='United States',
        timezonesidkey='America/Los_Angeles', username='rtu11112' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com', division = 'NYC', isActive=true);

        insert testUser2;

        User testUser1 = new User(alias = 'u3', email='rtu11113' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com',
        emailencodingkey='UTF-8', lastname='Testing1', languagelocalekey='en_US',
        localesidkey='en_US', profileid = p.Id, country='United States',
        timezonesidkey='America/Los_Angeles', username='rtu11113' + datetime.now().format('MMMMM.dd.yyyy.hh.mm.ss') + '@testorg.com', division = 'NYC', isActive=true);

        insert testUser1;

        job.iMediaLead__c = testUser3.Id;

        job.Designer__c = testUser2.Id;

        job.Copywriter__c = testUser1.Id;

        PageReference jobPage = new PageReference('null');

        System.assertNotEquals(control.save(), null);


        jobPage = control.autoProcess);

        List<EntitySubscription> entities = new List<EntitySubscription>();
        entities = [SELECT subscriberID, ID FROM entitysubscription WHERE parentID = :job.id ];

        System.assert(!entities.isEmpty());



}
}

Where do you insert job? You refer to its ID in the query but I don't see you insert it. — Doug B, Sep 25, 2013 at 15:04

Matt Lacey · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-26 00:23:49Z

Assuming that Associate_Creative_Director__c is a lookup field in this statement:

if(j.Associate_Creative_Director__c != null && j.Associate_Creative_Director__c != 'N/A')

Then you are trying to compare an ID with the String 'N/A'. To do the comparison the system automatically converts each side to the same type, and in this instance it's trying to convert 'N/A' into an ID which is failing for obvious reasons.

You want to select the name of the related record using Associate_Creative_Director__r.Name and then if the ID is null do the comparison against 'N/A' using the name field and not the ID. That will be a String/String comparison and so won't throw an exception.

sfdcfox · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-25 17:04:09Z

5

An ID isn't ever N/A. It will always be one of null, a 15 character ID, or in most cases, an 18-character ID. If you're checking to see if the ID refers to a record whose name is N/A, you'll need to query that data separately. Most likely, you can just change the query to include, for example, Associate_Creative_Director__c, Associate_Creative_Director__r.Name, then check Associate_Creative_Director__r.Name != 'N/A'.

answered Sep 25, 2013 at 17:04

sfdcfox

433k18 gold badges393 silver badges715 bronze badges

I agree with the ID field never being N/A. Since I'm not referencing the associated object other than to grab it's ID string (e.g. object.User_Lookup__c), I can't see the issue with what I'm doing. I figure that if an ID field does not exist, it will have a null value. Additionally, I figure that there cannot be an ID which references a null object, or an N/A object, correct?
– gfppaste
Sep 25, 2013 at 19:20
Sidenote- tried your suggestion, no dice =/ this is really perplexing me!
– gfppaste
Sep 25, 2013 at 19:20
There is a special ID that sometimes appears: 000000000000000AAA, which is the same as a null ID. However, you should never see this value in Apex Code; it commonly appears in Weekly/Monthly export feature, though.
– sfdcfox
Oct 1, 2013 at 20:17

Add a comment |

Jeremy Nottingham · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-25 21:57:58Z

I think it might be the If statements themselves that are causing the exception. I can recreate the StringException like this:

Contact con = [select Id from Contact limit 1];
if (con.Id == 'N/A') system.debug('id is n/a');

which throws this:

17:49:04.053 (53023000)|FATAL_ERROR|System.StringException: Invalid id: N/A
AnonymousBlock: line 2, column 1

It seems to me like Apex is seeing that your comparison is on an Id/Reference type field and trying to cast the thing being compared against into an Id. If you remove all your 'N/A' references, do you still get the error?

Johannes · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-21 09:27:30Z

0

Like sfdcfox said, a Lookup (Id) is either empty or a valid id.

Why wouldn't you just use String.isNotBlank(String id)? It checks for != null and for length > 0.

answered Nov 21, 2019 at 9:27

Johannes

1011 silver badge4 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Josh · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-22 12:51:49Z

-1

You can also use String.ValueOf() on the id field to get around this error.

answered Mar 22, 2017 at 12:51

Josh

1

2

Although that wouldn't be very helpful since String.valueOf(<id>) != 'N/A' is always true.
– martin
Mar 22, 2017 at 13:17

Add a comment |

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