# Why am I seeing "ParseError: unexpected token"?

> Learn how to resolve the "ParseError: unexpected token" in SecureMailMerge caused by invalid merge fields or incorrect placeholder syntax in Outlook.

## What This Error Means

One of your personalization tokens (the `{ColumnName}` placeholders) is invalid. This usually means there's a typo or formatting issue.

## How to Fix It

### Check your token syntax

Every personalization token needs:
- **Two curly braces** on each side: `{{FirstName}}` not `{FirstName}`
- **Exact column name spelling**, must match your spreadsheet exactly, including capitalization

### Common mistakes

| Wrong | Correct |
|-------|---------|
| `{FirstName}` | `{{FirstName}}` |
| `{{firstname}}` | `{{FirstName}}` (if your column is "FirstName") |
| `{{ FirstName }}` | `{{FirstName}}` (no spaces inside braces) |
| `{{First Name}}` | `{{FirstName}}` (no spaces in column names) |

### How to check your column names

1. Open your spreadsheet
2. Look at the **first row**, these are your column names
3. Make sure each token in your email matches a column name exactly

- [Learn more about creating mail merge templates](https://www.securemailmerge.com/help/creating-a-mail-merge-template/)
- [Why am I seeing "Error in liquid syntax"?](https://www.securemailmerge.com/help/error-liquid-syntax/)