Texmaker error: “missing $ inserted”

math-modemissingtexmaker

I get the following error in texmaker:
enter image description here
I have multiple files opened, but I since it doesn't show a file name I dont know where this error should occur. I also went through all my files and the bibliography and checked lines 53 and 55 without spotting any missing $. How do I know which file this error message is for?

This is the part of the logfile:

(09_diskussion.tex
chapter 6.
) [30
] (00_Vorlage Abschlussarbeit.bbl
! Missing $ inserted.
<inserted text>
$
l.53 centres{\ast
}.
I've inserted a begin-math/end-math symbol since I think
you left one out. Proceed, with fingers crossed.
! Extra }, or forgotten $.
l.53 centres{\ast}
.
I've deleted a group-closing symbol because it seems to be
spurious, as in `$x}$'. But perhaps the } is legitimate and
you forgot something else, as in `\hbox{$x}'. In such cases
the way to recover is to insert both the forgotten and the
deleted material, e.g., by typing `I$}'.
! Missing $ inserted.
<inserted text>
$
l.55
I've inserted a begin-math/end-math symbol since I think
you left one out. Proceed, with fingers crossed.
! Missing } inserted.
<inserted text>
}
l.55
I've inserted something that you may have forgotten.
(See the <inserted text> above.)
With luck, this will get me unwedged. But if you
really didn't forget anything, try typing `2' now; then
my insertion and my current dilemma will both disappear.

Best Answer

If your main file is

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}

aaaaaaa

\input{wibble}


\end{document}

and wibble.tex is

aa

centres{\ast i}

bbb

Then the error in the log is

(./wibble.tex
! Missing $ inserted.
<inserted text> 
                $
l.3 centres{\ast
                 i}
?

Note the log file is almost always more informative than the "summary" that may be provided by your editor.

Here (./wibble.tex logs wibble.tex being opened, and as there is no matching ) that file is still open at the point of the error, so l.3 refers to line 3 of wibble. As confirmed by the line of context shown.

The actual error is that \ast is a math command, I'm not sure what expression you intended but changing wibble.tex as below fixes the error

aa

centres $\ast i$

bbb
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