MultiTerm 2019 throws a 'Script Error' every 20-30 minutes when used as a stand-alone tool for just adding new terms

Dear All,

Every now and then I need to use MultiTerm as a stand-alone tool, that is, I add new terms to an existing termbase by copying them from an online source. And MultiTerm seems incapable of properly handing this mundane task, the successful completion of which should be its sole reason of existence. Every 20-30 minutes, it throws a 'Script Error' and then has to be forcefully closed via Window's Task Manager. Here is the error: 

Screenshot of a 'Script Error' dialog box in Trados MultiTerm with a warning icon, indicating an error has occurred in the script on the page, with details about the line, character, error, code, and URL of the issue. Options to continue running scripts are 'Yes' and 'No'.

Of course, I am not privy to SDL's mysterious ways, but it just seems to me, based on the observed behavior of the highly touted MultiTerm, that it is simply too fragile and breaks so easily that it is not ready for the real world.

Although, it is quite an expensive tool to buy and I have bought every new version over the past 10 years, only to be given the same unreliable software mess. Disappointed

Best regards,

Pavel Tsvetkov



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[edited by: Trados AI at 2:06 PM (GMT 0) on 5 Mar 2024]
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  • Hello ,

    I have not seen such errors for quite sometime but would try the following first

    First update your Internet Explorer v11 (even if you do not use IE as your default browser) and allow for activeX scripting.
    Restart your system and Studio and see if the problem is resolved.

    Also please make sure both Studio and MultiTerm are all on the latest stand.

    If the issue persists- please log a support ticket.

  • Hi Stephen Whale,

    Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, Windows Update reports that there are no further updates for my system (Internet Explorer included). How do I allow for activeX scripting?

    Best regards,

    Pavel Tsvetkov

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member

    Pavel, if you go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SDL\MultiTerm15\Editor\modern, and look for the two files below, do they have the same dates and sizes? What is your default browser? Try and change to a different browser. Firefox? Edge? Chrome? This error, though, annoying is not directly related to MultiTerm Desktop per se but to a script that renders the information to a browser embedded in the application. No (deprecated) activeX technology involved here, at all. This is pure JavaScript plus some cascading style sheets (CSS). Above all, make sure you have the bundle.js file in there.

    File explorer showing two files: 'bundle.js' with date 1242018 6:52 PM, size 2,215 KB, and 'concept.html' with date 1232018 8:04 AM, size 2 KB.

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    [edited by: Trados AI at 2:06 PM (GMT 0) on 5 Mar 2024]
  • Thank you Ozzie O!

    With some help from SDL support we have implemented the changes as described by you. I hope that solves it. 

    I must point out though that I cannot imagine most MultiTerm users being able to find a solution (and then implement it) on their own. And they should not be asked to.

    MultiTerm uses, as it seems, many external software titles, produced by third-party vendors, to perform its tasks, and when something goes wrong, the usual refrain is 'This is not a MultiTerm problem'.

    Here is the thing though: SDL must engineer their software products in such a way that they are (mostly) self-sufficient. I cannot accept such erratic and unreliable behavior, because of bad software decisions that are not rectified for years. I am paying for MultiTerm every 12-24 months and I expect real improvements not cosmetic changes!

    Best regards,

    Pavel Tsvetkov
     

  • Dear All,

    My Multierm has now been updated to the latest version and build: MultiTerm 2021 SR2 -16.2.1.1044

    When I use it as a stand-alone tool and copy and paste terms in it (I am manually creating a Microsoft termbase), after adding 20 terms and minimizing MultiTerm, then adding 20 more, etc., the software soon starts to get visibly slow and at one point seems to no longer be able to keep up with the speed of work. It then throws one of the errors below and has to be closed and restarted:

    Screenshot of Trados MultiTerm with an 'Out of memory' error message displayed in a pop-up window.

    Screenshot of Trados MultiTerm showing a complex error message 'Unable to cast COM object of type' in a pop-up window.

    Screenshot of Trados MultiTerm with an error message 'Value cannot be null. Parameter name: path2' in a pop-up window.

    Screenshot of Trados MultiTerm displaying an 'Exception of type System.OutOfMemoryException was thrown' error in a pop-up window.

    To me, MultiTerm remains the weak link in the Trados Suite. It breaks down easily, corrupts the termbases it has created, sometimes my memory serves me better than MultiTerm in Trados when working on a project.

    Best regards,

    PPTs

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    [edited by: Trados AI at 2:06 PM (GMT 0) on 5 Mar 2024]
  • Good morning, Pavel! It seems like we're twins when it comes to MultiTerm use as I am experiencing exactly the same series of problems you describe. I find it very frustrating.The script errors, the out-of-memory error and so on. Has it gotten any better for you personally? Mine is MultiTerm 2019. One thing that has been helpful for me is working with my browser off (if using dictionaries). If you use Firefox, it can be especially RAM-consuming and might contribute to MT crashing. You might need to tweak it some.

    Another problem I've had is the non-functioning search panel within MultiTerm.

    Frankly, I am now fearing that the ever-growing termbase I am working on will soon be rendered useless due to the accumulation of errors I do not understand (but should at least be able to).

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  • Agreed. These problems have plagued MultiTerm for a long time now. The fact that they continue to hinder its normal operation means that MultiTerm is more or less the same today as it was back in 2019 and even before that. It needs a major overhaul but RWL is concentrated on other things like cloud services, etc. that I personally am not interested in. And while this is going on, MultiTerm continues to throw the same errors and crash multiple times within the same working day. Just adding terms to it seems to overwhelm and break it.

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