URGENT! Project file disappeared from list and folder - TM wasn´t updated

Hi Everyone,

yesterday it happened to me and today has happened again:

when opening Trados, the project is no longer on the list and neither on the project folder! Everything (TM, sdlxliffs, etc) has disappeared. What can I do? I have been working on this translation for the last 3 days and I have to deliver it today!

Furthermore, Trados has an strange behaviour: it doesn't recognise files, duplicates TM im folder, send the duplications to trash bin... I don't know what to do.

Thank you very much in advanced for your help

Isabel

Parents
  • Check in the Navigation pane on the left side, if all projects are shown and no filter is active.

    If there is no filter, make sure you are logged in Windows as the same user as yesterday. Check the Studio folder also for other users of your PC.

    Make sure, all external drives and/or USB devices are connected.

    To avoid such hassle in the future, store your projects in a folder of YOUR choice and do not let Studio do it for you. Obviously you need to learn something about files and folder management in Windows. Using the so called default folder which is situated in your Documents folder within the libraries is a very bad idea. This folder is located on the drive C: together with Windows and programs. It is much better to create own folder and file structure.

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

Reply
  • Check in the Navigation pane on the left side, if all projects are shown and no filter is active.

    If there is no filter, make sure you are logged in Windows as the same user as yesterday. Check the Studio folder also for other users of your PC.

    Make sure, all external drives and/or USB devices are connected.

    To avoid such hassle in the future, store your projects in a folder of YOUR choice and do not let Studio do it for you. Obviously you need to learn something about files and folder management in Windows. Using the so called default folder which is situated in your Documents folder within the libraries is a very bad idea. This folder is located on the drive C: together with Windows and programs. It is much better to create own folder and file structure.

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

Children
  • Hi Jerzy,

    thanks a lot for your reply and your tips but it hasn't help much.

    Navigation panel is set at "Show all projects"

    I am logged as the same user as everyday.

    Have no external drives/USB devices.

    I don't use a default folder to store projects. I always indicate the path and they are automatically store in the cloud as well. When recovering the project from my security copy and trying to open it in Trados, Trados informed "You cannot open this project on Trados. You only are allowed to open single documents or packages" (translated from the German version of Trados).... PLEASE, I NEED A REAL SOLUTION NOW.

    Kind regards

    Isabel

  • This message says, that you have a Starter version of Studio. Do you have another license?

    And sorry, but no one here will know where your projects are, you are the only one who knows your folders. Studio does not remove any files from anywhere by default, so the files/projects must be on your harddisk unless you deleted them accidentally.

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

  • Hi Jerzy,

    yes, I have a license of Trados 2017.

    As I could verify, there are other users having exactly the same problem and you still afirm "Studio does not remove any files from anywhere". Please, don't treat us as we were dupes and take this bug seriously. Trados is not precisely an affordable software and we deserve efficiency and a good service.

  • Which kind of license do you have? The only license not allowing you to work with a project is Starter version. If you have a different license, check your activation.

    In any case - your project does consist of several folders, one of these will be a folder with your target language. There will be one or more sdlxliff files. Copy these files to another folder and open them from there one by one, if your Studio allows you only to work with single files. This way you will have access to your translation and can generate target files for the delivery.

    Should this project have been received as a package, please remove the project from the list if it is listed there. Then MOVE the project folder to another directory. This is crucial, as otherwise you could overwrite your files and lose the whole work. Then receive the package again. Now copy the files from the target folder of your MOVED project and paste them into the target directory of your newly received package to overwrite the files sitting there. Now your translated files are in the package folder and you can continue working ans nothing would have happened.

    "Please, don't treat us as we were dupes and take this bug seriously. Trados is not precisely an affordable software and we deserve efficiency and a good service"

    I am not an affiliate of SDL or an employee of this company. I am a user as yourself are and use Studio since the very beginning. I have never lost ANY files due to a bug in Studio, because there is NO such bug. If you do not want my help, I gladly go off this forum, as I have better things to do as dealing with people who do not have control on their files.

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

  • Hi Jerzy,

    if you don't know more about Trados than I do, I appreciate your intentions but it doesn't help. For yout information, I have also worked with Trados full time for 10 years and it is the first time I am experiencing this kind of problem. I hope you the best and I hope you don't have to swallow your words in the future having suddenly the same problem...

    Please remove your messages. I do need the help of a professional.

  • Hi 

    Regarding error message "You cannot open this project on Trados. You only are allowed to open single documents or packages"...

    I do sometimes get that message when I've worked on a project on my second computer then transfer it back to my main PC.

    If that happens, I create a new project and add all the components I was using in the project that cannot be opened.

    Something else that may help you find your lost projects is that Studio always opens packages, for example, to the last place on your system that a package was opened. So if you've created a project for a different client for example since the project you've lost, take a look in that client's folder.

    If this gets reset for example by a big Windows update, Studio will default to the SDL folders under My Documents, so for Studio 2019 that would be here:

    Screenshot of Trados Studio 2019 file directory showing folders such as Projects, Project Templates, and Translation Memories.

    The actual address is C:\Users\username\Documents\Studio 2019 replacing 'username' with your user name.

    So, if you create a new project it'll be in the Projects folder. A new TM or termbase would be in the relevant folder.

    If you've been using Studio for 10 years, you quite likely know all of this but there may be a fact in there that will help... I keep learning new things even now and have been using Studio and TagEditor before it for so many years I've lost count...

    Hope this helps... If not, it may help someone with the same problem in the future...

    All the best,

    Ali Slight smile

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    [edited by: Trados AI at 6:35 AM (GMT 0) on 29 Feb 2024]
  • Dear Alison,

    thanks a lot for your help! I will take it into account next time when I get that message.

    Back to the disappeared files, I have opened the local SDL folder under my documents and I found something it could be related with all the mess Trados is creating with this project:

    Screenshot of Trados Studio 2017 local SDL folder showing multiple 'Copy of PlugIns_Bookmarks' XML documents with corresponding timestamps to when files disappeared.

    What do you think about those "Copy of PlugIns"? The time corresponds to the day and time the files disappeared from the project folder.

    Apart from that, I have had for a long time the very same problem with TM: they duplicate themselves and add "Copy of XXX (name of the TM)" in the local folder. Then I have to access the Project settings to indicate the path again...

    I could now recover the project I was working on. But I still would like to know what the matter is, just in case it happens again in the future with another project (it is the first time a project just disappear from its folder).

    Kind regards and thanks a lot again,

    Isabel

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    [edited by: Trados AI at 6:35 AM (GMT 0) on 29 Feb 2024]
  • It looks like you have a problem with the bookmark plugin.

    Does your Studio start properly? Where have you stored the files? How were you trying to open the project, which has been refused by Studio?

    If you have the project files, why not simply create a new project with the sdlxliff files from the lost project?

    And honestly, beside "I cannot find my project" you do not provide any useful information to track your issue. You did not answer my question, which kind of Studio license do you have. The only answer I got was an accusation I would treat you as someone dumb. If you want help, provide more information.

    TMs should not duplicate themselves by a chance. What indeed happens is, that you get duplicates of TMs when you upgrade these. Are you possibly keeping the files in any cloud like Dropbox? In such case duplicates of TMs are created by the cloud software and not Studio.

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

  • "It looks like you have a problem with the bookmark plugin." Oh, really?

    I have not provided any useful info (for you) and you have not set any clever question.

    I would kindly ask you to stop replying. Thanks a lot anyway for your willingnes to help.

  • You're making a mistake dismissing Jerzy's help...

     is one of the most knowledgeable users on the SDL Community. In his reply he is responding to the information you just gave me far better than I could. His knowledge is greater than mine. He is also the Number 1 Community Leader, which means he has helped more people than any other non-SDL user. 

    Going back to your question regarding 'Copy of' etc., I cannot answer it. Jerzy has just done so and then he tried to further help you by asking you useful questions to help him better diagnose the problem. He was not insulting you, merely explaining that he's not trying to treat you as dumb.

    He is not being difficult, either, he is being thorough. The misunderstanding is down to English being his and your second language.

    Jerzy is a kind, intelligent, expert user of Studio and also an experienced trainer. He is better equipped than I to solve your issue. I was just adding a few details to see if they helped, I wasn't undermining his ability to help you.

    Sorry to both of you that I confused matters Wink

    All the best!

    Ali Slight smile