Please help: I upgraded to 2014 SP2 and now cannot open native .docx files anymore

As it became impossible to add terms to my MT from Trados (Java security would not allow it anymore), yesterday I finally found a good moment to update my Studio 2014 to SP2 (both Trados and Multiterm).

Then a new project arrived: a small docx file. I tried to open it as a single file and, after selecting TMs etc, I have got the horrible message "Object reference not set to an instance of an object", and the file would not open in Studio. However, rtf and doc open normally, as well as docx saved from Word 2003.

I have tried to manually install the Cumulative update 8 (KB #5375) and rebooted. No improvement.

Environment: Win 7, Office 2003 with Compatibility Pack, Trados Studio 11.2.4364.8 with Autoupdate activated - i3 Processor, 8 GB RAM, SSD.

NB1 Before upgrading to SP2, I was working in 2014 with lots of docx files without any problem.
NB2 The same docx files, that are impossible to open in Studio 2014 SP2, open normally in my Word 2003.

Can somebody help?

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Thread Subject & Description
Please help: I upgraded to 2014 SP2 and now cannot open native .docx files anymore As it became impossible to add terms to my MT from Trados (Java security would not allow it anymore), yesterday I finally found a good moment to update my Studio 2014 to SP2 (both Trados and Multiterm). Then a new project arrived: a small docx file. I tried to open it as a single file and, after selecting TMs etc, I have got the horrible message "Object reference not set to an instance of an object", and the file would not open in Studio. However, rtf and doc open normally, as well as docx saved from Word 2003. I have tried to manually install the Cumulative update 8 (KB #5375) and rebooted. No improvement. Environment: Win 7, Office 2003 with Compatibility Pack, Trados Studio 11.2.4364.8 with Autoupdate activated - i3 Processor, 8 GB RAM, SSD. NB1 Before upgrading to SP2, I was working in 2014 with lots of docx files without any problem. NB2 The same docx files, that are impossible to open in Studio 2014 SP2, open normally in my Word 2003. Can somebody help?
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0 Paul over 9 years ago

Hi Luca,

I think I'd be suspicious of the DOCX first of all. So is it really a DOCX or is it a DOC with the wrong extension? Word doesn't care about this, but Studio does because it uses the extension as part of the identification process. If you can share an example of such a file I'd be happy to take a look and at least this will help us to rule out one possibility? You can email it to pfilkin@sdl.com

Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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0 Luca Tutino over 9 years ago in reply to Paul

Hi Paul, I have just sent you the file that could not be opened. It seems to me that it is a real .docx because it starts with PK. But I have now found that I can open other .docx files. For some reason yesterday I found 2 files in a row that could not be opened, but now I cannot identify them anymore, and all the other files I tried (4 files) opened normally.
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0 Paul over 9 years ago in reply to Luca Tutino

Hi Luca,

If I open your DOCX in 2014 (or 2011 so it's not an SP2 thing) then I get the Obj Ref Error. If I save it as a DOCX and try again then it works fine. So I opened the file in Word using the "Open and repair" mode and then Word reports this:

So possibly the problem is associated with this error in the DOCX which Word can live with, but Studio cannot. I'll discuss this with the team here and see whether it's an error we can address in the software as part of a future release, but I'm pretty sure this is not anything to do with SP2. The workaround in the meantime is to simply repair the Word file.

Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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0 Paul over 9 years ago in reply to Luca Tutino

Hi Luca,

If I open your DOCX in 2014 (or 2011 so it's not an SP2 thing) then I get the Obj Ref Error. If I save it as a DOCX and try again then it works fine. So I opened the file in Word using the "Open and repair" mode and then Word reports this:

So possibly the problem is associated with this error in the DOCX which Word can live with, but Studio cannot. I'll discuss this with the team here and see whether it's an error we can address in the software as part of a future release, but I'm pretty sure this is not anything to do with SP2. The workaround in the meantime is to simply repair the Word file.

Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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0 Lena Danielsson over 9 years ago in reply to Paul

Hi,

There is an answer here: object_reference_not_set_to_an_instance_of_an_object_studio_2011

Quote:
Try: http://kb.sdl.com/?portalid=23&articleid=4457#tab:homeTab:crumb:7:artId:4457
For me, solution 2 worked every time:

Solution 2:

In the case SDL Trados Studio 2011 SP2 will start, but as soon as you try to switch between the dialogs you get the error message Object reference not set to an instance of an object, please use the follow resolution:

Open SDL Trados Studio.
Click on SDL Trados Studio in the View menu.
Select Reset Window Layout.
Please confirm the reset of the window layout with a click on OK.

After these steps the message should no longer appear, but if this solution does not work please try Solution 1 before you try Solution 3 and 4.
Unquote

I have used this solution in SDL Trados 2014 and it works.
Would be nice it this was permanently fixed in the next upgrade.
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0 Paul over 9 years ago in reply to Lena Danielsson

Thanks Lena,

I think one problem is that the Object Reference error can be caused by a number of things and whilst one solution might be good for several issues that doesn't mean it will fix them all, nor that we can fix it so easily. We have to find the source of the problem as we can't apply a workaround that might lose information in the file by downgrading it, or deleting Studio setting files.

In this case the style was the problem, and the development team have confirmed that the cause was actually a localised style name. So we can fix this particular issue in a future release.

The object reference error is one of the hardest to nail down because it really could be coming from annywhere. In this case it was triggerred by an unexpected change to the underlying styles. Even Word repaired itself when it found this issue. But it's easier for Word to do this because this is the originating application.

On a side note, you can use more features when you post if you select the "Use rich formatting" option underneath the editing pane. Then you can get your links to be live so they are easier for others to use. I edited your post but this might be helpful for the next time.

Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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0 Lena Danielsson over 9 years ago in reply to Paul

Thanks a lot, Paul!
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0 Luca Tutino over 9 years ago in reply to Paul

Thank you Paul! I am also glad to have found this great forum, thanks to you.
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Trados Studio > 1. Trados Studio

Please help: I upgraded to 2014 SP2 and now cannot open native .docx files anymore