Getting "Unexpected exception when initializing task 'Analyze Files': Object reference not set to an instance of an object" When Creating Projects

Question

Hi, I'm frequently getting "Unexpected exception when initializing task 'Analyze Files': Object reference not set to an instance of an object" error when creating projects lately. Here is the error report:

<SDLErrorDetails time="7/13/2023 6:31:38 PM">
<ErrorMessage>Unexpected exception when initializing task 'Analyze Files': Object reference not set to an instance of an object..</ErrorMessage>
<Exception>
<Type>Sdl.ProjectApi.ProjectApiException, Sdl.ProjectApi, Version=16.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=c28cdb26c445c888</Type>
<HelpLink />
<Source>Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation</Source>
<HResult>-2146233088</HResult>
<StackTrace><![CDATA[ at Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation.TaskExecution.ContentProcessingTaskImplementation.InitializeTaskImplementations()
at Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation.TaskExecution.ContentProcessingTaskImplementation.Execute()
at Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation.AutomaticTaskExecuter.Execute()]]></StackTrace>
<InnerException>
<Type>System.NullReferenceException, mscorlib, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089</Type>
<HelpLink />
<Source>Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi</Source>
<HResult>-2147467261</HResult>
<StackTrace><![CDATA[ at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.<>c__DisplayClass66_0.<GetEntity>b__0(ILanguageResourceEntity entity)
at System.Linq.Enumerable.FirstOrDefault[TSource](IEnumerable`1 source, Func`2 predicate)
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.GetEntity(LanguageResourceType languageResourceType)
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.RemoveEntity(LanguageResourceType type)
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.RemoveEntities(LanguageResourceType[] types)
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.SaveDateTime()
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundle.SaveToEntities()
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundleCollection.SaveToEntities()
at Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi.LanguageResourceBundleCollection.get_ResourceDataAccessor()
at Sdl.ProjectApi.Helpers.LanguageObjectsCache.GetLanguageTools(ILanguageDirection languageDirection)
at Sdl.ProjectApi.AutomaticTasks.Tasks.Analysis.AnalysisDataCollectorX.CreateAnalysisDataStorage(ILanguageDirection languageDirection, AnalysisTaskSettings analysisSettings, TranslationMemorySettings translationMemorySettings, ILanguageObjectsCache objectsCache)
at Sdl.ProjectApi.AutomaticTasks.Tasks.Analysis.AnalysisDataCollectorX.Initialize(IList`1 files)
at Sdl.ProjectApi.AutomaticTasks.Tasks.Analysis.AnalysisTask.CreateAnalysisDataCollectors()
at Sdl.ProjectApi.AutomaticTasks.Tasks.Analysis.AnalysisTask.InitializeTask(IExecutingAutomaticTask task)
at Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation.TaskExecution.ContentProcessingTaskImplementation.InitializeTaskImplementations()]]></StackTrace>
</InnerException>
</Exception>
<Environment>
<ProductName>Trados Studio</ProductName>
<ProductVersion>Studio16</ProductVersion>
<EntryAssemblyFileVersion>16.2.12.9338</EntryAssemblyFileVersion>
<OperatingSystem>Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise</OperatingSystem>
<ServicePack>NULL</ServicePack>
<OperatingSystemLanguage>1033</OperatingSystemLanguage>
<CodePage>1252</CodePage>
<LoggedOnUser>AMD\jayc</LoggedOnUser>
<DotNetFrameWork>4.0.30319.42000</DotNetFrameWork>
<ComputerName>XSH-JAYC-L2</ComputerName>
<ConnectedToNetwork>True</ConnectedToNetwork>
<PhysicalMemory>32324024 MB</PhysicalMemory>
</Environment>
</SDLErrorDetails>

At first, I though it was because of my TM and/or TB, so I changed to brand new TM and TB to test and still get the same error. I've tried to fix installation of my Trados Studio 2021, yet that did not fix the issue.

Please help.

Moved the error stack to code
[edited by: Paul at 5:24 PM (GMT 1) on 13 Jul 2023]

Oana Nagy · Answer

jie chen Thank you for the stack trace error. So very helpful 
 What I am noting in the stack trace is: Sdl.ProjectApi.Implementation; Sdl.LanguagePlatform.TranslationMemoryApi and initializing task 'Analyze Files I assume this was not a problem before, so what has changed? 
 Please can you confirm: 
 
 What happens if you were to translate a single document, can you run the analysis? 
 And if you were creating a new project/using a project template, what happens if you disable your TM's? 
 What format are your TM's in? 
 
 Thank you for the clarifications 
 Lyds

Oana Nagy · Answer

jie chen Great that file based projects work vs create project via the wizard. That most certainly points us in the direction we need to get the root caused looked into. One area to compare between your "default" settings of Trados Studio (File/Options) vs what you have as a template when creating your projects is the Match Repair settings. I have seen this error linked to cases "Match Repair with Termbases" where enabled. So my advice is to test with it disabled 
 Looking forward to the outcome of your findings 
 Lyds

Paul · Answer

jie chen 
 Given the steps you've already tried, it's clear you've been thorough in trying to narrow down the issue. Here are a few things that could potentially be at play, based on the details you provided:

Concurrency issues due to the large number of files : The fact that the problem occurs primarily with large projects involving hundreds of files could indicate a concurrency issue. Trados Studio uses multi-threading to process multiple files simultaneously. In a multi-threaded environment, timing issues could cause a collection to be modified while it is being enumerated. A single file would likely not trigger such a condition, whereas hundreds of files might.

Memory or resource limitation : While your machine seems to have plenty of memory, it's possible that there's some kind of resource limitation or conflict, perhaps related to disk I/O, that's only becoming apparent with a large number of files.

Issues with the Translation Memory (TM) or Termbase (TB) files : You mentioned that you've tried disabling these and using new ones, but it might still be worth double-checking their integrity. It's also worth considering whether the TM or TB files become locked or inaccessible at some point during the project creation process. This might explain why the problem is intermittent.

On the last point... I'd also look at whether you are sharing these resources with others, or whether you have them on OneDrive or similar for example as this could be where you get locking issues as a result of synching problems, especially when dealing with larger projects where these resources could be getting called for longer periods of time.

Paul · Answer

jie chen 
 It's hard to be sure but it looks as though some resource is missing from your project settings. I suggest you go through your project templates and make sure they contain all the resources they are connecting to, and especially that these resources are accessible. So remove them and try and put them back. Just because they are on your local drive doesn't mean they can always be accessed. For example, if you do use OneDrive or something like this you still put files on your local drive but depending on the settings you use for OneDrive they won't always stay local. 
 Here's an explanation of why. 
 When you save a file locally to your OneDrive folder and if OneDrive Files On-Demand is enabled, it will immediately start to sync to the cloud. During this process, the file will have a status of "Sync pending" represented by circular arrows. 
 Once the file is fully uploaded, if you haven't set the file to be "cloud-only" yet, it will be both on your local device and in the cloud. Its status will be represented by a green checkmark in a white circle, indicating that it's available both locally and online. 
 However, if you manually set the file to be "cloud-only" by right-clicking on the file and choosing "Free up space", then OneDrive will remove the local copy of the file, and the file status will change to a blue cloud icon, indicating the file is now "cloud-only". When you do this, the local file is removed immediately. 
 
 When using OneDrive's Files On-Demand feature, if you open a cloud-only (blue cloud icon) file, it will be downloaded and become locally available. While you're using the file, it will remain on your device. 
 The file will continue to stay on your local device even after you've closed it, and its status icon will change to a green check mark in a white circle, indicating that it's available both locally and online. 
 However, if you've enabled the "Storage Sense" feature on Windows 10 or later, it can automatically free up space by making older, unused files cloud-only. How long a file stays locally available before it becomes cloud-only again will depend on the settings you have configured in Storage Sense. 
 To check or modify these settings, you can go to "Settings" -> "System" -> "Storage" -> "Configure Storage Sense or run it now." Here you can specify how often Storage Sense runs and when files become cloud-only, based on when they were last opened. 
 So whilst this may not explain the problem you are having it does seem to fit your problem. If your resources are in the cloud and you have downloaded them locally then they will be fine for a while as you are using them. But then once you stop they may be considered unused, depending on your settings, and get removed. So the next time you try to access them via your project they are no longer available and you get the error.

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Getting "Unexpected exception when initializing task 'Analyze Files': Object reference not set to an instance of an object" When Creating Projects

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