Object reference not set to an instance of an object with mqxliff files in Studio

I received a Studio package from a client containing two files which were apparently converted from memoQ (mqxliff). I translated part of the job yesterday using Studio 2015 but today I can no longer open the files. I get the error message "Object reference not set to an instance of an object". Is there a way to fix this? I can of course scrap the whole project, open a fresh copy and run the files through the TM but I will run into the same problem again when I have completed the job, and there is no way of knowing the client will be able to open the project at their end.

Parents
  • Trine

    Your assumption that the error will come up again if you create a new project may be wrong in this particular situation because the error "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" is a generic error message that can appear in very different situations and does in itself not give any clue as to what really caused the error.

    It may also disappear simply after having done a "Reset Window Layout" or after having restarted Studio, so I suggest that these are the first things you should try.

    If you still get the error, I suggest you check whether the source file has been properly converted by opening it in Studio and before you start translating, doing a preview (all target segments still being empty). If you already get an error, this means that Studio will not be able to convert this file and you should report this to SDL.  You can also find more details about this procedure in the following KB article.

    Walter

  • Hi Walter,

    Thanks for taking the time to reply. Some of the things you suggested I have already tried based on some of the other replies in this forum regarding this error. I have restarted my computer, restarted Studio and reset the window layout and it did not work. I have also tried starting the project from scratch, 3 times, all with the same result: the files open, there are no error messages when opening them and no problems while working. It is only when I close the files that I get the error message and am unable to open them again.

    I have had a look at the KB article you linked to, but I'm not too hopeful. I can't open the file in the native format because it is a FrameMaker file (mif) and I don't have that program. Neither do I have any older versions of Trados to open the files in. I will now try item 3 in the list and your suggestion to open the file and do a preview. But in my case the target segments will not all be empty since the files are pretranslated with locked segments. I'm not sure I understand item 4 about splitting the files - how do I do that?

    Trine
  • Update:
    I tried opening a new copy of the project and doing a preview as suggested. This did not work: I just got the message "Preview is not available", but this is not unusual since preview is never available.
    I then tried running the verification to see whether there were any errors before starting my translation. There were a number of tag errors in the locked segments, such as tag order changed or formatting tags for bold removed. I don't know whether this is significant but normally it does not cause problems later on if you omit a bold formatting tag or change the tag order.
    Every time I save the files, close the project and try to open the files again I get the same message and am unable to open the files.
    Any more suggestions?
Reply
  • Update:
    I tried opening a new copy of the project and doing a preview as suggested. This did not work: I just got the message "Preview is not available", but this is not unusual since preview is never available.
    I then tried running the verification to see whether there were any errors before starting my translation. There were a number of tag errors in the locked segments, such as tag order changed or formatting tags for bold removed. I don't know whether this is significant but normally it does not cause problems later on if you omit a bold formatting tag or change the tag order.
    Every time I save the files, close the project and try to open the files again I get the same message and am unable to open the files.
    Any more suggestions?
Children