XTM Workbench – most common issues & troubleshooting

Introduction

Below are the most common problems clients report in tickets concerning the XTM Workbench application.


Issue description & Solution

Session has expired when a user is working in XTM Workbench

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An error like this might be caused by many different factors such as plugins, user mistakes, long periods of user inactivity (30 minutes), etc.’ However, there are two most frequent mistakes that clients make, that lead to the shutting down of a Workbench session. Those are:

  • closing the XTM Cloud tab from which the XTM Workbench tab originates,

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  • logging out from the XTM Cloud platform while working in XTM Workbench.

A few minutes after the user closes the tab or logs out, the session ends. This is a safety mechanism that prevents any unintended person from editing translation with just a particular Workbench session URL.

Solution: Bearing this in mind, ensure that you are not closing the XTM Cloud application tab after opening Workbench in a new one or not logging out from the XTM Cloud application at all.

If the above is not the case, we suggest that you check if you are using the latest version of your web browser and whether you have disabled any unnecessary plugins or add-ons. If the plugin in your browser affects cookies, it might also affect the session expiring. This issue can also occur when another user is logging into the same web browser at the time.

Basic steps you can take to identify the potential cause of this issue:

  • clear your browser's cache (see Clear your web browser's cache, cookies, and history for help),

  • try a different browser,

  • try accessing XTM Cloud in a private window (“Incognito”),

  • run your browser without plugins or extensions (see Disabling plugins for help),

  • check if your internet connection is stable,

  • check your proxy and firewall settings,

  • work in single browser mode.

If all these measures fail to improve the situation, send the XTM International Support team all the required information listed below:

In XTM Workbench, you can work on more than one file/document at the same time. When the user has logged out from the PM GUI (from the current user account), the session opened in a separate tab should expire soon (after approximately 3-7 minutes).

Generating a HAR file from Google Chrome

The XTM International Support team may ask you to send them the so-called HAR file, to further troubleshoot the issue.

Follow the steps below:

  1. Open Google Chrome and go to the page where the issue is occurring.

  2. Look for the button and select More Tools → Developer Tools.

  3. From the panel that appears, select the Network tab. You must keep the menu open while you reproduce the issue; select the WS option in the Network tab.

  4. Reload your browser to see the traffic over WebSocket (which is for XTM Workbench issues only).

  1. Look for a round record button in the upper left corner of the tab, and make sure it is red. If it is grey, click the button once to start recording.

  2. If it is not, check the Preserve log box.

  3. Click the crossed-circle button to clear any existing logs from the Network tab.

  4. Reproduce the issue while the network requests are being recorded.

  5. Click the download button, Export HAR, to download, and save the file to your computer: Save as HAR with Content.

After you open XTM Workbench for the affected project, you see the "INITIALIZATION_ERROR" message

You will also encounter a problem with target file generation in Project editor → Files. The error will be labeled “Empty document manager“:

This issue stems from "deserialization" of file headers in the XTM Cloud back-end.

Solution: There are two solutions to this problem:

  1. Reanalysis of the entire project;

  2. Manual repair of the issue by the XTM International Support team.

If you cannot perform the reanalysis, use the second solution. In this case, raise a support ticket and provide details. In it, to save time, send the XTM Workbench ID from the moment the problem occurred (click here for help). The XTM International Support team will take it from there.

Once we inform you that the problem has been resolved, close the XTM Workbench tab, open the file up once again from the Project Editor → Workflow and check if it opens correctly. You can also generate a target file for the affected file.

Once we inform you that the problem has been resolved, close the XTM Workbench tab, open the file up once again from the Project Editor → Workflow and check if it opens correctly. You can also generate a target file for the affected file.

Grey screen upon entering XTM Workbench

Solution: The issue is most likely related to WebSockets. Click here here for more information and troubleshooting guidelines.

XTM Workbench failed to open because it has already been opened in another tab

The message:

This document is already open in another window/tab. Continue your work in the opened window/tab or close it and reopen the document.

informs you that you must already have an active XTM Workbench session containing this file open elsewhere in your browser. This is a security measure that prevents anyone from modifying the same part of a file from different places at the same time.

Solution: Ensure that you have only one XTM Workbench tab open at a time by closing the rest. If you still experience the issue, perform the basic troubleshooting steps specified in the first issue above.

Segments lock up in XTM Workbench due to no editing rights

This issue occurs when you open XTM Workbench in <em>“Read-only</em> mode, for a particular file.

Solution: Ensure that the Read-only option is not selected when accessing XTM Workbench.

Segments locked in XTM Workbench by another user

Our editing tool only permits one user to operate on a particular part of the document at a particular time. If, for example, you have your file opened in the 1-100 segment range, the second user who attempts to access that part of the file will find that they are locked because the previous user's session is still active.

What is more, if another user enters the next workflow step right after the preceding step is finished, the segments will also be locked.

As in the case of the previous issue, this, is yet another security measure. It prevents two linguists from modifying the same part of a file at the same time.

Solution: This behavior can be modified by using different workflows, but as a rule of thumb, you should just close the XTM Workbench window, wait patiently for around 10 minutes and then start the editor again.

In some rare cases, if a user closes XTM Cloud incorrectly, with the XTM Workbench opened, that user's session (still open in XTM Workbench) can linger for a while, blocking your access to segments as though the user was still working. In such cases, waiting around 5 minutes before accessing the file again should help.

If the lock is only on one file and does not time out after some fixed time interval, moving your workflow back or forth solves the issue.

XTM Workbench cannot be opened for subcontracted projects

In the vast majority of cases, the message above pops up when a Linguist opens XTM Workbench for projects which are subcontracted.

Solution: The issue is caused by the fact that there is an ongoing update/upgrade on the contractor server which blocks all the connections to it. Once the operation has finished, you should be able to access XTM Workbench without any issues. Stay in touch with your XTM Cloud project managers, to receive updates on process.

Alternatively, the connection between the servers has failed and both the Contractor and you would need to reestablish it by verifying the connection details in Users → LSPs → (select an LSP) → LSP editorConnection Connection information from the LSP.

If the two above cases have been checked but you are still not able to access Workbench for those projects, create a suitable ticket for the XTM International Support team and provide all the details.