Dreamweaver not loading due to workspace file problem

Question

I went to launch Dreamweaver CS 5.5 and this message popped up:

XML parsing fatal error: Invalid document structure, line 1, file
C:\Documents...(file path)...Workspace\My Workspace.xml

It was followed by

The following panel layout is missing or could not be read:
C:...My Workspace.xml
The application will not have a correct layout. Please load one from
Windows>Workspace

After that, Dreamweaver acted as if it was going to load, but never did. When I tried to close the program, it crashed.

I followed the file path and I saw two files: My Workspace.xml 0kb and My Workspace 5kb. The second one has an unknown file type. I deleted the first file and renamed the unknown file type to My Workspace.xml; everything worked fine after that point.

Why did Dreamweaver do this? This has happened several times, but I have not changed anything that should affect that file type.

Solution 1

Firstly, if you are running a pirate copy, no one can really help you. I once spent close to an hour trying to help someone and it turned out to be his dodgy copy that was the reason for the failure. Some cracks edit some resource files causing errors or problems that may manifest at a later date (update, time bomb or anything).

I mean no insult by the last paragraph - What you are saying is not a widespread issue so I have to rule it out. If it is a legal copy, please read on.

Dreamweaver is a huge and complex program.... It is not "designed" to do this, and all I can suggest is that it is a bug.

The first thing I would suggest is a repair install.

Next, it most likely is related to an add-on/in that you have which is saving invalid data.

Has this happened more than once?

If the answer is no, then great - you found a solution!

If the answer is yes, try deleting and reopening, then closing without making any changes.

If you do not get the problem when reopening, it must be a change/customisation that you do. If you do get the problem, all I can suggest is uploading the my workspace.xml file (if it contains no sensitive data), so that I or someone else can compare to one from the same situation (after deleted, relaunch and close) to see if there are any changes.

Solution 2

I just moved all XML files out of the folder %APPDATA%\Adobe\Dreamweaver CS5\en_US\Configuration\Workspace and let Dreamweaver recreate a new set when it starts. This worked perfectly.

Solution 3

FYI this can happen if your windows crashes and you force a restart - removing the file and letting dreamweaver re-create it solves the problem.

This happened on a legal copy.

Solution 4

My designer.xml file crashed beyond repair, and wouldn't start DW without crashing even after deleting it. It never created a new version of the file. The following are the steps I took to solve the issue for Mac OS X, Dreamweaver CS5.

STEP 1 - Copy this file, classic.xml from this location: (just copy it don't remove it)

/applications/adobe dreamweaver cs5/configuration/workspacemac/

STEP 2 - Then paste it in this location:

/users/username/library/applications/adobe/dreamweaver/en_us/configuration/workspace/

STEP 3 - Update the current.txt file to the same file name so it knows to look for the new file.

STEP 4 - Restart dreamweaver and it started right up for me!

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Comments

[L84]

First- The program is completely legal. Secondly this has happened several times (At least 5 times) but is very sporadic. I might go a month without issue then again I might go a week and it crops up again. The workspace is customized but only what to display and where nothing major.

[Admin]

I tried all these: renaming, deleting, capitalizing small d to D but none worked until I noticed the folder workspace should be Workspace = that solved it for me.