Wordfast Pro fails to open

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You try opening Wordfast Pro but it will not load. Typically, the initial blue WF logo is shown, with the blue comet underneath flying to and fro and the little caption saying Loading window content, but that's where it ends.

Potential causes and solutions

The problem is usually caused by one of the following conditions.

Weak computer

To be able to successfully use WFP, your computer system should have at least 4 GB system memory (RAM), with at least 1 GB of free RAM, and meet other system requirements detailed under Specifications at the Wordfast Pro webpage.

Wordfast auto-update problem

If WFP fails to open right after you auto-updated to a newer version, download, and install the latest version. Supposing the problem developed due to an auto-update issue, running the downloaded installer should resolve the problem.

VPN software interfering

We have seen a case where VPN software prevented Wordfast Pro from opening. If you suspect this could be the case for you, start Wordfast when your VPN connection is not active or before you start your VPN program. Once Wordfast is running, you can start your VPN connection.

Corruption in Wordfast's internal information

Windows:

  1. To solve it, do this:
    • If Wordfast Pro keeps on loading, use the Task Manager in Windows to forcibly close it. Note that you may need to select and close the OpenJDK Platform binary, i.e. the Java machine underlying Wordfast Pro.
    • Using your file manager (typically Windows Explorer), go to your hard drive (usually C:\) and then follow this path to reach the .gs4tr.editor folder:
      …\Users\your_user_name\.gs4tr.editor[1]
    • Inside the .gs4tr.editor folder, there should be a folder whose name starts with the version number of Wordfast Pro on your computer, such as 6.1.0_x64 (my current Wordfast Pro version is 6.1.0). Delete this version-specific folder[2]. Wordfast will re-create the folder when it needs it, with a new set of its internal information, without the old corruption.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.
  2. If the problem persists, do this:
    • Force-quit Wordfast Pro (if it keeps on loading) and go to the following folder on your computer:
      …\Program Files\Wordfast Pro
    • There should be a file called Wordfast Pro.ini in the folder. Rename the file by adding an .old extension, so that the new name is Wordfast Pro.ini.old.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.
  3. If the problem still persists, do this:
    • Force-quit Wordfast Pro (if it keeps on loading) and go to the following folder on your computer:
      …\Users\your_user_name\WordfastPro[3]
    • There should be two files, called application.settings and application.settings.sfc. Rename the files by adding an old. prefix, so their new names will be old.application.settings and old.application.settings.sfc. Wordfast will re-create the files when it needs them, with a new set of its internal information, without the old corruption.
    Important: The list of projects in Wordfast Pro will be empty when you refresh application.settings this way. You will need to add your projects back into Wordfast when it opens.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.

MacOS:

  1. To solve it, do this:
    • Force-quit Wordfast Pro (if it keeps on loading).
    • Using Finder, go to the Applications folder. Right-click Wordfast Pro app[4] and select Show package contents. Under Contents ► Java ► configuration, you should see the following two folders:
      org.eclipse.core.runtime
      org.eclipse.osgi
    • Rename both the files by adding an old. prefix[5]. If you only see one of the folders, rename it. After you do this, the names will be as follows:
      old.org.eclipse.core.runtime
      old.org.eclipse.osgi
    Note: Wordfast will re-create the folders when it needs them, with a new set of its internal information, without the old corruption.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.
  2. If the problem persists, do this:
    • Force-quit Wordfast Pro (if it keeps on loading) and go to the following folder on your computer:
      ► Users ► your_user_name ► WordfastPro[6]
    • There should be two files, called application.settings and application.settings.sfc. Rename the files by adding an old. prefix, so their new names will be old.application.settings and old.application.settings.sfc. Wordfast will re-create the files when it needs them, with a new set of its internal information, without the old corruption. Important: The list of projects in Wordfast Pro will be empty when you refresh application.settings this way. You will need to add your projects back into Wordfast when it opens.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.

Linux:

  1. To solve it, do this:
    • If Wordfast Pro keeps on loading, forcibly close the program. You can end the process in System Monitor; note that the process is likely called Java but if you hover the mouse pointer over the line or check its properties, you will see it points to Wordfast. You can also search online for instructions how to force-quit a frozen program in Linux; there are multiple ways to do so.
    • Using your file manager, follow this path to reach the .gs4tr.editor folder:
      /home/your user name/.gs4tr.editor
    Important: Linux usually treats the .gs4tr.editor folder as hidden, so you will probably need to make sure your file manager displays hidden files and folders in order to see it.
    • Inside the .gs4tr.editor folder, there should be a file called full.log. Open it in a text editor and search it to see if “missing dependencies” are mentioned. If a missing dependency, such as libgconf-2.so.4, is mentioned, make sure to install the missing library in your Linux system. To do so, you can use a package manager or search online for instructions for your Linux distribution.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.
  2. If the problem persists, do this:
    • Back in the .gs4tr.editor folder, there should be a folder whose name shows the version number of Wordfast Pro on your computer, such as 6.3.0 (my current Wordfast Pro version is 6.3.0). Delete this version-specific folder[7]. Wordfast will re-create the folder when it needs it, with a new set of its internal information, without the old corruption.
    • Open Wordfast Pro.

Your security software blocking Wordfast Pro

Anti-virus programs, firewalls, or other security software may prevent Wordfast Pro from running by blocking some of its key components. To solve the problem, check the settings in your security software and white-list Wordfast Pro.

Currently (November 2019), F-Secure anti-virus has been repeatedly reported to block Wordfast Pro. To make sure it does not block it, follow the steps mentioned at their website and exclude the following folder from F-Secure's real-time scan:

C:\Program Files\Wordfast Pro[8]

Other anti-virus programs also usually let you exclude the Wordfast program folder from their real-time scan.

After you exclude the Wordfast program folder in your security software, you may need to reinstall Wordfast Pro in order to restore the file(s) your security software neutralized or quarantined.

Windows Firewall blocking Wordfast Pro

Note: These instructions for Windows Firewall may give some hints to users of other firewalls, too.

Windows Defender may display a message saying Windows Firewall has blocked some features of this app with a reference to OpenJDK Platform binary application[9]. It also shows the path to the application, typically C:\Program Files\Wordfast Pro\jre\bin\javaw.exe. The path mentions Wordfast Pro but the name of the application does not, so it's easy to overlook it actually refers to a Wordfast Pro component. Unless you click Allow access (at least for private networks) in the dialog, Windows Firewall will block Wordfast Pro.

When the OpenJDK Platform binary component gets blocked by Windows Firewall, which prevents Wordfast Pro from opening, here is what to do: Open Windows Defender and access Firewall and network security section there. Click Allow an app through firewall. Scroll the list of apps to find OpenJDK Platform binary. Click it to select the line in the list. You can click the Details… button to verify it's the C:\Program Files\Wordfast Pro\jre\bin\javaw.exe file. Click Change settings button and then tick the check box under Private (you can also tick Public but it should not be necessary). Click OK to confirm the dialog.

Open Wordfast Pro.

References

  1. ↑ The whole path on my computer is C:\Users\David\.gs4tr.editor because David is my Windows user name and Wordfast Pro is installed in the default C:\ drive on my computer.
  2. ↑ If you don't want to delete it, you can rename it, say by adding an old_ prefix, so the new name will be, for example, old_6.1.0_x64
  3. ↑ The whole path on my computer is C:\Users\David\WordfastPro because David is my Windows user name and Wordfast Pro is installed in the default C:\ drive on my computer.
  4. ↑ If you have several versions of the Wordfast Pro app installed in Applications, this alone can cause issues. We strongly recommend only keeping one instance of Wordfast Pro in Applications.
  5. ↑ If you repeat this procedure and folders with an old. prefix are already there, use old2. or 'old3.' etc.
  6. ↑ The whole path on my computer is MacHD ► Users ► David ► WordfastPro because MacHD is the name of my Mac hard drive and David is my Mac user name.
  7. ↑ If you don't want to delete it, you can rename it, say by adding an old_ prefix, so the new name will be, for example, old_6.3.0
  8. ↑ Supposing your system is installed to the C:\ drive. If it's in D:\, for example, adjust the path as necessary.
  9. ↑ This is a key executable file that allows Wordfast Pro to use Java [1].
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