{"record":{"id":"c5d4387a27f34be6","repo":"pentaho/pentaho-kettle","slug":"synchronizeaftermergemeta-exception","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.Exception.UnableToReadStepInfoFromXML","messagePattern":"SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta\\.Exception\\.UnableToReadStepInfoFromXML","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"KettleXMLException","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/synchronizeaftermerge/SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.java","lineNumber":468,"sourceCode":"        updateLookup[i] = XMLHandler.getTagValue( vnode, \"name\" );\n        updateStream[i] = XMLHandler.getTagValue( vnode, \"rename\" );\n        if ( updateStream[i] == null ) {\n          updateStream[i] = updateLookup[i]; // default: the same name!\n        }\n        String updateValue = XMLHandler.getTagValue( vnode, \"update\" );\n        if ( updateValue == null ) {\n          // default TRUE\n          update[i] = Boolean.TRUE;\n        } else {\n          if ( updateValue.equalsIgnoreCase( \"Y\" ) ) {\n            update[i] = Boolean.TRUE;\n          } else {\n            update[i] = Boolean.FALSE;\n          }\n        }\n      }\n    } catch ( Exception e ) {\n      throw new KettleXMLException( BaseMessages.getString(\n        PKG, \"SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.Exception.UnableToReadStepInfoFromXML\" ), e );\n    }\n  }\n\n  public void setDefault() {\n    tablenameInField = false;\n    tablenameField = null;\n    keyStream = null;\n    updateLookup = null;\n    databaseMeta = null;\n    commitSize = \"100\";\n    schemaName = \"\";\n    tableName = BaseMessages.getString( PKG, \"SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.DefaultTableName\" );\n    operationOrderField = null;\n    OrderInsert = null;\n    OrderUpdate = null;\n    OrderDelete = null;\n    performLookup = false;","sourceCodeStart":450,"sourceCodeEnd":486,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/pentaho/pentaho-kettle/blob/f3058517a153da500bf4551f46d79b91bf8ec552/engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/trans/steps/synchronizeaftermerge/SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.java#L450-L486","documentation":"SynchronizeAfterMergeMeta.readData() failed while parsing the step's XML definition (as loaded by loadXML) into step metadata. Any exception during XML attribute reading (missing nodes, malformed values, wrong element structure) is wrapped in KettleXMLException 'Unable to read step info from XML'.","triggerScenarios":"Loading a .ktr file whose <fields> section for this step is malformed or from an incompatible plugin version; a repository/XML import of a transformation saved by a different Pentaho version with changed XML schema.","commonSituations":"Hand-editing a .ktr file and breaking the XML; opening transformations built in much older/newer PDI versions; incomplete file transfer truncating the XML.","solutions":["Open the .ktr in the PDI version it was created with, or upgrade Spoon to a compatible version","Inspect the .ktr XML around the SynchronizeAfterMerge <fields> element and repair/normalize it (compare with a working step's XML)","Recreate the step in a fresh transformation and re-enter the settings","Check the cause ('Caused by') in the stack trace to identify the exact parse failure"],"exampleFix":"// before (hand-edited ktr, missing value_update element)\n<field><value_name>AMOUNT</value_name><value_rename>amount</value_rename></field>\n// after\n<field><update>true</update><value_name>AMOUNT</value_name><value_rename>amount</value_rename></field>","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"// Validate XML before loading\ntry { javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance().newDocumentBuilder().parse(new File(ktrPath)); }\ncatch (org.xml.sax.SAXException e) { throw new IllegalStateException(\"Malformed ktr XML: \" + ktrPath, e); }","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"try { transMeta = new TransMeta(ktrPath); }\ncatch (KettleXMLException e) { log.error(\"Cannot read step from XML (check PDI version / ktr integrity): \" + e.getMessage(), e); throw new IllegalStateException(\"Transformation file incompatible or corrupt\", e); }","preventionTips":["Never hand-edit .ktr files; use Spoon","Open transformations with a PDI version compatible with the one that saved them","Back up .ktr files before scripted edits","Verify file integrity after transfers (checksums)"],"tags":["kettle","xml-parse","metadata","serialization"],"backgroundTag":"json-unmarshal-failed","analyzedSha":"f3058517a153da500bf4551f46d79b91bf8ec552","analyzedAt":"2026-09-13T14:04:16.340Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-13T14:04:16.340Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-20T23:17:15.980Z"}