pentaho/pentaho-kettle · error · KettleException

Unable to save notepad in repository…

Error message

Unable to save notepad in repository (id_transformation=id_transformation)

What it means

saveNotePadMeta throws this KettleException when the UPDATE/INSERT of a note pad row into R_NOTE fails with a KettleDatabaseException. The id_transformation is included to help locate which transformation's note failed to persist.

Solutions

1. Check the chained KettleDatabaseException cause for the exact SQL error
2. Shorten the note text / ensure it fits the R_NOTE column limits
3. Verify DB connectivity and write permissions on R_NOTE
4. Re-save the whole transformation after the database issue is resolved

Example fix

// before
notePad.setNote(veryLongText);
delegate.saveNotePadMeta(notePad, transId);
// after
if (veryLongText.length() > MAX_NOTE_LENGTH) { veryLongText = veryLongText.substring(0, MAX_NOTE_LENGTH); }
notePad.setNote(veryLongText);
try { delegate.saveNotePadMeta(notePad, transId); }
catch (KettleException e) { log.error("Save failed: " + e.getCause(), e); throw e; }

if (note.getNote() != null && note.getNote().length() > 2000) { /* truncate before save */ note.setNote(note.getNote().substring(0, 2000)); }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling saveNotePadMeta(notePadMeta, id_transformation) when the JDBC write fails: connection loss, R_NOTE column constraints violated (e.g. note text too long), read-only database, or schema drift.

Common situations: Very large note text exceeding column size; DB in read-only mode; network interruption during save; repository upgraded by another client mid-edit.

Related errors

• AbortMeta.Exception.UnableToSaveStepInfoToRepository
• ERROR_0003_Cannot_Save_Job_Entry
• JobEntryAddResultFilenames.UnableToSaveToRepo
• LDIFInputMeta.Exception.ErrorSavingToRepository
• Unable to load Notepad from repository (id_note=id_note)

AI-assisted analysis of pentaho/pentaho-kettle@f3058517a1 (2026-09-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5192157406a16b72. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at engine/src/main/java/org/pentaho/di/repository/kdr/delegates/KettleDatabaseRepositoryNotePadDelegate.java:122

   * @param rep
   * @param id_transformation
   * @throws KettleException
   */
  public void saveNotePadMeta( NotePadMeta note, ObjectId id_transformation ) throws KettleException {
    try {
      Point location = note.getLocation();
      int x = location == null ? -1 : location.x;
      int y = location == null ? -1 : location.y;

      // Insert new Note in repository
      note.setObjectId( insertNote(
        note.getNote(), x, y, note.getWidth(), note.getHeight(), note.getFontName(), note.getFontSize(), note
          .isFontBold(), note.isFontItalic(), note.getFontColorRed(), note.getFontColorGreen(), note
          .getFontColorBlue(), note.getBackGroundColorRed(), note.getBackGroundColorGreen(), note
          .getBackGroundColorBlue(), note.getBorderColorRed(), note.getBorderColorGreen(), note
          .getBorderColorBlue(), note.isDrawShadow() ) );
    } catch ( KettleDatabaseException dbe ) {
      throw new KettleException( "Unable to save notepad in repository (id_transformation="
        + id_transformation + ")", dbe );
    }
  }

  //CHECKSTYLE:LineLength:OFF
  public synchronized ObjectId insertNote( String note, long gui_location_x, long gui_location_y,
    long gui_location_width, long gui_location_height, String fontname, long fontsize, boolean fontbold,
    boolean fontitalic, long fontcolorred, long fontcolorgreen, long fontcolorblue, long fontbackcolorred,
    long fontbackcolorgreen, long fontbackcolorblue, long fontbordercolorred, long fontbordercolorgreen,
    long fontbordercolorblue, boolean drawshadow ) throws KettleException {
    ObjectId id = repository.connectionDelegate.getNextNoteID();

    RowMetaAndData table = new RowMetaAndData();

    table.addValue( new ValueMetaInteger( KettleDatabaseRepository.FIELD_NOTE_ID_NOTE ), id );
    table.addValue( new ValueMetaString( KettleDatabaseRepository.FIELD_NOTE_VALUE_STR ), note );
    table.addValue( new ValueMetaInteger( KettleDatabaseRepository.FIELD_NOTE_GUI_LOCATION_X ), new Long( gui_location_x ) );
    table.addValue( new ValueMetaInteger( KettleDatabaseRepository.FIELD_NOTE_GUI_LOCATION_Y ), new Long( gui_location_y ) );

View on GitHub (pinned to f3058517a1)