WorldServer - How to configure the 'Create Project Package' Automatic Action and add it to your Workflow

How can I configure Worldserver to export my project tasks automatically in the background and make the export packages available to the translator? I would like to avoid the manual export since it is time consuming, especially for bigger projects.

In Worldserver versions earlier than 11.6., use the Generate Translation Kit Automatic action. Refer to this article for instructions:

WorldServer - How to configure the Generate Translation Kit Automatic Action and add it to your Workflow

Starting from version 11.6, the Generate Translation Kit automatic action has been marked as deprecated and has been replaced with an automatic action called Create Project Package, which also features the new caching mechanism introduced in WorldServer 11.6 (more information about this new feature can be found in the Release Notes). The Create Project Package Automatic Action is available out-of-the-box. The Generate Translation Kit automatic action still works, but cannot create and export cached .tmx file.

Configuring the Create Project Package Automatic Action works the same way as configuring the Generate Translation Kit Automatic Action. Follow these steps:

The Automatic Action/Step Create Project Package can be added to a Workflow to perform an export in the background and attach the exported package to a project attribute which can then be downloaded by the translator or reviewer.

1- The first step is to create a Project Attribute.  To create a Project Attribute, go to

Management > Administration > Customization

2- Next to Custom Component Type, select Attributes and click Add to create a new Project Attribute. The Add Custom Attributes Component window will open up and you need to select the correct configuration. This is an example of such attribute where the Internal (API) Name is EXPORT_WSXZ_Translation_kit and the External (UI) Name is Export Studio package for translation:




3- The next step is to create a dedicated folder in Explorer where the exported package will be stored. Open Explorer and add such folder in the location of your choice. Let's assume the folder is called export and is placed under a folder called root. The directory in Explorer would be /root/export

4- Once the Project Attribute is created, open the relevant Workflow(s) in the Workflow Editor and add the Create Project Package to it. It is recommended to add such Step before the Translate step and - if needed - also before other human steps where translation/review in a CAT tool such as Trados Studio 2019 or 2021 is needed. This is an example of a simple workflow where the Create Project Package  is added before the Translate and the Review step:



5- The Create Project Package Automatic Action needs to be configured according to follow parameters:

Translation Kit format: select the desired export format. WSXZ, XLIFF and XLZ are available. Note that the XLZ format is no longer supported and we also do not recommend to use the XLIFF format, especially not in a live tm mode system. We recommend that the WSXZ format is selected.

Caching Option: in the case of WSXZ export format: the new feature of this Automatic action is that it uses cached TM, which makes the export much faster. Hence, we recommend using the default option: Use cached project TM. However, you can also select Create Project TM.

Output directory: this is the directory where the dedicated folder has been created, see also Step #3. Important: you need to refer to the AIS properties of the mount under which the folder has been created and not to the Explorer directory alone. Check under

Management > Asset Interface System > AIS Mounts

and use the Directory path to point to the folder created in Step #3. In this case, since the folder root is associated with path C:\WorldServer\root in the AIS Mounts, the path to the export folder would be C:\WorldServer\root\export

File Attachment Attribute Name: here you need to enter the INTERNAL attribute name. Make sure you do not enter the EXTERNAL attribute name because it will not work. If you are unsure what the internal attribute name is, double check the attribute settings (see Step #2).

Kit Exporter Type: select Tasks. Selecting Assets is not supported if you want to use the Cache Project TM capability. If you select Assets in combination with Caching Option Cache Project TM you will encounter the error 'Invalid task id: -1 The export attempt failed. Details:<br>java.lang.NullPointerException'. If you need to use Assets as Kit Exporter Type, you will have to change the Caching Option to Create Project TM, which basically will do an export the "old" way, exactly as in Generate Translation Kit.



Important: if you select Tasks, the next Workflow step MUST be a human step, otherwise you will run into an error as described in this article:

Worldserver - Error at 'Generate Translation Kit' Workflow Step or 'Create Project Package' - 'Only human steps can be claimed! '

Moreover, in WorldServer versions BEFORE 11.8.1, the Project Submitter *must* be an assignee of the human step placed after Created Project Package. If not, you will encounter this error described in this article:

WorldServer - Error at 'Generate Translation Kit' or 'Create Project Package' step - Pending claimant must be one of the assignees of the next task-step

However, the article provides a workaround that includes setting a project attribute to a different user that will be assigned to the human step, making it possible for the project submitter not to be an assignee. Read the article for more details.

6- Now add the Create Project Package to your Workflow and Save your changes.

We recommend that a Test project is run to test the Create Project Packagestep and confirm that it is configured correctly.

This article is relevant:

WorldServer - why am I seeing the option 'Use cached Project TM' when exporting a project or Task to a Studio (WSXZ) package?