WorldServer and Trados Studio - error at segmentation of PPTX file - Cannot find central directory

A PowerPoint (PPTX) fails at the segment Asset step with following error visible in the Task History:

Completed Segment Asset step of task 1 in time [00:00:08] on engine [xxxx:clone#1820856805:engine#1] with result Error. Execution output: Cannot parse asset data. Details: com.idiominc.ws.filters.FilterParseException: Cannot find central directory

When opening the same PPTX file in Trados Studio, you will receive the same error as in WorldServer:



If you download the error Stack Trace, you will find this entry pointing to the same error:
 

<ErrorMessage>Cannot find central directory</ErrorMessage>
-<Exception>
<Type>ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib.Zip.ZipException, ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib, Version=1.2.0.246, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=1b03e6acf1164f73</Type>
<HelpLink/>
<Source>ICSharpCode.SharpZipLib</Source>

The source PPTX file is corrupted and cannot be opened by Microsoft PowerPoint. This is also why WorldServer and Trados Studio cannot open it.
The author of the file should fix the issue and send a new version of the file that can be opened in Microsoft PowerPoint. This new version should be submitted to WorldServer. arts of the file are not accessible. 

Second possibility is that it could be CRQ-12519, where there are embedded excel or other files that are in the Embedded directory when unzipping the pptx file are all Olexxx.bin as referenced in the CRQ that is not supported in the filter configuration.

Download the source PPTX file to your local computer and try to open it in Microsoft PowerPoint. You will receive an error when opening:

PowerPoint found a problem with the content in ...... filename.pptx. PowerPoint can attempt to repair the presentation If you trust the source of this presentation, click Repair.



if you click on Repair, after a short while, this message will appear:

Sorry, PowerPoint can't read .... filename.pptx


 

Another way to check the health of the source PPTX file: if you try to unpack the PPTX file using 7zip or any other archiving tool (all PPTX, DOCX and XLSX files are small archive files), you will see this error "unexpected end of file) when extracting:



The extraction will still work and you will find the folder named after the PPTX file name. If you then navigate to the directory of the error above (in this example, ppt\media\image52.emf) and try to open that emf file with Paint or any other Imaging tool by double clicking on it, you will receive this error:

Paint cannot read this file. This is not a valid bitmap file, or its format is currently not supported.



This is a another prove that the file has an issue.
 

These articles might be relevant:

Trados Studio - when opening a PPTX file, the error 'Cannot find central directory' appears

WorldServer - Error when segmenting a DOCX file - Cannot find central directory