2.3.3.M2 error after Grails extension: Cannot instantiate input element factory

[snowmanjack]

I installed STS from springsource-tool-suite-2.3.3.M2-e3.6-win32-installer.exe. Got it up and running, then tried to add 3 extensions:
- Grails
- Groovy Eclipse
- Grails Support

Had an error on Grails Support, which is referenced and possibly resolved in other threads. So I installed the first two, then after it Restarted itself, when the Dashboard view opened, I had the following error message:

Could not open the editor: Cannot instantiate input element factory com.springsource.sts.ide.ui.dashboard.elementFactory 
for editor id=com.springsource.sts.internal.ide.ui.editors.MultiPageDashboardEditor name=Dashboard

I then closed STS, started, and now can't get to the dashboard at all. It's not even an option under Help..., and when I selected it from the History, it said "Dashboard unavailable."

Thoughts? Running on Windows XP SP3.
Do the extensions set the GRAILS_HOME environment variable? I currently have restrictions on my PC modifying those, am working on resolving. It's set to my Grails 1.1.1 home from a year ago.

full stack:

org.eclipse.ui.PartInitException: Cannot instantiate input element factory com.springsource.sts.ide.ui.dashboard.elementFactory for editor id=com.springsource.sts.internal.ide.ui.editors.MultiPageDashboardEditor name=Dashboard
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.getRestoredInput(EditorReference.java:398)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.getEditorInput(EditorReference.java:365)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.createPartHelper(EditorReference.java:594)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorReference.createPart(EditorReference.java:465)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPartReference.getPart(WorkbenchPartReference.java:595)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorAreaHelper.setVisibleEditor(EditorAreaHelper.java:271)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorManager.setVisibleEditor(EditorManager.java:1429)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.EditorManager$5.runWithException(EditorManager.java:942)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.StartupThreading$StartupRunnable.run(StartupThreading.java:31)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.RunnableLock.run(RunnableLock.java:35)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Synchronizer.runAsyncMessages(Synchronizer.java:134)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.runAsyncMessages(Display.java:4041)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.readAndDispatch(Display.java:3660)
	at org.eclipse.ui.application.WorkbenchAdvisor.openWindows(WorkbenchAdvisor.java:803)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench$31.runWithException(Workbench.java:1566)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.StartupThreading$StartupRunnable.run(StartupThreading.java:31)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.RunnableLock.run(RunnableLock.java:35)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Synchronizer.runAsyncMessages(Synchronizer.java:134)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.runAsyncMessages(Display.java:4041)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.readAndDispatch(Display.java:3660)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.runUI(Workbench.java:2537)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.access$4(Workbench.java:2427)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench$7.run(Workbench.java:670)
	at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:332)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.createAndRunWorkbench(Workbench.java:663)
	at org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI.createAndRunWorkbench(PlatformUI.java:149)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.start(IDEApplication.java:115)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:196)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:110)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:79)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:369)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:179)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
	at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
	at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:619)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:574)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1407)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.main(Main.java:1383)

[Kris De Volder]

Hmmm... this sounds very familiar. I had similar problems with earlier versions of STS under linux. What happened for me was after installing other plugins, and Christian did do something to fix it.

Nevertheless your problem sounds so similar that I think it may be an instance of the same problem.

The problem was some issue with mysterious conflicting plugins/packages causing many of STS specific plugins (like the dashboard) to not be loaded by Eclipse p2.

A workaround that worked for me was to restart STS with the "-clean" option.

To do this you have to either start STS from the command line with "STS -clean"
or edit your STS.ini file and add the -clean option there.

If you add it to the ini file you should probably remove it afterwards. You don't want to run this -clean option every time.

Give this a try and let us know if this solves the problem for you.

[snowmanjack]

This did not solve the problem. The first install, I had questions about previous environment variables I had set up, and restrictions on editing them. After getting Admin rights on my PC, I removed all previous Env Vars, then did a clean install of 2.2.3.M2 from the exe file. This worked great again.

Then I installed the extensions one at a time.
(1) [Languages and Frameworks] Grails, restart, OK. Still on the Dashboard.

(2) [Languages and Framework Tooling] Groovy Eclipse. After restart, I had the same error. Shut down STS. Started from command line: sts.exe -clean. When it came up, I again could not get to the Dashboard. No Dashboard option under Help, and choosing from the History yields the message "Dashboard unavailable."

UPDATE: I Uninstalled Groovy Eclipse, then the Dashboard worked for me. Must be something in that extension.

[snowmanjack]

I manually set my GRAILS_HOME environment variable and added it to PATH. Then restarted STS, installed the extension and it worked.

[Kris De Volder]

It sounds like your problem was actually not what I thought it was.

I'm glad you found a workaround.

[snowmanjack]

I am still having problems with this. Based on some company security software, I had incomplete jar files. We got a proxy exception in place, then I messed with unintalling/reinstalling the extensions. Finally, I'm just starting from scratch.

So, I installed STS 2.3.3.M2-e3.6, no problems. Did NOT install Grails extension, because I already have it unzipped on my PC, with the GRAILS_HOME environment variable setup.

I then installed 'Grails Support' and Groovy Eclipse' at once. After reboot, I got the same "Cannot instantiate input element" again. The extensions are not installed correctly - I have no Grails option under New Project, or Window / Preferences. I started STS from the command line with 'sts.exe -clean', and no luck.

First question: what is the difference between the STS Grails extension, or having the Grails Zip on your PC with your GRAILS_HOME environment variable setup? Should you have one or the other, or both for STS?

Second: Is there a specified order in which these should be installed? I've tried most every combination, and nothing is working.

Thanks.

[Andrew Eisenberg]

By your description above, it could be possible that you have installed STS in a read-only directory? If so, that is currently not supported (an eclipse bug, nothing to do with STS: https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=317896).

First question: what is the difference between the STS Grails extension, or having the Grails Zip on your PC with your GRAILS_HOME environment variable setup? Should you have one or the other, or both for STS?

There is no difference, really. Installing from within STS is just a handy way to install (uninstall, and reinstall) the latest version of Grails. Nothing more.

Second: Is there a specified order in which these should be installed? I've tried most every combination, and nothing is working.

Thanks.

There is no specified order. The p2 installer will take care of any install order problems for you.

[snowmanjack]

Looks like I may not have had full control over my Eclipse folder, where I was installing it. Redid it all from scratch, seems to be working now. Thanks for the tip.

[gearond]

For me, this problem was the result of a new OS/Eclipse Install. I had backed up my $HOME directory, wiped the drive, reinstalled Ubuntu/Eclipse, etc, then restored my $HOME directory. However, the version of Eclipse had moved up since I last upgraded and the contents of $HOME/.eclipse did not work with the new version of Eclipse. So I deleted that and started from scratch for the Eclipse configuration. Problem solved.