Load error: undefined path variables

One of the project files may contain something like $url$.

Provide your project files if you can't find the problem.

I found file with "$url$" like
String message = "$url$";

What can I do to resolve my problem?

It would matter only for project files, not your code.

I use this variable by running my projects (VM options) and therefore workspace.xml contains this key. I changed it to $url$ but when I close the project it will be rewrited in $url$.
I can fix it only if I remove this string

Sorry, I don't understand what's happening. How exactly does the string $url$ appear in workspace.xml? Where does it appear there, could you please attach the text of the surrounding XML?

  ...
      <option name="VM_PARAMETERS" value="-Xmx512M -DTRACE=info -DGenBrowser=&quot;c:\Programme\Internet explorer\iexplore.exe $url$&quot; ..." />  ...

Actually "Fix it" opens "Configure Path Variables" dialog but when you remove the key with no association and close the dialog, 'guilty' Run Configuration stays the same.
Maybe, the certain problem with 'url' is specific for project import, but if one adds some $awkward_key$ in VM Options somewhere, this warning (Load error: undefined path variables) will appear every time at project loading and it's absolutely useless (unless you cannot understand WHERE the wrong key lives!).

So it's a new usability issue to be reported in YouTrack.

Is there any reason we process workspace.xml for path variables? This file is supposed to be local to the user machine and should not be shared. What's the purpose of handling path variables in this file?

However, if this run configuration will be configured as Shared, the issue reamins valid.

>> Is there any reason we process workspace.xml for path variables?
No particulal reason. Just because it is store file (we process it as any other).

I will investige this issue.

Any update on this? Each time I open play/scala project, I get this error. Very annoying!

For updates on this issue in Scala/sbt projects, please follow the issue https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/SCL-10691

I am getting this issue and have no idea why. (see what I did there? :) )

I have search all files in the idea folder and only find 1 reference to the offending variable but nothing looks like it would throw this.  

When I click fix it, nothing happens.  It is also taking lots of processor and run IJ out of memory

Hi, Troy Stauffer. Could you please check if the mentioned variable is presented in Settings | Appearance & Behavior | Path Variables? Does it help if you remove it or add it to the Ignored Variables list? 

there is nothing in Path variables

Could you please search for the variable name in the IDE configuration directory, then?

nothing with Gson in those directories either

Could you please collect (Help | Collect Logs and Diagnostic Data) the IDE logs, compress the .idea folder, share them via the JetBrains Uploads service, and write me the ID you receive? I want to check if any details are reported in the logs and double-check the Gson occurrence in the .idea folder. 

seems like invalidating caches worked.  I will continue to monitor this and update if it comes back

For me the issue was that the variable was listed as “existing but empty” (red color), and when I clicked on “Fix it” , I landed at the `Path Variables` dialog. Deleting it there didn't achieve anything though, and neither did clearing the cache: it just reappeared after a restart, and with it the error message. I couldn't find it in the `workspace.xml` either. What I did was actually not deleting it but assigning a value for it. Then, I restarted the IDE (just to be sure) and then navigated to the `Path Variables` and deleted it for good. After that, the error stopped reoccuring.

Probably, but I wanted it to be gone, not to hide the issue. ;)