Translation Memory

Tips & Tricks

Use this section to learn about useful hints and shortcuts to use when working with SDL Trados Studio.

Working with TTX files in SDL Trados Studio

Because Studio’s standard bilingual file format is SDLXIFF, but most agencies still require TTXs, a workaround is necessary to deliver the required file type. This is typically handled by agencies providing TTXs for translation in Studio. The disadvantage of this is that it doesn’t allow final proofing in the original program, typically Word.

Here’s a workaround for Word files:

Ask for the original Word file and convert it to TTX format in TeeTeeXit (available free of charge at http://www.translationzone.com/en/openexchange/).
Translate your TTX in Studio. Any time you’d like to view your translation in Word, just click the View Target button on the Preview toolbar.
Conduct final proofing in Word, manually entering any changes in Studio. I like to display the Word and Studio windows side-by-side at this stage. You naturally have the option of also printing out your translation for the very last check, which is always a good idea.
Once your translation is finished and with the file open in the Editor view, select Save Target As… from the File menu and then click Original File to create a clean Word file.
In the Projects view, right-click your project, select Batch Tasks and then Finalize to create a bilingual TTX.
Deliver both the TTX and the clean Word file (the Word file is sometimes necessary for agencies to clean the TTX when updating translation memories).

I’ve been using this procedure for over two years and have received no negative feedback at all. While I used Word in the example, the workaround works equally well with all Office programs.

If you only have a provided TTX to work with, such as when the originating program is InDesign, you can still proof in Word by just copying the target text in Studio’s Editor view into an empty Word file.

For more tips and information from Joel Earnest, see the Links and Toolbox pages at www.amtechtrans.com.

Upgrade an Existing Translation Memory

You can upgrade the content and settings of existing translation memory databases to the new RevleX™ translation memory engine.

To do this, browse to the Home view of SDL Trados Studio and click the option Upgrade Translation Memories in the Tools toolbar. The Upgrade Translation Memories wizard will appear.

On the Input Translation Memories screen, click to add the file-based or server-based translation memory that you would like to upgrade (batch upgrade is possible for file-based translation memories). On the Output Translation Memories screen, choose how you would like the output translation memory to be created. On the Output Translation Memories Settings screen, review the existing TM settings and define any changes you would like to apply to the output translation memory. Click Finish to begin the upgrade process.

The resulting output translation memory is ready to use in SDL Trados Studio 2011.

Open a file for Translation using the “Right-Click” Method

You can open a file for translation directly from your local desktop. To do this, browse to the location of the file. Click to highlight the file name, right-click and choose the option SDL Trados Studio 2011 > Open documents. The file will be opened for translation in the Editor view of SDL Trados Studio.

Customize SDL Trados Studio 2011

You can customize the look and feel of the views in SDL Trados Studio.

From the View menu, choose the windows that you would like to appear in each view, as well as the colour interface that is displayed. From the Tools menu, choose Options to define the colours used within the views as well as the preferred keyboard shortcuts.

For each window in SDL Trados Studio, use the drop-down menu in the top right-hand corner to define if the window will be docked or auto-hidden.

Work in a Clutter-Free Environment

Did you know that you can automatically change the display settings of the Editor view to work with a clutter-free and easy to manage environment?

To do this, browse to the Editor view in SDL Trados Studio. Browse to the View menu and choose the option Full Screen (keyboard shortcut F11). SDL Trados Studio will automatically hide each of the windows and prepare the view pane for translation.

You can view the content of each of the windows by browsing over the window name with the mouse pointer. To deactivate this view, browse to the View menu and choose the option Full Screen.

How to Manage Formats, Placeables and Variables

Did you know that you can automatically manage formatting, tags, placeable and variable elements from the source segment using the QuickPlace dropdown list?

During translation, click the keyboard shortcut CTRL+, to display the QuickPlace drop-down list and review the available formatting, tags, placeable and variable elements from the current source segment. Choose the required element from the drop-down list and hit Enter to accept and insert it into the translated segment.

Work with the Latest File Formats

Did you know that SDL Trados Studio supports the most extensive range of file types in the industry?

SDL Trados Studio 2011 brings additional support so that you can accept the latest file formats, including Microsoft Office 2010, PDF, Adobe FrameMaker 9.0 and 10.0, Adobe InCopy CS5, Adobe InDesign CS5 and OpenDocument format including Google Docs.

With the ability to easily and quickly work with over 70 different file types, SDL Trados will ensure that you will never have to turn down a translation project due to file compatibility ever again!

Real-Time Preview

Did you know that you can perform a real-time preview of the final document as you translate?

When you open a document for translation in the Editor view, click the link Click here to generate initial preview in the Preview window to generate the preview of the document. As you accept the translated segments in the document, the Preview window will update to show the translated text as it will appear in the translated document.

The traditional preview of the source and target text is also available by browsing to the File menu and choosing the option View In.

Real-Time QA Checks

Did you know that you can perform real-time QA (quality assurance), terminology and formatting verification during translation and review?

The settings can be defined globally for all projects by browsing to the Tools menu and choosing Options. The settings can be defined for the current project or document by browsing to the Projects menu and choosing Project Settings. Browse to the File Types > FILE TYPE NAME > Tag Verification section to define the settings for format verification. Browse to the Verification section to define the settings for QA and Terminology.

As you translate, SDL Trados Studio will apply the verification checks in real-time and display any verification messages in the Messages window.

Customize the display of Term Entries during Translation

Did you know that you can display contextual term entry information in the Term Recognition window?

To do this, click the Hitlist Settings button in the Term Recognition window. In the Hitlist Settings dialog box, click the Select Fields button to choose the additional context fields that you would like to display. Additional settings are also available to define the look and feel of the text. Click OK to save the settings and display the content for each term found during translation.

You can view the entire term entry in SDL MultiTerm format by clicking the View term details button in the Term Recognition window.

Work with Messages Filters

Did you know that you can filter the display of comments and verification messages according to their severity?

In the Comments or Messgaes window, click the Show/Hide buttons to define the severity level of comments or messages you would like to display. Those that are set to Show will be displayed, those that are set to Hide will be hidden from view.

Filter for TM Match Types

Did you know that you can filter to view different match types during translation and review?

In the Editor view, the Display Filter toolbar contains a set of new and enhanced pre-defined filters for match types. Choose a filter from the Display: drop-down list. The filter will be applied and the segments that match the filter will be displayed. You can also search and display segments containing a word or phrase by typing the search criteria in the Containing: text box of the toolbar and hitting Enter.

Define Global Options in SDL Trados Studio 2011

Did you know that you can save significant time by defining common global settings?

In SDL Trados Studio, browse to the Tools menu and choose Options. In the Options dialog box, you can define many settings, including the default source and target language for your translation projects, the default translation memory and termbase databases you work with, verification settings, batch processing settings, keyboard shortcuts and many more.