Using WinAlign to Add Previously Translated Text to Trados or Studio

 

If you have previously-translated documents in both your source and target languages, you can use WinAlign (an SDL Trados component) to add those translations to your translation memory. Here’s how.

1. Open WinAlign and select File –> New Project.

• Before you get started, go to the Export tab and make sure that Translation Memory Exchange Format (TMX) is selected. This will ensure that the output of the alignment process is a TMX file that can be imported into either Trados or Studio. Otherwise, WinAlign will produce a TXT file that cannot be directly imported into Studio.

2. Choose a name for your project and select the source and target languages, as well as your file type (a Word document in this example).

The source and target languages chosen should match those of the Trados TM you will be importing the alignment results into.

2. Select the Files tab. You will see the screen below. Click on the Add button to add the files you will use for your alignment: one target file for each source file.

3. After adding your files, click on the icon with the little pages and drag your mouse to “connect” each source file with its target file, so that WinAlign will know which two files it should align.

NOTE: If there are several files to be aligned at one time, they can all be added and connected during this step.

When you’re done connecting your files, click on OK and you will see a screen like the one below.

When you double-click on one of the files, the alignment process starts. When it’s done, you will see something like this:

The next step is checking the aligned segments. Click on OK to see the screen below. If you don’t see this screen, simply double-click again on one of the file names and it will open.

This window contains the alignment results. Check the segments to make sure the source and target match. If there is a mismatch, click on the little pages icon and “disconnect” the segments. Then connect the correct segments (click on the source segment icon and drag your mouse to the target segment icon). You can connect several segments to a single segment, if needed.

Any segments that are left disconnected won’t be exported as aligned.

Once you’ve gone over all your segments, it is time to create the TMX file that can be imported into Trados or Studio.

Go to File and select Export File Pair for a single pair or Export Project. Choose a name for the TMX file that will be created: the output of the alignment process is a TMX file that you can later import into Trados Workbench or Studio. WinAlign does not produce a ready-to-use translation memory.

This concludes the alignment. Now it depends on whether you want to use your alignment results in Trados or in Studio.

Trados

Go to Trados Workbench, open the TM into which you wish to import the aligned text, select File – Import, select the TMX file you created in WinAlign and click on OK.

When Workbench displays the message “Import finished successfully”, you have come to the end of the process and your aligned text is now part of your Trados TM.

Studio

Go to the Translation Memories view, select the TM you want to import the aligned text into, and select Import.

Follow the steps to add the TMX file created in WinAlign and the translated text will now be available for use in Studio.

An alternative way of importing TMX files into your Studio TMs is through Project Settings.

In the Editor view, choose Project Settings:

In the Project Settings window that opens, select the TM you want to add your aligned text to, then click on the Import button, and add the TMX file(s) you want to import.

Follow the steps to complete the process. Now your aligned text will be available to be used while translating in Studio.

Changing Trados Shortcuts in Word 2007

The short video tutorial below shows how to change Trados shortcuts in Word 2007 (this version of Word is in Spanish, but the placement of the menu options is the same in English, so hopefully it will help even if your version of Word is in a different language).





I like setting the most common Trados commands to shortcut combinations that can be accessed with only my left hand, as opposed to the two-hand approach of default Trados shortcuts, so this is what I use:


Alt+Z - Open/Get (Word macro name: tw4winOpenGet.Impl)

Alt+A - Set/Close Open/Get (Word macro name: tw4winSetCloseOpenGet.Impl)

Alt+Q - Translate to Fuzzy (Word macro name: tw4winTranslateToFuzzy.Impl)

Alt+G - Get Translation (Word macro name: tw4winGetTranslation.Impl)

Alt+E - Copy Source (Word macro name: tw4winCopySource.Impl)

Alt+R - Restore Source (Word macro name: tw4winRestoreSource.Impl)


The one shortcut I have that requires two hands is for the Clean* command:

Alt+L - Clean (Word macro name: tw4winClean.Impl)

*Note that this Clean command won't update your TM.

Keep in mind that since this is a Word feature, the new shortcuts will only work in a Workbench+Word combination, not in TagEditor.

Setting Up Trados TMs to Allow Multiple Translations

Why would a translator benefit from setting up a TM to allow multiple translations? Consider the following scenario.

You're translating a large document into Spanish which includes dozens of repetitions of the following question:

How many are there?

There are two possible translations here, dictated by gender:

¿Cuántas hay? and ¿Cuántos hay?

Having a TM that doesn't allow multiple translations would mean either stopping each time the segment comes up and manually making the change, or fixing the resulting document after the translation has been completed, both tedious and unnecessary actions. If you use a Translate to Fuzzy command or pre-translate your document, a single translation would mean that the errors introduced need to be fixed later, increasing editing time.

A better solution is setting up your TM to allow multiple translations, so that one source segment has two (or more) translations. Then it's just a matter of choosing the one you want to use.

The steps to do this are detailed below.

Exporting Terms from a Multiterm Termbase

These videos show how to export only the source and target terms from a Multiterm Termbase into a txt file that can then be opened in Excel.

Multiterm 2009 SP4 was used for this process.

Exporting Terms in Multiterm

Opening the exported terms in Excel

Importing Excel Glossaries into Multiterm to Use in SDL Trados Studio

December 2015 Update: Read Paul Filkin's detailed explanation about the Glossary Converter, a great Open Exchange app that simplifies glossary management in Studio. For the original text of this post, please keep reading below.


Although you can enter terms manually in Multiterm, a more efficient way of populating a termbase is importing and already existing glossary.

Multiterm offers several import options. In this post we will see how to import glossaries from an Excel file.

MS Excel: Preparing your bilingual glossaries

Start with a two-column Excel file. To make things easier, make sure the first row in your Excel file includes your language names.

Multiterm Convert: Convert Excel file to be imported into Multiterm

After your Excel file is ready, the next step is converting it to a format that Multiterm can import. To do this, you will need to use SDL Multiterm Convert, which you will find in the same Program group as SDL Multiterm Desktop.



After clicking Next, you will see this screen:

Leave the options as they are and click Next. In the next screen, choose Microsoft Excel format.

Clicking next will open up the screen where you will select the Excel file you want to convert. Click the Browse button next to the Input file field. Find your Excel file and select it. This will populate all 4 fields. Note the location of the Output file (by default the same location where your Excel file is stored).

Click Next.

Now, this is the critical step. On the next screen, choose each language name on the left, select Index filed on the right, and under Index field, select the same language.

See a quick video below:

Click Next.



Don't make any other changes in the following screens, just click Next until you're done.

This screen shows that the conversion was successful and tells you how many term entries were converted.

Clicking on Next takes you to the last screen in the Multiterm Convert process. Click Finish. This will close Multiterm Convert.

You can watch a video of the entire conversion process below.

Multiterm Desktop: Importing your converted glossaries

Now that the Excel file has been converted, we're ready to import it into Multiterm.

Go to SDL Multiterm Desktop and open the termbase you want to import your terms into.

With the termbase open, click the Catalog tab on the bottom left of your screen:

The Catalog View will show you the name of the termbase and several options. Click on Import.

Right click on Default import definition, on the right-hand panel:

This will bring up a context menu. Select Process.

In the screen that opens, click Browse and select the Output file created by Multiterm Convert. Check Fast import, and click Next.

Click Next again. This starts the Import process. When the file has been imported, you will see a screen like this.

Click Next and then Finish to exit the Wizard.

If you click the Terms tab in SDL Multiterm Desktop, you will see the imported terms listed as part of your termbase.

You can repeat the Import process to add terms from other converted Excel glossaries to the same termbase.

Now your termbase is ready to be used in Studio.

To learn more, read Using Multiterm Termbases in SDL Trados Studio.

Using Multiterm Termbases in SDL Trados Studio

Taking advantage of term recognition in SDL Trados Studio can greatly enhance the translation process.

Assuming you've already created a termbase, this post will explain how to to use your termbase in Studio. If you don't have a termbase yet, maybe you'd like to read about creating new termbases or importing Excel glossaries first.

In this example, no project has been created in Studio, I've simply opened a single file for translation.

With your document open for translation in SDL Trados Studio, in the Editor view, if no termbases have been selected, you will see a message under the Term Recognition window that says "No open termbase".

Click on the Termbase icon right above that message.

This will take you to the Project Settings window. Click on Add and select your termbase.


Then in the window that opens, click on Browse, go to the location where you stored your termbase, and select it.

Click OK.

You will now see your termbase loaded in the Project Settings window.

Clicking OK will return you to Studio, where you will now see the Term Recognition window populated with any terms found both in the segment to be translated and in the open termbase.


If you have AutoSuggest set to include termbases, you will see the term appear in the AutoSuggest window as you type the first letter. Select the term you want with the arrow keys, hit Enter and the term is inserted in your target text.



Or use Ctrl+Shift+L to show all the terms recognized in the segment, then choose the one you want using the arrow keys and hit Enter to insert it in the target segment.



A few finishing notes to keep in mind:

• You can have more than one termbase open at once in Studio. Simply repeat the procedure to open more termbases.

• You can add terms to your termbase as you work. Select the source and target terms, right click on the segment and choose Add New Term.

• You can set a default termbase to open automatically with all new documents. Just go to Tools-->Options-->Language Pairs-->All Language Pairs-->Termbases and Add your default termbase.

Using a termbase in any CAT tool greatly enhances the translation process. Studio has many powerful features to make the most of your termbases, and this post only explains the basics to get your termbases up and running in Studio, but I hope it will pique your curiosity to try more advanced features.

Creating a Multiterm Termbase to Use in SDL Trados Studio

December 2015 Update: Read Paul Filkin's detailed explanation about the Glossary Converter, a great Open Exchange app that simplifies glossary management in Studio. For the original text of this post, please keep reading below.


This how-to guide will be divided in three parts tackling the main steps in termbase creation and use:

1. Creating a simple Multiterm termbase

2. Importing bilingual Excel glossaries into Multiterm

3. Using your Multiterm termbase in Studio


TWO IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE YOU GET STARTED:

1. Multiterm is a separate program, it's not part of Trados or Studio. It needs to be downloaded and installed separately, and it appears as a standalone program in your SDL folder in your All Programs list in Windows. If you don't see it there, make sure to go to your SDL account and download and install the program from the My Downloads page.

2. Termbases cannot be created in Studio or Trados. The "Create New Termbase" you see in the SDL Trados Synergy main page or the "Terminology Management" button in the Studio home page are merely links that will take you to Multiterm, if it's installed in your computer.


Creating a simple Multiterm termbase

Multiterm can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. In this example I will create the simplest kind of termbase: source term=target term. No other index fields will be included.


1. Open SDL Multiterm Desktop (in this example I will use SDL Multiterm 2009 SP4).

Once in Multiterm, Go to File, then select Create Termbase.

Save your termbase in the dialog box that opens:




After saving the termbase, the Termbase Wizard will open:


Click Next.

Click Next on Step 1 of 5 of the Wizard without making any changes.



In Step 2 of 5, enter a Friendly Name for your termbase. This is the name you will see when choosing your termbase in Studio. To keep things simple, I'll use the same name I used before.



Click Next. In Step 3 of the Wizard, choose your languages. In this example I will use English and Spanish. After selecting each on the left, click Add so they will appear under Selected index fields:



Click Next. For this simple termbase you can leave Step 4 blank, just click Next.


Also leave Step 5 blank. Click Next.


This completes the Wizard. Click Finish.




And with this you have finished creating your termbase. Clicking on the Catalog tab on the bottom left of your Multiterm screen will show you the termbase and its statistics. In this case the termbase has been created but it's empty.



To manually add terms, click on the Terms tab on the bottom left of your screen, click F3 or click on the Add New Entry icon right under the Edit menu. You will see the Entry screen, as shown below.



Double click on the little box next to the pencil icon and enter the term for each entry.




Press F12 to save the changes.


The term is now part of your termbase and therefore will be available when you use the termbase in Studio.

This concludes the basics of termbase creation.

To learn about importing bilingual glossaries from Excel files, read Importing Excel Glossaries into Multiterm.

To learn about using your termbases in Studio, read Using Multiterm Termbases in Studio.