Searching File Contents in Translation Memories and Termbases (or Any File!) in Windows Explorer

While working on a Studio project that has old or multiple TMs, I often find myself trying to remember which TM was used for a specific topic or part of the project, and then opening multiple TMs and searching for key words until I find the one I need.

During a particularly frustrating hunt for the right TM today, it occurred to me that there had to be a faster and easier way. If only Windows were able to search the content of my Translation Memory and Termbase files the way it can search the content of other file types... Well, it turns out there is a way, and it's not terribly complicated to set it up.

Here are the steps for Windows 10, in case anybody else finds this useful.

1. Go to the Start menu and search for "Indexing Options"

2. Click the Advanced button

3. Go to the File Types tab

4. Locate the sdltm extension, and after selecting it, click the Index Properties and File Contents radio button. The Filter Description will change from File Properties filter to Plain Text Filter. Repeat with the sdltb extension (or any other file extension, for that matter).

 6. Click OK to close everything and exit Indexing Options.

It may take a while for your computer to reindex the files, but you should now be able to go to Windows Explorer, open a folder where TMs or Termbases are stored, do a search, and have the relevant TMs or Termbases be listed in the search results.