An Excel-Based Terminology Provider for SDL Trados Studio: The TermExcelerator

With the release of SDL Trados Studio 2015 SR2, there is an exciting new addition: the TermExcelerator, available from the SDL Open Exchange.

This new terminology provider is a plug-in that allows the user to use an Excel glossary as a termbase in Studio. It couldn't be easier or more convenient. Once the Excel termbase has been added to Studio, terms can be added, edited or deleted either in Studio or in Excel, making termbase maintenance a breeze.

Let's have a look at how it works.

The basics
The TermExcelerator works only with one target language, so it's not intended for multilingual termbases. In addition to the source and target column, the Excel file can have a third column called "Approved column" in the provider. This can be used for notes and comments or any other relevant information.

Adding an Excel glossary directly to Studio
An Excel termbase is added the same way as a Multiterm termbase. After installing the plug-in, Studio will offer an option to add an "Excel-based Terminology provider" in addition to the usual Multiterm termbases.

The screenshot below shows the Project Settings route, used for adding termbases to existing projects. Termbases can also be added via Options (the termbase will be added to all new projects created thereafter and to single-document workflows) and when creating a new project.

Notice the redesigned Termbase pane above, which now resembles the layout of the Translation Memory pane.

Selecting to add an Excel-based terminology provider takes us to the Settings window.

For reference, here's the glossary I've added to this example.

After clicking Submit, the Excel glossary has now been added to my project.

When I close this window with OK and go back to the Editor view, I can see that the termbase is now active.

Once the termbase has been loaded, term recognition and search work as usual.

Editing and maintaining the Excel termbase

The TermExcelerator offers some interesting features: in addition to the regular Add New Term and Quick Add New Term functionality from within the Studio Editor, we can delete and add entries from the Termbase Viewer, and sync changes between the Excel file and the termbase in Studio.

Adding Terms

To add a new term to our Excel termbase from the Studio Editor view, simply select the source and target terms, right click and select Add New Term or Quick Add New Term. Either option will automatically save the newly added term to the Excel file.

Tip: To enter terms quickly via the keyboard, set a shortcut in Options - Keyboard Shortcuts - Editor 

for the Quick Add New Term feature.

The new term has been added to the Excel termbase.

We can also add a term by clicking the Add button in the termbase viewer and entering the new term manually.

One of the most convenient features of the TermExcelerator is that we can now quickly add multiple terms to the Excel file and, by clicking Sync in the Termbase Viewer, they will become immediately available in Studio. (Note: The Excel file must be saved and closed before syncing).

Here, I've added the terms in rows 9-13 in Excel.

When I click Sync in the Termbase Viewer, the newly-added terms become available in Studio.

Deleting and editing terms
The steps to delete and edit terms are pretty straightforward. The Delete button in the Termbase Viewer is used to remove the selected entry, while selecting and double-clicking an entry allows us to edit its contents. The Save Entry button should be used to save any changes after editing. Of course, entries can also be deleted or edited in Excel, and after Syncing, the updated termbase will be immediately available in Studio.

Data integrity
The usual warnings for data integrity apply, and it's always a good idea to make a copy of the Excel file just in case something goes wrong.

Final thoughts
Although I don't see myself abandoning my Multiterm termbases any time soon, I appreciate the benefits and convenience of this great new tool, which has quickly become an essential component of my toolbox.

For more details, don't miss Paul Filkin's post on the TermExcelerator: Committing the cardinal sin... 

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.

Creating Bilingual Glossaries in Instant Text

Note: For more on text expanders please see Adding a Text Expander to My Translation Workflow and Emulating AutoSuggest Functionality with InstantText.

This is a short how-to for loading bilingual lists to Instant Text for quick glossary/termbase access in Instant Text. A big thanks to Emmanuel over at the Instant Text forum for explaining how to do this.

The short of it is that for this to work, the list needs to look like this:

source term=target term
(the = is an actual = sign)

Example:

absolute value=valor absoluto

My exported termbase from Multiterm looks like this:

source term TAB target term
(the TAB here means a tab space)

Example:
absolute value valor absoluto

If you start out with a simple text file that has the source term TAB target term sequence, the first step is to replace the tabs with =s and save the resulting file as a text file (*.txt).

Once you've done this, go to Instant Text, and right click on the Phrases Advisories, then select Importer.



In Importer, choose Formulas. In the Dialog that opens, choose the *.txt file you just created.

Enter a name for your new glossary.

Choose Yes when asked if you want to keep your current abbreviations.

And that's it!

Now go to Instant Text and click next to the word Glossaries, choose Open and select your newly created glossary.

When you double-click on it, you will see the contents of the glossary, with the source term on the left under the Short column and the target text on the right under Expansion.




With this, if your new glossary is active (either as the main glossary or as an Includes glossary), you will be able to start typing your source term and see the target term appear as the expansion when you hit the marker key.

In the example above, if I start typing addendum, I will see the bilingual entry and can expand the target form by either:

1. Writing the full word and hitting my marker key

addendum + marker key expands into anexo




or

2. Writing "adde2" (since addendum is the second entry in the list) and hitting my marker key.




Notice that for terms that have two words or more, spaces between words are eliminated when the source term is entered into the short form, as short forms don't admit spaces.




If you want to add new terms to your bilingual glossary, just remember that the target term needs to go in the Glossary Phrase Entry field and the source term, minus spaces, needs to go in the In Short field, as shown below:



By adding bilingual glossaries to Instant Text, we could have two kinds of entries available to us:

- Monolingual, to be used when you know the term and just want to take advantage of text expansion

- Bilingual, to be used when you need to refer to a specific termbase

And of course, how to organize these glossaries is entirely up to each translator. Instant Text is flexible enough to allow both monolingual and bilingual entries to coexist in the same glossary or to have separate glossaries for each.