Using Translation Memory in the CAT Tool

In addition to viewing previous translations for similar strings (fuzzy matches) in the Language Resources panel of the CAT Tool, you can search all the available translation memory entries to see past translations for any string, in the source or available target languages in the project.

You can perform different types of searches, for example:

• A phrase search such as: hello world
• A translation
• Case-sensitive versus case-insensitive search

Search Translation Memory

1. From the CAT Tool, click the Search TM tab.
2. Toggle between target languages using the language dropdown menu.
3. Click the date fields to filter for TM entries translated before or after a certain date.
4. You also have the following search options:
   • Search Target: By default, the search is on words in the source, however, if "Search Target" is enabled, then the search will be on the words in the translation.
   • Published Only: The search will only return results of strings that have been published.
   • Match Case: The search will take case into account. Therefore, searching for "LOGIN" would not return "Login".
   • Exact Match: If this is selected, the search result has to exactly match the query, character for character.
5. Type keywords in the search field and press Enter on your keyboard.

From within the Search TM tab click New window to keep it open in its own separate window. This is particularly useful if you're using an external monitor. It allows you to perform a concordance search and view context at the same time.

Display String Details

The TM search results display details about the translated string, such as:

• Source
• Target
• The name of the Translator along with the respective TM
• The date that the TM was last translated
  • If the string was imported in a TMX file without the dates properly mapped, the date will be missing here.
• Whether the string has been published

Inserting TM Entries

Click Insert TM to quickly add a TM entry into the target field. Ensure the string selected is the correct string you want to add the TM entry to. Re-clicking the Insert TM button will re-insert the TM entry. Ensure to move your string selection before inserting a TM entry to avoid having multiple entries inserted for one string.

Alternatively, you can insert any TM matches found from the source string, under Language Resources. Hover over the match to expand and view more detail. Click Insert or user a shortcut to use the entry as the string translation.

Considerations for inserting TM entries that contain tags

If the TM match contains tags, the insertion logic works as follows:

• If the tags in the source string are not in the same position or the tag values differ from those in the TM entry, inserting the TM entry will result in the translation being inserted with all tags removed. 
• If the setting "Automatically align source tags in the translation" is enabled and the tag values differ, the tags in the TM entry will be stripped, and the source string tags will be automatically placed. However, the placement may not always be appropriate for the translation, and you may need to manually adjust the tags.