Translation Memory Management

 

Access Translation Memories

Account Owners and Project Managers have access to all Translation Memories for all projects in the Smartling account. To access the Translation Memory list:

1. Go to your Account Settings > Linguistic Assets
2. Click Translation Memories on the left panel

Here, you will find all Translation Memories in the account listed, together with its source language, and total translation unit count.

From this list, you can:

1. Search for a TM, by entering the TM name
2. View TMX Import History
3. Create a new TM
4. Change the view from list to grid
5. Sort the list by name or unit count
6. Enter any TM, by clicking the TM name
7. Click the ellipsis under Actions to find the following options:
   • Import TMX File to the TM
   • Export the TM
   • View more details
   • Rename the TM
   • Delete the TM

Create a Translation Memory

Within Smartling, you can create an entirely new Translation Memory or import a TMX file into an existing Translation Memory.

To apply a TM to a leverage configuration, see Configure Translation Memory Leverage.

Import a TMX File

A Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) file is a format used for exchanging Translation Memory data created by a CAT Tool. TMX files are useful when you're migrating from another tool or process, to Smartling.

Tip: For more information, read Import a Translation Memory.

View TMX Import History

The history of TMX imports can be found in the Translation Memory list. Here you can view a list of all TMX imports and the details of any errors that may have occurred.

Tip: For more information, read TMX Import History.

Export TM

You can export a TMX file of an existing TM.

Choose for the TMX to include the following TM entry metadata:

• segment-id
• string-variant
• tm-uid
• project-uid
• authorizer (UID)
• authorizer email (included when exported by a Smartling Admin or an Account Owner user only)
• authorized-date
• translator (UID)
• translated-date
• key
• hashcode
• file
• url

The metadata can be pulled from when the TM entry was first translated or when it was last translated.

• First Translated project strings: describes the first time that a translation had been written to this TM from a project. This is useful if you’re looking for older translations that were written to a TM.
• Last Translated project strings: describes when the last time a translation had been written to this TM from a project. This is useful if you’re looking for any translations in a TM that had been recently used or updated.

A download link for this export will be sent to your user email address. Larger TM's may take some time to deliver and download.

View TM Details

To view the details of your translation, click the more icon and select Details. You'll be able to view details about the following:

• Created By
• Created On
• Last Modified By
• Last Modified On
• Active Package (with a direct link to it)
• Leverage Configuration (with a direct link to it)
• Target Language (and the number of strings/words associated with it)
• Units
• Words

Rename a TM

To rename a Translation Memory, click the more icon and select Rename. Enter a new name and click Confirm.

Delete a TM

Deleting an entire TM is permanent and will affect all projects leveraging the TM. Ensure to export the TM before you delete it.

If you think you may want to recover this content in the future, as a workaround, you could create a TM, name it something like "Deleted Content", and then move the unwanted content to this TM.

Click the ellipsis beside the TM that you wish to delete, and select Delete TM. 

The Delete Translation Memory dialog will appear. In this example, the TM is still being used by a linguistic package. 

If the TM is not being used by a linguistic package, you'll be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Enter a Translation Memory

Click the name of any TM to enter, view, and action its content, or translation units.

Translation units are displayed in a list containing the source string with translations, the target language, the last translated timestamp, and a link to view the translation unit's activity.

Search and Filters

Search and filters in the translation memory is a powerful function allowing you to locate units in your translation database. Search is not case-sensitive. There are three search options:

1. Keyword: a standard search
2. Character: search for a TM entry with an exact character match
3. RegEx: search for TM entry using regex (contact your CSM to enable this search type)

Tip: For more information, read our documentation on Search in the Translation Memory.

Actions

You can move content to another TM, export content from a TM, and delete content within a TM. If the same translation unit is stored in multiple TM's, you will need to move, delete, or edit in multiple TM's. 

Move Content to Another TM

Search or filter for translation units that you want to move to another TM with the same source language, then select the strings and click Actions > Move. You'll be prompted to select the appropriate Translation Memory.

Export Content From a TM

Search for translation units that you would like to export from the TM, then select them and click Actions > Export. You can export an entire Translation Memory or only export a portion of a TM based on specific search criteria. For example, you might search for only content that was translated in the last six months, and export that as a TMX file. 

To export an entire Translation Memory, without having to click on each individual unit, go to your full list of TM's. Click the more icon and select Export TM. All translation units within that TM will be exported. An email will be sent to your email address with a link to download the generated TMX file. 

Delete Content Within a TM

Occasionally, you may want to pare down your Translation Memory to ensure that only the most appropriate content is in it. Search or filter for units that you wish to delete from the TM, and click Actions > Delete. You'll be prompted to confirm the action.

Deleting individual units is permanent, and will affect all projects leveraging the TM. (If you think you may want to recover this content in the future, as a workaround, you could create a TM, name it something like "Deleted Content", and then move the unwanted content to this TM.) In the future, if the same translation appears again, and is saved, it will be added back to the TM.

Find and Replace

Find and Replace allows you to change large numbers of Translation Memory entries at once. This function applies to active strings only, inactive strings will not be changed.

Tip: For more information, read our documentation on find and replace in the translation memory.

Editing a Translation Memory Entry

When hovering over a Translation Unit, you’ll see a link to “Edit Translation”. Clicking this link allows you to edit one unit at a time.

There are no quality checks that are performed here, like there are when editing in the CAT tool.

You can:

• Save: This updates the translation of the unit within the Translation Memory only. Fuzzy matches and SmartMatches in the future will use this new translation. This could be used to update translation units imported from an existing TMX files, that you may want leveraged in future translations.
• Save & Update Projects: This updates the translation of the unit within the Translation Memory and will propagate to strings within your project that have used the same translation. 
• Cancel: To cancel any changes that may have been made, and exit editing.

Save & Update Projects

Modifying the full translation unit with ‘save and update projects’ updates the full translation and any changed segments in the TM and in the project.

Modifying a segment with ‘save and update projects’ modifies the segment in TM and project and adds a new full unit to the TM reflecting the updated segment. The original full unit stays in the TM as well, however it is now unassociated with the project string.

The propagate function can cause updates to your published or pre-published translations, which can trigger downstream behaviors like notifications, Translation Cache refresh, or file download, depending on your integration setup.
This option may not be available, due to the translation is not currently active in any projects. This can be because it was imported from a TMX; or because a change was already made and saved, but not propagated.

Note: Archived projects are not updated.

Update Project Strings

Update project strings is an important feature that's available in both single string edit, and Find and Replace. Choosing this option will update the translation of the unit within the Translation Memory, and will update strings within projects that have used the same translation. The project strings will be updated in whatever step they're currently in, whether that's a translation step or a published step.

Note: Archived projects are not updated.

Overlapping Actions

Some actions in the TM are not supported concurrently. These include bulk actions, such as moving or deleting translation units, find and replace, and translation edit and propagate.

While any of these actions are in progress, a blue information banner displays, notifying you and any other user who might also be in the translation memory at the same time. See example below:

If a user continues to attempt to overlap an action while one is already in progress, a message displays to notify them that it was not successful, and they should try again in a few moments.

Translation Unit Activity

A Translation Unit is an entry in the translation memory. A Translation Unit is the source string and translation entry of the same source and target language in the Translation Memory, and is shared across all projects writing to the same Translation Memory.

For more information on translation unit activity, read Translation Units In The Translation Memory.

Machine Translation in the Translation Memory

For information on machine translation in the translation memory, read Machine Translation in the Translation Memory.