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Machine Translation Online CAT tool

Translating documents

This guide will walk you through setting up, translating, and editing your documents using the online CAT tool.

You will learn:

Best practices for effective CAT tool use​

  • Pre-translate First: Utilize the "Pre-translate file" feature to automatically populate your document with initial translations from your Translation Memory (TM) and Machine Translation (MT), significantly speeding up your initial review.
  • Approve Translations Regularly: Approve accurate translations using Ctrl + Enter. This action trains your TM, leading to more precise and relevant suggestions in future translations.
  • Prioritize Human Review: While CAT tools enhance translation quality, always conduct a thorough human review before submitting your final translation to ensure accuracy and contextual appropriateness.

Step 1: Create new project​

To start translating and editing your document, you must first set up your translation project:

  1. Open CAT tool.
  2. Click Create new project.
  3. Select the source and target language for your translation.
  4. Click Upload and select a file to translate or drag and drop the file.
  5. Click Create project.

Important: The platform does not currently support translating multilingual files or files that already contain existing translations.

Supported file formats

You can upload files in the following file formats: .doc, .docx, .docm, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt, .odp, .ods, .sxw, .rtf, .txt, .ttx, .htm, .html, .xhtml, .csv, .json, .srt, .xlf, .xlif, .xliff, .sdlxliff, .sdxlf, .pages, .pdf.

Figure 1. Empty My Projects screen where new projects will be listed.
Figure 1. Empty My Projects screen where new projects will be listed.
Figure 2. Project setup screen with options for selecting languages and uploading files.
Figure 2. Project setup screen with options for selecting languages and uploading files.

After uploading your file and selecting languages, you'll see two options:

A - Start translating:

Opens the Editor directly, allowing you to begin translation immediately. You can configure machine translation settings within the Editor later if needed. Choose this option if you want to start translating right away.

B - Configure machine translation:

Opens the MT configuration tab, where you can select or create specific machine translation settings, including glossaries, translation domains, or AI writing styles to be used in your project. Select this if you have specific requirements for your machine translation.

Figure 3. Successful project creation message with options to start translating or configure machine translation.
Figure 3. Successful project creation message with options to start translating or configure machine translation.

Step 2: Pre-translate the file​

The Pre-translate file feature significantly accelerates your workflow by automatically populating the document with translations. It utilizes machine translation (MT) and your translation memory (TM) to fill segments with the best available matches.

Note

Pre-translating longer documents may take some time to complete. Once the process is finished, you can either download the pre-translated document or begin editing the translation segment by segment within the Editor.

Figure 4. Initiating the pre-translation process.
Figure 4. Initiating the pre-translation process.
Figure 5. Progress indicator showing that pre-translation is in progress.
Figure 5. Progress indicator showing that pre-translation is in progress.
Figure 6. Pre-translation process is complete.
Figure 6. Pre-translation process is complete.

Step 3: Edit and improve translations​

After pre-translation, you can refine individual segments for optimal accuracy and context.

  1. Select Target Segment: Click within the target language cell to start editing.
  2. Enter or Select Translation:
    • Manually type your translation.
    • Choose from the provided translation suggestions in the right-side panel.
    • Quick Selection: Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + [Number] (e.g., Ctrl + 1, Ctrl + 2) to instantly insert a suggestion into the target cell.
  3. Approve and Save:
    • Press Ctrl + Enter or click the ✔️ (Approve) icon in the toolbar to confirm the translation.
    • Approved translations are automatically saved to your TM and used to improve future MT suggestions.
  4. Proceed to the next segment requiring review.
Figure 7. Right-side panel showing Machine translation (MT) and Translation Memory (TM) suggestions for the current segment.
Figure 7. Right-side panel showing Machine translation (MT) and Translation Memory (TM) suggestions for the current segment.

Handling formatting tags in translations​

What are formatting tags?

Text formatting, links, and other tags are represented in the editor as color-coded placeholders. These tags are essential for maintaining correct text formatting in the translation.

Color-coding and numbering help you track the order and pairing of opening and closing tags. It's crucial to include all original tags in your translation to preserve the text's structure.

Text with formatting.
Text with formatting.
Same text appearance in CAT tool. Left - original text, Right - translation.
Same text appearance in CAT tool. Left - original text, Right - translation.

Paired tags: These tags work in pairs, such as <b> and </b> for bold text. The opening tag indicates the start of the formatting, while the closing tag marks its end. Single tags: These tags don't require a closing tag. For instance, <br> inserts a line break in HTML.

Insert or reorder tags - To add a missing tag, click on its corresponding icon below the segment. The tag will be inserted at the cursor's position.

To change the position of a tag:

  1. Delete the tag from its incorrect location.
  2. Place the cursor at the desired position within the target text.
  3. Click the corresponding tag icon below the segment to insert it.
Figure 8. Inserting tags into segment.
Figure 8. Inserting tags into segment.

Tag errors - The system will indicate any missing or mismatched tags with an error message displayed beneath the segment. It is vital to resolve these tag errors to ensure the translated document is correctly formatted.

Figure 9. Segment editor showing an error message indicating missing or mismatched formatting tags.
Figure 9. Segment editor showing an error message indicating missing or mismatched formatting tags.

To move between segments:

  1. Use the mouse: click on target cell.
  2. Use the keyboard: press Ctrl+Arrow up or Ctrl+Arrown down to move between unapproved segments.

Segment status​

The background color and icons at the end of each segment provide translation status and origin:

  1. Manual input or edit: A pencil icon ( ) indicates that the translation in the segment was either entered manually or has been edited.
  2. Machine translation: An "MT" label signifies that the translation was automatically provided by a machine translation engine.
  3. Translation memory match: A percentage (%) indicator shows the level of match from your Translation Memory. A higher percentage indicates a closer match.
  4. Approved translation: A green background color indicates that the translation for the segment has been reviewed and approved.
Figure 10. Segment status indicators.
Figure 10. Segment status indicators.

Actions toolbar and keyboard shortcuts​

The actions toolbar, located above the segment editor, provides quick access to common translation actions:

  1. Move to Previous Unapproved Segment: Ctrl+Arrow up
  2. Move to Next Unapproved Segment: Ctrl + Arrow down
  3. Approve Segment: Ctrl + Enter
  4. Clear Translation: Ctrl + D (removes the translation from the target segment)
  5. Insert Original Text: Ctrl + Insert (copies the source text into the target segment)
Figure 11. Actions toolbar with icons for navigating, approving, clearing, and inserting text.
Figure 11. Actions toolbar with icons for navigating, approving, clearing, and inserting text.

Filtering translations​

Filtering segments allows you to efficiently focus on specific portions of your translation project. This is particularly useful for:

  • Quality Assurance: Quickly locating and reviewing segments containing specific terms, phrases, or potential errors.
  • Contextual Review: Isolating segments related to a particular topic or section for consistent terminology and style.
  • Finding specific segments: Easily find specific segments by searching for keywords or phrases.

To filter translations:

  1. Locate the search fields at the top of the translation table (one for the source text and one for the target text).
  2. Enter the term or phrase you want to search for in the appropriate search field (source or target).
  3. Press Enter.
  4. Segments that match your search criteria will be highlighted in the translation table.
Figure 12. Search and filter fields at the top of the translation table, highlighting a search result.
Figure 12. Search and filter fields at the top of the translation table, highlighting a search result.

Step 4: Maintain terminology consistency​

Maintaining consistent terminology is crucial for accurate and professional translations. The CAT tool integrates with Tilde Term, allowing you to directly access and utilize approved terminology during the translation process.

Search terms in Tilde Term​

To search for terminology in Tilde Term:

  1. Locate the "Term Lookup" feature on the right-hand panel.
  2. Enter the source language term in the search field.
  3. Press Enter. This will open the Terminology platform search results in a new browser tab, allowing you to view approved translations and related information.
Figure 13. Right-side panel showing the Term Lookup feature.
Figure 13. Right-side panel showing the Term Lookup feature.
Figure 14. Search results in Terminology portal.
Figure 14. Search results in Terminology portal.

Improve translations with glossaries​

Glossaries significantly improve machine translation (MT) consistency and accuracy by ensuring specific terms are translated correctly. You can leverage glossaries in two ways:

1. Project-Specific Glossaries: Create a dedicated MT Configuration for your project and attach a glossary containing relevant terms. This ensures accurate translation of project-specific vocabulary.

2. Platform-Wide Default Glossaries: Establish a default glossary for consistent terminology across all your translation projects. This is ideal for frequently used terms.

Learn More:

Step 5: Download translation​

Once you have completed the translation and review process, you can download the translated document. The downloaded file will retain the original document's format and formatting as much as possible. Translated PDF files will be downloaded in .docx format.

Untranslated segments

Partially translated documents will retain the original language content for any untranslated segments in the downloaded file.

To download translated file:

  1. At the top of the page, click Download.
  2. In the drop-down menu, click Translation.
Figure 15. Downloading from the Editor.
Figure 15. Downloading from the Editor.