TThis is a very brief Guide to start using Trados Workbench. Below you will find the steps to follow to create, open and export a translation memory, and further basic features of the software. You have to take into account that these steps correspond to SDL Trados 2006, so some menus can be different in other Trados versions.


To create a translation memory:
1. Go to Windows / Start /All programas/ SDL Internacional / SDL Trados 2006 / Translator’s Workbench. The software will start running and will request the user name.

2. Go to File / New.



3- A window will show where you have to choose the source and target language, and name the translation memory (this is optional since you can leave it in blank and name it in the following step). Then, click on Create….



4- A window will display where you have to enter again the name for the TM and browse where to save it.

Note:
Next time you open Translator’s Workbench, the last memory used will be opened by default.

To open a translation memory:
There are two ways of opening a translation memory:
1- You can double click on the icon of the TM you wish to open, or



1- Open Trados Translator’s Workbench as stated above.

2- Go to File / Open



3- A window will be displayed, were you have to look for the TM you want to open, and once found, click on it.


To import a translation memory:
1- Open Trados Translator’s Workbench as stated above.

2- Go to File / Import.



3- You will see a window where you can choose the following options:
a) If the file you are going to import is a small memory, i.e. it has only a few units, choose “Small Import File (No Reorganization)”

b) If the file is a large memory, choose “Large Import File (with Reorganization)”

4- In the option “Existing Translation Units” choose the option according to what you want the software to do with existing translations, but in general you have to choose Overwrite, to overwrite the TM with the most updated units or those approved by the client.

5- Click OK.

6- Browse for the file you are going to import, which should always be another translation memory exported from Trados (or compatible software) or created with WinAlign, i.e. .txt, .tmx, .rtf (for Systran) or .sgm, and double click on it.



The software will import the TM and will show the result in the lower part of the window.

To export a translation memory:
1- Open Trados Translator’s Workbench as stated above.

2- Go to File / Export.



3- You will see a window with the list of fields in the TM. Now, click OK.

4- Browse where you want to save the exported translation memory, choose the type of target file and click Save.

5- In the chosen location, a .txt or .tmx file will be saved.

Translation memory reorganization:
Once in a while, you need to reorganize the translation memory to keep its integrity, so:
1- Open Trados Translator’s Workbench as stated above.

2- Go to File / Properties.



3- Here you will see the information about the translation memory currently open, such as date of creation, number of users, size, etc. To know if the TM has to be organized, click on the option Reorganisation recommended. In the Value box, on the right, you will see if it needs to be reorganized or not (Yes or No).



If we have to reorganize it, do the following:

Go to File / Reorganise.




5- The translation memory will reorganize and in the lower part of the Translator’s Workbench window you will see the process result.


Using Multiterm with Translator’s Workbench:
If you have a Multiterm database, you can view it in the Translator’s Worbench window to see the terms it finds as the translation units are opened. For this, follow the steps stated below:

1- In Translator's Workbench go to Options and click on Term Recognition.



2. In Options / Term Recognition Options… you have to choose the Multiterm version installed. Then, click on Browse… and look for the Multiterm database, and last, choose the source and target languages that will be used.



Basic commands:
1- To open a translation unit, click Open () or Open/Get (). It’s highly recommended to use the Open/Get command, so if the unit has been previously translated it will place it in the target unit (yellow unit). The shortcut keys for these functions are Alt+Shift+Home for Open and Alt+Home for Open/Get.

2- Once the unit is translated, click on Set/Close Next Open/Get () to go to the next unit. The shortcut key is Alt+Num+.
Note: When you have to use a key from the numeric pad, this will be signaled with the word Num before the corresponding key.

3- To close a translation unit which hasn’t been translated, i.e. it’s empty, or that you don’t wish to save in the memory, click Close (). The shortcut key is Alt+Shift+End.

4- To close a translation unit that has been translated and you wish to save in your TM, but you don’t wish to go to the next unit, click Set/Close (). The shortcut key is Alt+End.

5- To completely copy a translation unit, for example in the case of proper names or addresses, click on Copy Source (). The shortcut key is Alt+Insert.

6- To look in a word in the translation memory that you think you have translated before, you have to select the word or words in the source unit you wish to look for and then click on Concordance (). The shortcut key is Alt+Up.

7- Placeables we find in the original text and that in the TM are underlined in blue can be incorporated in the target unit by clicking on Get Current Placeable () for the currently marked Placeable. The shortcut key is Control+Alt+Abajo. For previous or next Placeables, click on Get Next Placeable () or Get Previous Placeable () respectively. The shortcut keys are Control+Alt+Right and Control+Alt+Left.

8- There are times when it’s not necessary to review 100% match units, whether because the client indicates so or because they are units approved by ourselves or the client, so you can use the Translate to fuzzy () feature. This feature makes Trados omit 100% match units and stop in the next “no match” or “fuzzy match” unit, so it can be translated. This feature saves considerable time if we are sure the translation in the memory is reliable. The shortcut key is Alt+Num*.

9- The feature Get Translation () allows you to update the translation unit currently opened with a 100% match unit from the TM. This feature is especially useful when reviewing a text, in the case of repetitions. The shortcut key is Alt+Shift+Insert.

8- If you have any problem with the translation memory since you have broken a unit, go to Trados menu in the Word file and click Fix Document. Most of the times this feature restores the document and the unit can be opened again.


Some pieces of advice:
• Don’t press Enter when you are inside a translation unit since you can break it.

• Using the commands from the keyboard speeds up the job.

• If you have any problems go to Help/Help Topics in Translator’s Workbench.