Document import options
To add documents to a project, you can simply throw documents at it. Then memoQ imports them with the default settings, which don't always produce the results you expect. For some document types (such as plain text or XML), the default settings don't even make sense most of the time.
To import a document, memoQ must know how to do it. For that, it needs a filter configuration. A filter configuration tells memoQ how to read - import - a document that needs to be translated. When memoQ imports a document, it gets the text out of it, and stores the formatting (and everything else that doesn't need to be translated) in a safe place. The part that is not the text is called a skeleton.
When you need to import documents with customized settings, use the Import with options command. That's when you get the Document import options dialog.
Here are a some reasons to use Import with options rather than just importing the documents:
- There's a specialized filter configuration for the documents you are importing.
- You want to set up a specialized filter configuration for the documents.
- You want to check and control the update of bilingual documents in your project.
- You want to import the embedded images from a document.
- You want memoQ to import the documents without the preview.
How to get here
- Open a local project. In Project home, choose Translations.
- In the Documents ribbon, click the down arrow below the Import icon.
- From the menu, choose Import with options.
- An Open window appears. Find and select the documents you want to import. Click Open.
- The Document import options window appears.
Or:
- Open a local project. In Project home, choose Translations.
- In the Documents ribbon, click the down arrow below the Import icon.
- From the menu, choose Import Folder Structure.
- The Add Folder Structure window appears. Choose the folder you want to import. Check if all files you need are there. Set an export path. Click OK.
- The Document import options window appears.
Or:
- Open an online project for management. In the memoQ online project window, choose Translations.
Choose languages: Normally, memoQ imports the new documents for all target languages. To import the documents for just one target language, choose the language at the top right.
- Right-click anywhere in the Translations list.
- From the menu, choose Import with options.
Or, import a folder: From the menu, choose Import Folder Structure. The Add Folder Structure window appears. Choose the folder you want to import. Check if all files you need are there. Set an export path. Click OK.
- An Open window appears. Find and select the documents you want to import. Click Open.
- The Document import options window appears.
Or:
- Open a project. In Project home, choose Translations.
Or: Open an online project for management. In the memoQ online project window, choose Translations.
- Select the documents you want to reimport.
- Right-click the selection. From the menu, choose Reimport.
If the source documents are still there where they were first imported from: memoQ offers to import them again. If you don't choose this: An Open window appears. Find the new versions of the documents. Select them. Click Open.
- The Document import options window appears.
Reimport always happens with options: When you reimport a document, memoQ assumes that you're not satisfied with the results of the first import. You get the Document import options window automatically, so that you can make the changes you need.
Document import options in a bilingual project
Document import options in a multilingual project
What can you do?
For a single document, you can choose a different filter - from the drop-down box in the Filter column. Or, you can keep the filter but choose a different filter configuration - from the drop-down box in the Configuration column.
If you need to change the filter or the configuration for two or more documents, do the following:
- In the list of documents: Select all the documents that you need to import with a different filter configuration.
Careful with document types: Make sure you select documents of the same type. Check if the selected documents really need to be imported with the same filter configuration.
Don't choose the filter and the configuration one by one: Don't use the drop-down boxes directly in the list. Use the Change filter and configuration or the Change filter and configuration for all link.
- At the bottom, click Change filter and configuration.
If all the documents are the same type: Don't select documents. At the bottom, click Change filter and configuration for all.
- The Document import settings window appears.
memoQ recognizes the document format from the extension of the file. Still, you may want to use a different filter configuration.
The extension isn't everything: In some cases, it can be misleading. For example, plain-text files often have an extension that's not TXT, and many XML files are called something different from .XML. But sometimes even a .HTML or an .XLIFF file needs to be imported as plain XML.
When memoQ can't choose: Some extensions are unfamiliar for memoQ. In the Document import options window, these files will be marked by an orange lightning bolt. You must choose a filter configuration manually for these documents. In this case - and only in this case - choose the filter and the configuration from the drop-down boxes in the list itself.
- From the Filter drop-down box: Choose a different filter configuration. But only if you need to.
- From the Filter configuration drop-down box: Choose the filter configuration you need.
The filter configuration needs to be available on your computer.
For online projects: The filter configuration must be available either locally on the computer itself, or on a server that you're connected to. (This is usually a server where you're importing documents into an online project.)
To set up a filter configuration: Either adjust the settings in the Document import settings window, and save the configuration. (To do that, see the next section on this page.) Or, if you have the filter configuration in a file: Open Resource console. Choose Filter configurations. Import the filter configuration.
- Click OK.
To learn more: See the topic for the Document import settings window.
- In the list of documents: Select all the documents that you need to import with a different filter configuration.
Careful with document types: Make sure you select documents of the same type. Check if the selected documents really need to be imported with the same filter configuration.
Don't choose the filter and the configuration one by one: Don't use the drop-down boxes directly in the list. Use the Change filter and configuration or the Change filter and configuration for all link.
- At the bottom, click Change filter and configuration.
If all the documents are the same type: Don't select documents. Just click Change filter and configuration for all.
- The Document import settings window appears.
memoQ recognizes the document format from the extension of the file. Still, you may want to use a different filter configuration.
The extension isn't everything: In some cases, it can be misleading. For example, plain-text files often have an extension that's not TXT, and many XML files are called something different from .XML. But sometimes even a .HTML or an .XLIFF file needs to be imported as plain XML.
- From the Filter drop-down box: Choose a different filter configuration. But only if you need to.
- Don't touch the Filter configuration drop-down box.
Instead, choose the settings on the main part of the Document import settings window. The settings depend on the document type.
- To save the filter configuration: Next to the Filter configuration drop-down box, click the Save new icon.
- The Create new filter configuration window appears. Type a name and a description for the filter configuration, and click OK.
- Click OK.
To learn more: See the topic for the Document import settings window.
To have your documents reviewed: You can export bilingual documents; send them to a reviewer; receive the reviewed bilingual documents from the reviewer; and import them back in the project. When this happens, memoQ will update the documents.
This is all automatic: memoQ recognizes if a bilingual document is an update to an existing document in the project. Then the document is updated.
If you update several documents from bilingual files:
- Import the bilingual files with the Import with options command.
- The list will show if a file can't be used to import a document: In the row of the document, the Action column will say Import as new.
When a document can't be updated: Import the bilingual document as a new one. (You don't have a choice.) Use the Confirm and update rows command to update the working translation memory. Return to the original document. Update its contents by pre-translating from the translation memories.
This works with XLIFF files and table RTF documents.
To learn more: See the topic about exporting bilingual documents.
The Document import options window opens if you use the Reimport command from the Translations pane of Project home or memoQ online project window.
When you reimport a document, memoQ will create a new major version of the document in the project. To get the translations from the previous version, you need to X-Translate the document.
The reimport will be accurate if memoQ uses the exact same settings as it used when the document was first imported.
Do not read on if you need to reimport the document because you need to change the import settings.
memoQ will remember the filter that was used to import the document, and it will try to remember the filter configuration, too. However, that may not always be easy.
To choose the same configuration as before, look at the choices in the Configuration drop-down box next to the document in the list.
- If the same configuration still exists, and it has not changed since the last import: memoQ will use this configuration. In the Configuration drop-down box, this will be marked with [o] where the letter o means 'Original configuration'.
- If the same configuration still exists, but it was changed since the last import: At first, memoQ will choose this configuration. In the Configuration drop-down box, this will be marked with [c] where the letter c means 'Changed configuration'.
- If the same configuration does not exist anymore: When memoQ imports a document, it stores the filter configuration among the project data. In this case, memoQ will use the stored configuration. In the Configuration drop-down box, this will be marked with [s] where the letter s means 'Stored configuration'.
From some documents - Microsoft Office documents, mostly -, memoQ can import embedded objects and embedded images, too.
After you import the images, you can add text to them, which can be translated.
To import the documents complete with embedded objects and images:
- Start importing the document with options.
- In the Document import options window, set up the filter and the filter configuration for every document.
- To import embedded images: At the bottom, check the Import embedded images check box.
- To import embedded objects (such as Excel sheets embedded in Word documents): At the bottom, check the Import embedded objects check box. (It's checked by default: clear it if you don't want the embedded objects.)
The preview works in the translation editor. It gives you a formatted (or structured) view of the document you are translating.
The preview isn't guaranteed: memoQ does everything to produce a preview for every document. But there are document formats where it's impossible to get a preview. In other cases, memoQ relies on external technology to create and show the preview. Sometimes this doesn't work, and memoQ doesn't have control over it.
You need this when memoQ can't create the preview because there's an error. Or, when memoQ simply takes too long to create the preview.
When this happens, you need to import the documents without the preview, so that you can import the documents at least.
To import the complete documents without the preview:
- Start importing the document with options.
- In the Document import options window, set up the filter and the filter configuration for every document.
- To turn off the preview: At the bottom, clear the Create preview check box.
Preview works for these document formats: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, XML (through XSLT style sheets, too), multilingual Excel, text, WPML XLIFF, and XML, and - through Language Terminal - InDesign.
When you import documents into a multilingual project: You can choose the target languages for the documents. memoQ offers the documents for translation into those target languages you choose.
Normally, memoQ imports the documents for all target languages. Except when you choose one target language before importing the documents. You can fine-tune this in the Document import options window.
- Start importing the document with options.
- In the Document import options window: Select the documents where you want to change the target languages.
- At the bottom, click Languages. The Select languages window appears.
- Add the target languages you need to the Target languages list on the right.
- To add one language: Click the language on the left, and click the green plus (+) sign.
- To add all languages: Click the double arrowhead icon at the bottom.
- To remove one language: Click the language on the right, and click the red minus (-) sign.
- To return to the Document import options window: Click OK.
In the row of the selected documents: The Languages column shows the languages you selected.
Don't clear the Record version history check box: memoQ keeps track of the history of each document. To do that, it stores extra information in the documents. You need this to view the documents with track changes, or to review changes that a reviewer made. If you switch this off, it saves some space on your computer. But on the whole, turning off version history isn't a good idea.
When you finish
To import, reimport, or update the documents with the settings you chose: Click OK. memoQ returns to the Translations pane. (Project managers click here.)
To return to the Translations pane, and not import the documents: Click Cancel. (Project managers click here.)