memoQ online project - Term bases
Term bases (TBs) contain terminology. They are collections of entries that have expressions in various languages. An entry represents an object or a concepts, and contains its name or names in several languages. In addition, a term base entry can have a definition, an example, and an image, as well as many other details about the object and also about the terms.
When you use a term base during translation, memoQ will recognize and highlight the terms in the source text. memoQ often inserts the translations of the terms in the segment. Translators can also insert the translations through predictive typing.
Translators and reviewers can also add new terms to term bases, if they have the permissions.
In one project, memoQ can use several term bases at the same time. The term bases are ranked, and there is one where the new terms are added by default. The ranking means that memoQ shows entries from the first-ranked term base at the top.
In the Term bases pane of the memoQ online project window, you can choose term bases for an online project.
A term base is multilingual: One term base can work with all languages in a project, even if the project has two or more target languages. The term base must include every language of the project. If you add a term base to the project, memoQ will add missing languages.
Can use QTerm term bases: If the QTerm terminology system is also there on the memoQ server, you can use QTerm term bases in online projects.
Requires memoQ project manager: You need the project manager edition of memoQ to manage online projects.
You need to be a project manager or an administrator: You may manage online projects only if you are a member of the Project managers or Administrators group on the memoQ server – or if you have the Project manager role in the project.
How to get here
First, open an online project for management:
- On the project management dashboard, locate the project you need to manage. Search for the project if necessary.
- Click the name of the project.
- On the Project ribbon, click Manage. A new memoQ online project window opens. In most cases, the Translations pane appears automatically.
Then, choose Term bases:
- On the left, click the Term bases icon. The Term bases pane appears.
What can you do?
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Create/use new.
- The New term base window opens. memoQ will automatically create a term base that has the source language and all target languages of the project.
- Type a name for the term base.
- In the New term base window, there is a list of languages. You can add further languages to the term base (note that the project languages are already checked): Check the check box for each language you want to add to the term base. You can also make the term base moderated.
To learn more: See Help about the New term base window.
- At the bottom of the window, you can fill in other details if your organization uses them.
- Click OK.
The term base appears in the list at the top. Its check box will be checked - it will be ready to use in the project. If it is the first term base in the project, it will also become the default target for new terms.
Only on the same memoQ server: When you create a term base in an online project, memoQ will always create the new term base on the same memoQ server where the project is.
Normally, memoQ creates a term base that contains all the languages that the project works with. However, in the New term base window, you can go through the languages and clear the check boxes of those that you do not need. In this case, you will receive a warning:
You can still create the term base and add it to the project, but you will not receive results for the languages that are not there in the term base. To add the term base without the languages you removed, click OK.
You can still change your mind and adding the missing languages now. To do that, check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
Cannot add term base if it does not have at least two languages from the project: The term base must contain at least two languages from the project. If there are none or there is only one, the OK button will be greyed out until you check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
Before you can do anything with a term base, you must add it to the project.
- In the list of term bases, find the term base you need.
- Click its check box on the left.
The term base moves to the top of the list. The term bases in use always appear grouped at the top of the list.
Can use QTerm term bases: If the QTerm terminology system is also there on the memoQ server, you can add QTerm term bases to the project, too. In the list, the cloud icon of a QTerm term base has a dot inside.
Cannot add languages to a QTerm term base: If a QTerm term base does not have all the languages of the project, it cannot be added to the project. memoQ cannot add languages automatically to a QTerm term base.
Normally, memoQ expects that the term base contains all the languages that the project works with. When you add a term base that lacks one or more of the languages of the project, you will receive a warning:
You can still add the term base to the project, but you will not receive results for the languages that are not there in the term base. To add the term base without adding languages, click OK.
You can upgrade the term base by adding the missing languages. To do that, check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
Cannot add term base if it does not have at least two languages from the project: The term base must contain at least two languages from the project. If there are none or there is only one, the OK button will be greyed out until you check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
Cannot add new languages to a QTerm term base: memoQ cannot add new languages to a QTerm term base. If a QTerm termbase does not have all the languages from the project, you need to make do with the languages that are already there.
If there are several term bases in a project, there is always one where the new entries are added by default.
In the translation editor, translators or reviewers can use the Quick add term and the Add term commands to add new terms to a term base quickly. These commands add the new terms to the default term base.
In the list, the details of this term base are shown in bold.
Normally, the default term base is the first that was added to the project. To choose the default term base:
- In the list of term bases, click the name of the term base.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Set as target for new terms.
If there are two or more term bases in the project, they are ranked. At first, the rank is the same as the order the term bases were added to the project.
memoQ uses the ranking when there is a match for the same source term from two or more term bases. In this case, memoQ starts the list with the match that comes from a higher-ranking term base. For example, if there are two matches, one from term base 2, and another from term base 5, memoQ shows the one from term base 2 first.
To change the ranking of term bases: You can increase or decrease the rank of a term base. The ranks of the other term bases will be changed accordingly.
- In the list, select the term base.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Raise rank to move the term base towards the top. Or, click Lower rank to move the term base down in the list.
If there are too many term bases on the memoQ server, you can filter the list. At the top of the Term bases pane, there are filter controls:
- The most efficient way to filter the list is to type a word or two in the Name/description box. It will narrow the list immediately to those term bases that have those words in their names or descriptions.
- You can also choose from the basic details (Project, Client, Domain, Subject - if they are filled in for all or most of the corpora), and the from the languages in the TMs. For example, you may be interested in term bases that contain documents for the client called 'memoQLtd', have translations into French, and the word 'Legal' is in their names.
When you make a selection in one of the boxes, memoQ filters the list immediately.
To sort the list by a detail or another: Click the column header of the column you need. For example, to sort the list by name, click the Name header at the top of the list.
Term bases used in the project remain at the top: No matter how you sort, the term bases in use remain at the top. That gives you two lists: Term bases in the project sorted by name, and term bases not in the project, again sorted by name.
You can export an entire translation memory into a CSV file, a TBX file, or into a MultiTerm XML file.
- CSV is a standard spreadsheet format. You can open these files in Excel.
- TBX stands for Term Base eXchange, and it is a standard format. If you export a term base in a TBX file, it can be imported into many translation and terminology tools.
- MultiTerm XML is the format used by SDL MultiTerm. If you export a term base in a MultiTerm XML file, it can be imported into SDL MultiTerm term bases.
To export a term base:
- In the list, select the translation memory you need to export.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Export terminology. The Term base export settings window opens.
Or: Right-click the translation memory. From the menu, choose Export Terminology.
- In the Term base export settings window, set a folder and a name for the file. Choose a format. Decide which fields will be exported. Click Export.
To learn more: See Help about the Term base export settings window.
You can import a CSV, an Excel, or a TMX file in an existing term base. The term base does not have to be empty. You can import several Excel or CSV files on top of the same term base.
To import entries from a CSV or an Excel file into a term base:
- In the list, select the term base where you need to import the new entries.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Import Terminology. An Open window appears.
- Select one CSV or Excel file. Click Open.
- The Term base CSV import settings or the Term base Excel import settings window opens. You can choose which columns to import.
To learn more: See Help about the Term base CSV import settings or the Term base Excel import settings window.
You can also import entries into a term base from a TMX file. TMX files usually store translation memory contents, but in some cases, they can also serve well as term bases. For example, you can have a translation memory of user interface texts, and import it into a term base, so that the user interface texts will be highlighted in the user manual.
To import entries from a TMX file into a term base:
- In the list, select the term base where you need to import the TMX file.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Import Terminology. An Open window appears.
- Select one TMX file. Click Open.
- The Term base TMX import settings window opens. Choose where (in which field) each segment must go from the TMX file. Click OK.
To learn more: See Help about the Term base TMX import settings window.
To view the properties of a term base:
- In the list, select the term base.
- On the Term Bases ribbon, click Properties. The Term base properties window opens.
In the Term base properties window, you can change the basic details of a term base.
Normally, memoQ expects a term base that contains all the languages that the project works with. However, in the Term base properties window, you can go through the languages and remove some of them by clearing the check boxes of those that you do not need. In this case, you will receive a warning:
You can still create the term base and add it to the project, but you will not receive results for the languages that are not there in the term base. To add the term base without the languages you removed, click OK.
You can still change your mind and adding the missing languages now. To do that, check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
Cannot add term base if it does not have at least two languages from the project: The term base must contain at least two languages from the project. If there are none or there is only one, the OK button will be grayed out until you check the Add missing language(s) to the term base check box.
If you have one or more term bases that you do not want to use for QA (for example, because they give a lot of unwanted errors), you can leave them out. Clear the QA check box of those term bases.
Detailed choice in multilingual projects: If your project has more than one target language, you can tell memoQ to leave out a term base for only some of those languages. Choose a language from the Target language drop-down, and clear the QA check box for that term base. When you switch back to All languages, the QA check box for the term base will look like this: - to show that memoQ will use this term base for QA checks only in some languages, not all of them.
In package projects: from version 8.5, this setting also works in projects created from packages.
When you finish
To make changes to the documents, resources, or settings or the project, or to see reports, choose another pane:
- Overview
- Translations
- Finances (the project must be connected to Language Terminal)
- People
- Packages (only in package-based online projects)
- LiveDocs
- Translation memories
- Term bases
- Muses
- Settings
- History
- Reports
- Files
Or, to return to Project home or to the Dashboard: Close the memoQ online project window. Before that, make sure you save your changes.
When you make changes to an online project, the changes will happen on memoQ server, not on your computer. It is possible that several users make changes to the project at the same time.
Some changes are not saved automatically. When there are changes you need to save, the green tick mark icon at the top left will become orange:
To save changes to the online project, click this button.
To get the changes that others made to the online project, click this button:
Make sure you save your changes before you click this.
Switch windows: You can open several online projects for management. Each online project opens in a separate window. To switch between them and the Dashboard or Project home (if you have a local project open): press and hold down Alt, and press Tab a few times until you get to the window you want. Or: On the Windows taskbar, click the memoQ icon, and then click the window you want to switch to.