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help 10000 items / automatic translation | The ideal approach on memoQ

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: help 10000 items / automatic translation
Poster: Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Post title: The ideal approach on memoQ

Using memoQ, I reckon that the ideal approach would be to begin work on the long list of strings and keep adding termbase entries with the individual pieces of meaning (be it nouns, compound nouns, adjectives...). Not only memoQ will help in proposing reusable strings and will show very clearly what to do no them to produce a new string, but its Match Patch feature will replace items automatically to reduce the workload of translating the items.

Such approach has worked beautifully for me in similar situations (e.g. a list of 10,000 different tools), although it takes a lot of adding to the termbase at the beginning. In any case, whatever you add to the termbase you can keep for the long run too, so it is work that pays in the long run.

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co

Hello to all,

I thought I’d start a thread on a problem that affect us all: file compatibility. We may have lost some job opportunities because our Project Manager was using SDL Trados Studio for example and we were using a different CAT tool.

However, it’s possible to work on a bilingual file that has been produced in different CAT tool and then work on it on our own CAT-tool.
To help many, it would be great to put a few tips and tricks in this thread for those struggling with the issue.

I have published a video showing a full return trip between SDL Trados Studio 2017 and the free solid CAT tool Wordfast Anywhere. You can watch it here: [url removed]

The same process would apply if you want to export and import back in SDL Studio and edit the sdlxliff in a different CAT tool like Memo-Q, Wordfast, Omega T, Cafetran etc. You would export and import allways the same way in SDL Trados (if you just export the sdlxliff and not the full package). Of course, importing in a different CAT tool would be specific to each different CAT tool.

If you PM tell you they can’t do it, send them a link to the video. It can most certainly be done! This should be of benefit to them because it’s a shame that the access to quality translators should be narrowed by the CAT tool they chose.

In a few weeks, I’ll publish a video with a similar return trip from a different CAT tool.

I hope this will help those struggling with this issue.

Enjoy 😊!

My bests to all!

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | But what if the PM sends a package and wants a return package?

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Luca Tutino
Post title: But what if the PM sends a package and wants a return package?

Thank you for your post. CAT tools seem to be quite inter-compatible lately, and this is certainly an important possibility for us. Still, it can be problematic in some case, like for instance:

- A client sends a specific CAT package and wants a return package
- They ask for "track change" review or ask to look at a track changed review
- They send a dtp exported file (mif etc.): will the compatible cat handle the conversion as well and in a compatible way?
- ...

Do you have good workarounds for these?

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Gathering around the workarounds, so we start!

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title: Gathering around the workarounds, so we start!

[quote]Luca Tutino wrote:

Thank you for your post. CAT tools seem to be quite inter-compatible lately, and this is certainly an important possibility for us. Still, it can be problematic in some case, like for instance:

- A client sends a specific CAT package and wants a return package
- They ask for "track change" review or ask to look at a track changed review
- They send a dtp exported file (mif etc.): will the compatible cat handle the conversion as well and in a compatible way?
- ...

Do you have good workarounds for these? [/quote]

Thank you for your answer, it fits exactly the purpose of this thread!

A package is often a folder with many resources in it. You should be able to open it and see the files. In the case of an SDL package,
You could handle the sdlxliff in your CAT tool if it supports it.
The sdltm could be converted to tmx and uploaded in your CAT tool. You could use WF Converter to that effect, Dominique Pivard (CAT Guru) has a great video on it here: [url removed]
You could then handle the sdltb in the same way with the same tool.
You could then replace the files in package and return it and see how it goes.
Tracked changes are often dealt with outside of CAT tools using review exports that are in MS Word formats, so no issue here.
The issue will often rise when your PM is less CAT-Tool knowledgeable than you are and doesn’t want to spend an extra 5 mins to handle a few things manually.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a workaround for every situation, and that’s exactly the purpose of this thread, because there definitely needs to be more interoperability between the CAT tools and meanwhile the more knowledge is available to face the matter, the better it will be for translators and for translation quality.

My bests 😊

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Useful initiative

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Mario Chavez
Post title: Useful initiative

Hello, Fi2 n Co, and thank you for that novel initiative. To the problem at hand, I've acquired and used a variety of CAT or TEnT tools over the years: Trados Studio, Déjà Vu, SDL Trados Studio and, lately, memoQ. The strategy has paid off so far as I use the tool I judge to be best for the project at hand.

Sometimes I find myself persuading the client to let me use my preferred tool; sometimes I have to use the client's tool because they already have a team and a procedure in place.

I haven't yet seen your video, but I think it would be extremely helpful for clients and translators alike.

By the way, where in Portugal are you? I've been to Aveiro and Lisbon for academic studies in the last year, and I have one more trip to your country within 3-5 months.

Best regards,

Mario

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | "One size fits all" vs the opposite :)

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title:"One size fits all" vs the opposite :)

[quote]Mario Chavez wrote:

Hello, Fi2 n Co, and thank you for that novel initiative. To the problem at hand, I've acquired and used a variety of CAT or TEnT tools over the years: Trados Studio, Déjà Vu, SDL Trados Studio and, lately, memoQ. The strategy has paid off so far as I use the tool I judge to be best for the project at hand.

Sometimes I find myself persuading the client to let me use my preferred tool; sometimes I have to use the client's tool because they already have a team and a procedure in place.

I haven't yet seen your video, but I think it would be extremely helpful for clients and translators alike.

Best regards,

Mario [/quote]

Hello Mario,

Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience.
What you mentioned makes the issue even more important:

Having to buy multiple CAT tools
_Is impractical
_Is expensive
_May bloat your computer (depending on how powerful it is)
_Requires the translator to make an effort to learn multiple interfaces and workflows instead of focusing on translation quality.

And over the years most translators have created powerful resources they can leverage (TMs, Glossaries etc.) and having several tools at the same time makes it difficult to keep all terminology resources up to date at the same time.

So, the more tips, tweaks and workarounds, the more the translator will be able to leverage valuable resources and experience built over the years in an environment that enables him to work at his best: his favourite CAT tool.

So, the more personal experiences and working tips we get here, the better it will be for the whole industry, hopefully 😉.

My bests

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Bloaty computers and vaporware

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Mario Chavez
Post title: Bloaty computers and vaporware

[quote]Fi2 n Co wrote:

[quote]Mario Chavez wrote:

Hello, Fi2 n Co, and thank you for that novel initiative. To the problem at hand, I've acquired and used a variety of CAT or TEnT tools over the years: Trados Studio, Déjà Vu, SDL Trados Studio and, lately, memoQ. The strategy has paid off so far as I use the tool I judge to be best for the project at hand.

Sometimes I find myself persuading the client to let me use my preferred tool; sometimes I have to use the client's tool because they already have a team and a procedure in place.

I haven't yet seen your video, but I think it would be extremely helpful for clients and translators alike.

Best regards,

Mario [/quote]

Hello Mario,

Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your experience.
What you mentioned makes the issue even more important:

Having to buy multiple CAT tools
_Is impractical
_Is expensive
_May bloat your computer (depending on how powerful it is)
_Requires the translator to make an effort to learn multiple interfaces and workflows instead of focusing on translation quality.

And over the years most translators have created powerful resources they can leverage (TMs, Glossaries etc.) and having several tools at the same time makes it difficult to keep all terminology resources up to date at the same time.

So, the more tips, tweaks and workarounds, the more the translator will be able to leverage valuable resources and experience built over the years in an environment that enables him to work at his best: his favourite CAT tool.

So, the more personal experiences and working tips we get here, the better it will be for the whole industry, hopefully 😉.

My bests
[/quote]

Hi again
It depends on when the tool was purchased. I bought my Trados and Déjàa Vu licenses with 50% discount ($500 each) in 1999 at an ATA conference, so I was kind of lucky. I bought my own memoQ license for 99 euros because I'm a university student in Aveiro (Portugal).

So you want to keep your location a secret in Portugal? That's fine. No ovos moles for you!

:D

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Nice, yet...

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title: Nice, yet...

[quote]Mario Chavez wrote:

Hi again
It depends on when the tool was purchased. I bought my Trados and Déjàa Vu licenses with 50% discount ($500 each) in 1999 at an ATA conference, so I was kind of lucky. I bought my own memoQ license for 99 euros because I'm a university student in Aveiro (Portugal).

[/quote]

Great, working out bargains such as these is nice. But even like this, for many translators, this would be rather big sums of money, especially depending on the rates usually applied in their language pairs.

Enjoy Aveiro, it's a lovely place. :)

My bests

[Modifié le 2017-07-13 19:38 GMT]

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Better?

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title: Better?

[/quote]

So you want to keep your location a secret in Portugal? That's fine.

[/quote]

Well, ProZ.com have given us direct messaging for that. This way, it keeps the messages in this thread easy to read for those looking for a specific answer.

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Interesting!

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Oksana Weiss
Post title: Interesting!

Thank you for starting this thread, which I find really useful. Some issues however seem to have no work-around so far (e.g., no possibility to track changes in Wordfast, although it can already work with sdlxliffs). However, the more they develop CAT-tools, the more interchangeable they become. It was not possible only 2-3 years ago to open a memoQ file in Trados or a Trados file in Wordfast. Hopefully, there comes time when we will be able to link our TMs and termbases to whatever CAT-tool off-line and on-line. I shall definitely follow this thread to watch any new developments in this field:)

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | Where will this go?

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title: Where will this go?

[quote]Oksana Weiss wrote:

Thank you for starting this thread, which I find really useful. Some issues however seem to have no work-around so far (e.g., no possibility to track changes in Wordfast, although it can already work with sdlxliffs). However, the more they develop CAT-tools, the more interchangeable they become. It was not possible only 2-3 years ago to open a memoQ file in Trados or a Trados file in Wordfast. Hopefully, there comes time when we will be able to link our TMs and termbases to whatever CAT-tool off-line and on-line. I shall definitely follow this thread to watch any new developments in this field:) [/quote]

Hello Oksana,

Thank you!
Yes, things have improved in the past years.

The problem has multiple reasons, one being the file type: xliff. Some consider that xliff allows for too many different informations to be added to it. This means each CAT tool developer can decide to add his own proprietary type of information to it that, in turn, will not be recognised by another CAT tool. So to be cross-compatible CAT tools developers have to build filters to manage effectively the xliff that comes from a different CAT tool.

For this reason, xliff2 is currently being developed and it should allow for less exotic informations to be added to it, which in turn should make it more inter-compatible. We’ll have to see if, and how well it will be adopted. I’ll try to publish a video on that subject in the future.

It seems that web-based CAT tools are trying to be compatible with all these proprietary formats. Web-based is great for having all your resources in one place and not bloat your computer. Many web-based CAT-tool are a paired CAT-TMS solution. It would be great to get some feedback from those using Matecat, Global Sight etc.

It seems that you are using Wordfast too. Some Wordfast user leverage pairing their WFP3 edition on their computer with Wordfast Anywhere. This allows someone with a double license to work on his home computer and with his on-site computer and use the same TM being hosted for free on Wordfast Anywhere that will be always up-to date. I have a video on this here if you are interested: [url removed]

And many CAT-tools are going ever more towards cloud-based solutions or with solutions where PMs can give you a temporary license for the duration of the project.

It will definitely be interesting to see where this will go in the years to come, because many heavy and expensive CAT tools on one personal computer doesn’t make a lot of sense…

My bests :)

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | WF Anywhere

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Oksana Weiss
Post title: WF Anywhere

[quote]Fi2 n Co wrote:

It seems that you are using Wordfast too. Some Wordfast user leverage pairing their WFP3 edition on their computer with Wordfast Anywhere. This allows someone with a double license to work on his home computer and with his on-site computer and use the same TM being hosted for free on Wordfast Anywhere that will be always up-to date. I have a video on this here if you are interested: [url removed]
[/quote]
Thanks a lot, that was really helpful! I am actually using Wordfast Pro for 6 years, but was not aware of this feature. You live and you learn:) As for on-line and cloud solutions I used a few, but I am not really enthusiastic about them - some of them (Matecat) do not have Russian spellcheck, and others (Memsource and wordbee) are too awkward to use. Anyway, I am probably too conservative and feel safer with my TMs and termbases stored on a hard drive (with the copies on two external drives, for paranoia's sake:).

Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.) | My pleasure!

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Working on projects where your PM has a different CAT tool than yours (i.e. SDL vs Wordfast etc.)
Poster: Fi2 n Co
Post title: My pleasure!

[quote]Oksana Weiss wrote:

Thanks a lot, that was really helpful! I am actually using Wordfast Pro for 6 years, but was not aware of this feature. You live and you learn:)
[/quote]

Yes sometimes there's a lot of great stuff that goes below the radar for some reason.
It seems that the same feature is making its way to WFP5 too in a future update.

[quote]
As for on-line and cloud solutions I used a few, but I am not really enthusiastic about them - some of them (Matecat) do not have Russian spellcheck, and others (Memsource and wordbee) are too awkward to use. Anyway, I am probably too conservative and feel safer with my TMs and termbases stored on a hard drive (with the copies on two external drives, for paranoia's sake:). [/quote]

Thank you for your feedback!
For those using web-based CAT tools, there exist the option to leverage the Browser spellchecker, and choose your dictionnaries. I know it works very well in Chrome and in Firefox. I haven't tested the Russian spellchecker though (i wish I spoke russian too :) ). To that effect I had published a while ago a video showing how to manage languages and spellcheck in Firefox, here: [url removed] for those that use web-based solutions.

My bests :)

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | Only half joking

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: neilmac
Post title: Only half joking

A bilingual secretary :)

I offer a comparatively low basic rate so that I can treat these and similar features as non-text extras that may incur a surcharge, or delays in delivery.

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | texbook case

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: Philippe Etienne
Post title: texbook case

[quote]BNN Medical Translations wrote:
We often translate large documents with over 100 pages, and they often have very similar structure. [/quote]
and
[quote]...It would save us a huge amount of time in the long run.[/quote]
Well, CAT tools, whatever the name, are precisely designed for just that: recycle your previous translations and leverage them on updated texts and new texts of similar topic/structure. It's much less error-prone, more visual and quicker than manual cut/copy-paste.
Your work would likely benefit hugely from transitioning the whole team to CAT tools (with the associated training of course).

Word-based CAT Tools don't seem to handle handle complex formatting very well, but the newer generation (grid-like display) usually does, provided that the source author knew how to use a word processor (no hard return at the end of each line, limited use of drawing text boxes...).

I learned MemoQ easily, but others will state other names. I haven't tried Cafetran yet, but it looks promising in terms of getting-started.

Philippe


What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | Hello Eric,

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: Maija Cirule
Post title: Hello Eric,

I would recommend MemoQ as it can process very large Word files and preserve their formatting, tables and images.

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | Have you tried WordFast Pro 5?

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: Octavio Armendariz
Post title: Have you tried WordFast Pro 5?

WordFast Pro 5 (not WordFast Classic) is a product that I like and is easy to use for the very purposes that you state in your initial post. It has free trial download. So maybe you can test it on one of your documents. Like Trados, it converts your documents into an intermediary format which it then converts to the original format when you are finished translating. It is also easy to learn.

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | CAT tools and long documents

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: John Fossey
Post title: CAT tools and long documents

I would second a vote for MemoQ for the purpose mentioned. I have some clients with documents that are hundreds of pages long, with dozens of embedded Excel files and text boxes. These are complex documents but MemoQ handles them quite well.

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | Go into it with open eyes

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: Dan Lucas
Post title: Go into it with open eyes

[quote]BNN Medical Translations wrote:
We wanted a CAT program that would scan the Word document, identify these items and automatically translate them before we even begin the work.[/quote]
Any decent tool should be able to carry out this kind of pre-translation. Exactly how successful that process is will depend on the format of the file in question and its layout, as Samuel has already commented.

I use SDL Trados Studio 2017 and pre-translation works very well on the whole. I have also used MemoQ, which I thought had a pleasant interface and most, possibly all the major functionality that Trados had at that time.

With regard to your comment about ease of use, I have been messing around with computers since the early 1980s and despite that long experience I did find that using CAT tools required me to get my head around a completely new paradigm. These are sophisticated and complicated pieces of software and they require an investment of time and effort. When they run smoothly they can provide huge efficiency gains, but when problems crop up they can also soak up time you want to spend on hitting deadlines.

Don't get me wrong; I really would not want to translate without my CAT tool. Even the simple function of segmentation is something that I find useful. Unlike some old-time freelancers, I do not regard CAT tools as a means of squeezing the translator for the benefit of the agency or end client. They really do make me more productive, and I don't mind passing on some of those productivity gains. Nevertheless, for people who have been using Word for 20 years and who are not particularly technical, you may find that something as complex as Studio 2017 is a step too far.

My advice would be to try Studio or MemoQ yourself and get thoroughly used to it (using the trial version). You will need to really commit yourself and initially it will be hard. You'll find yourself asking questions like "What do you mean, I can't edit the source?" and generally suffering from a certain amount of frustration. These are not word processors; they are more akin to databases with advanced grid editing functions.

Note that as your translation memory and your termbase/s grows, so do the benefits. If you don't commit yourself to really working with it, you will never see those benefits. In the short term, you'll be struggling with an unfamiliar user interface and workflow, without enjoying the positive impact of a mature translation memory or termbase. So don't underestimate the potential for an initial hit to your productivity. Choose a quiet time of year to begin, would be my advice.

If the tool you select turns out to be useful for you, then I would continue to it for at least a few months until you feel really confident and comfortable with it, and only then discuss adopting it for your less technically savvy partners. Whatever you do, don't all three of you go for it at the same time. Gently does it.

Regards,
Dan

What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes? | Reusing old translations

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Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: What is the easiest-to-use tool for large Word documents with tables, figures and text boxes?
Poster: Kevin Fulton
Post title: Reusing old translations

You will find that translators feel about their tools the way some people feel about their political affiliation, religion or favorite beverage. They feel that theirs is the best, and they're all correct!

CAT tools rely on a database of previous translations generally called a translation memory (or some variant). They become more useful the more you use them to translate. Many translators starting to use CAT tools create this translation memory from alignment of the sentences/segments of previously-translated source and target texts. There are tools for this, many of which are contained in the CAT tool package, but there are stand-alone programs for this as well, some of which are available at no cost. Alignment can be arduous, especially for the inexperienced, but can pay off handsomely, I've read. I started using CAT tools almost 20 years ago, so I haven't done much alignment recently.

MemoQ has a feature called "Live docs" which is an attempt to overcome the problem of a large body of translations that have not yet been integrated into a translation memory. I have not relied on this feature, but it sounds like a good selling point.

CAT tools are also very useful for terminology management. If you've compiled glossaries, in many cases they can be converted to CAT-compatible terminology databases.
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