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XTM Editor (new version)


XTM is an online tool with a browser-based interface.

This guide focuses on the workflows STP linguists may encounter when working in the new version of the XTM Editor on a client's XTM server. 
For detailed instructions on how to use the functionality of the XTM Editor, please refer to the official XTM manual where most of the below information is taken from: https://xtm.cloud/docs/xtm-manual.pdf

Logging in

The PM will provide you with the details to access the project:

  • Link to the project
  • Client name
  • Login name
  • Password

Task list

After logging in, ignore the dialogue box that opens about passwords, and click straight to the “Tasks” tab to access the files. 
In the Active tab you will see tasks assigned to you. Click on a task to open it in the XTM Editor

Navigating the interface

The editor automatically loads a pre-set number of segments. You can configure the number of displayed segments under the Settings tab.Segments are loaded automatically once you move upwards or downwards from one segment to another. Scrolling the page, whilst remaining in the active segment, will load additional segments. Once you scroll the page and reach the end of the loaded set of segments, irrespective of the scrolling direction, a message will appear on a blue ribbon: “Activate one of the visible segments to load more segments”.

The status bar at the bottom of the screen shows the progress of work in percentages, words, characters, and segments. Another option, activated under the Settings tab, is the character counter presenting the length of the target text (per paragraph) and comparing it to the source length (useful

when the “Monitor target length” option is enabled).


The editor displays the document in four columns, namely – from left to right:

• segment no.

• source language text

• target language text

• segment status


The editor contains a few docked panels, namely: Matches, Concordance, Terminology, Inline tags, Comments, LQA, and History. The panels can be rearranged and resized according to the user preference window. The “drag and drop” feature lets you dock the panel of your choice in any place you

wish in the XTM Workbench window. To restore the standard default layout, go to Settings -> XTM Workbench layout -> Restore default layout.

In the default arrangement, the height of the docked panels is easily adjustable by selecting and dragging the top border of the panels. Additionally, the width of each panel can be modified to meet your needs by dragging the inner border laterally to the left or to the right. 

By default in the bottom panel the editor displays the various matches available to the user. They are ordered by the type of match and then by the date created or changed. The order is as follows: Exact match (ICE), Leverage match 100%, Repetitions, TM Fuzzy matches, and Internal Fuzzy matches (in score order and then in date order), and finally MT matches.

XTM always checks if the segment you are working on is repeated in your file. If yes, it automatically places the same translation in all identical segments. If translations in any repeated segments are edited, you can configure the way repeated segments are updated by choosing one of the following options:

Do not update segments – do not place the edited translation in every repeated segment in the file

Update segments above – place the edited translation in every repeated segment above the segment you are working on; all the repeated segments below remain unchanged

Update segments below – place the edited translation in every repeated segment below the segment you are working on; all the repeated segments above remain unchanged

Update all segments – place the edited translation in every repeated segment in the file

There is an icon  in the status column of repeated segments that identifies them. Clicking on it allows you to perform two actions:

Go to first repeated segment – takes you to the first instance of a repeated segment,

Filter repeated segments – activates a filter which displays all the segments with repetitionsfound in the document

Finally, repeated segments are displayed by default as Matches in the docked panel. Clicking on the tick icon in the target section automatically applies the translation. Repeated segments are marked with the letter “R” in the Score column.

You can insert a term into the target segment from the Terminology docked panel in the following way:

1) Select the target term you want to insert into the target segment and right-click it to open a context menu. 

2) Choose Insert into segment.

3) The term will be automatically placed in the target segment.

Segment status overview

 Incomplete

Draft

Completed

Non-translatable

At LQA Step, to be corrected

At LQA step, Incomplete

Inline tags

 XTM uses inline tags which are displayed as numbers in curly brackets such as {1}. The inline tags in the source text need to be placed in the translated target text. There are three types of inline tags that appear in the source text. Generally, it is recommended to insert them into the target text in the same order as they are in the source text. However, you can modify the order of inline tags provided that the sequence of opening and closing tags is correct.


You can insert inline tags into target segments from the context menu:

1) In the target segment, place the mouse cursor in the location corresponding to the location ofthe inline tag in the source segment.

2) Right-click the target segment to open the context menu.

3) Choose Insert inline tag or special character to open the Inline tags or special character popup window. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Alt + number on your keyboard (from 1 to 9; for numbers 10+ use the Alt+0 shortcut and choose the inline from the Inline tag or special character pop-up window).

4) Validate the segment with the Enter key. 

Segment filtering

Apply last: Applies the last filter used in this function

Favourite filters: Your favourite filters selected from the context menu.

Clear filters: The option becomes visible when any filter is activated. When the filter is deactivated,the option that allows you to “Apply last” filter appears.

Choose filters: The option opens a pop-up allowing for filter application.

When one or more filters have been applied, the Segment filtering icon turns blue. To switch off thefiltering option and show all segments, click Filter -> Clear filters.


Concordance

You can use the Concordance option from the docked panel or from the context menu. In the docked panel, type the word into the search box and click Search to obtain concordance results.

There are three search options available from the docked panel:

Broad match – to find segments with any of the words in the search phrase and other words or characters

Phrase match – to find segments with all the words in the search phrase, but in any order

Exact match – to find segments only with the words in the search phrase in the correct order

In this way, you can choose to see results that are exactly the same as the concordance search phrase, results that include all of the words from the search phrase, or results that can include any of the words being looked for.

From the context menu:

1) Highlight a word in the target segment.

2) Right-click it to open the Concordance menu.

3) Choose Concordance search in the target language.

4) Go to the docked panel to see the Concordance search results.

Concordance searching can be performed either in the source or target text.

There are two options available in the Concordance context menu:

Default – results are based on the linguistic stem of the chosen word and will match other forms of the word. This allows translators to check how the word was previously translated. The various segments are shown in order of relevance.

Exact match – to find segments only with the words in the search phrase in the correct order.

Adding comments

Comments can be added to an active segment directly from the segment or from the docked panel.

To add a comment from the docked panel:

1) Click on the callout icon under the Comments tab to open the Add comment dialogue window.

2) Type in your comment.

3) Click Add to save it. The comment is saved with the name of the person adding the comment and a date time stamp.

Comments can be deleted from the docked panel. Note that only the person who entered thecomment can edit or delete it, and this can only be done when the workflow step is active.

To delete a comment:

1) Mouse over or right-click the selected comment in the docked panel.

2) Click on the bin icon. A message will appear asking you to confirm your choice.

3) Click OK to confirm it.

To edit a comment:

1) Mouse over the selected comment in the docked panel.

2) Click on the pencil icon. A dialogue window will pop up.

3) Make the necessary changes to the comment.

4) Click Save. 

Keyboard shortcuts:

Cheat sheet for XTM

Quality Assurance

The quality assurance checks occur automatically when you set a segment to translated or when you click the QA icon in the top right corner of the Workbench. Clicking the icon lets you choose a broader range of segments for QA checks. Activating QA puts on hold any action being performed in the editor.


Run QA check on active segment – checks translation within an active segment;

Remove QA markings in active segment – removes any markings of errors found in an active segment;

Run QA check on displayed segments – checks translation of the text currently displayed on the screen; the option restarts automatically when more segments are loaded;

Run QA check on document and filter results – runs global check on the document and filters segments with recognized errors. Upon selecting this option, a dialogue window appears where you can decide whether you wish to include ICE matches and 100% leverage matches in the check. If you do not tick either of the boxes, by default ICE matches and 100% leverage matches will not be checked.

Any spelling errors detected during the check are displayed by highlighting the word in yellow. If you click the misspelled word, XTM displays several suggested spellings for it. You then have the option to select one of the suggested words, add the suspect word to the custom default dictionary, and to ignore the word in this segment or in the whole project. When a QA error is detected, an orange mark is inserted to highlight the problem. Moreover, a description of the problem pops up when you place a cursor over the highlighted area.


Saving

All edits you make are automatically saved to XTM Editor.

Wrapping Up

To deliver your task once you have finished the translation, use the Finish button available on the top right of the screen.