Dictionaries (Overview)

Last update: February 2017

RC-WinTrans supports translation through the use of dictionaries and translation memories (TMs). These resources can be used to find translations for one, some, or all items needing to be translated. Depending on the number of resources available and their contents, this feature can significantly reduce the number of items needing to be translated manually by a translator, thereby reducing the overall cost of translation.

Dictionaries are made available to RC-WinTrans by adding them to the Dictionaries view.

Figure: The Dictionaries view where a text file dictionaries and two translation memory files (SDL Trados and Trados) have been added and are available for use. The dictionary and the TMs are enabled as find references, as indicated by the checked check boxes. The "En-Ja-Standard.txt" dictionary is also enabled as a save reference.

Dictionary Files

RC-WinTrans supports dictionaries in the form of (simple) text files (TXT) and TMX files (also called RC-WinTrans dictionaries)- see "Dictionary Types" further on in this topic.

Translation Memories

Data exchange between RC-WinTrans and file-based translation memories (TM) such as Trados™ and SDL Trados™ are another important asset in localization. Data can be imported from and exported to these TM systems to assist in translating the current project or to save translations for reuse in the future.

Supported translation memory formats:

·	SDL Trados (.sdltm); direct access via the RC-WinTrans TM Workbench.
·	Trados (.tmw): access via the Translator's Workbench.
·	STAR Transit: via the use of TMX files.

Web-Based Translation Memories and Machine Translation

Two RC-WinTrans Add-Ons are available for exchanging information with Web-based translation databases- one for the Microsoft and the Google™ machine translation tools (see also "Dictionary Types" below).

Using Dictionaries

Dictionaries are typically used for the following tasks:

·	get a translation for a specific resource text.
·	automatic-translation (find and get).
·	save a translation to a dictionary for later use.
·	import translations from a dictionary for a number of selected text resources.
·	export translations to a dictionary for a number of selected text resources.

Dictionary Types

RC-WinTrans works with file based translation memories from Trados (.tmw) and SDL Trados (.sdltm) and with text file (.txt) dictionaries and TMX files (.tmx) dictionaries.

Special add-ons for online systems like Microsoft's Bing Translator and Google Translate have also been created to integrate these data resources into the RC-WinTrans environment where they too can be accessed by dictionary functions.

RC-WinTrans supports the following dictionary types (file types):

TMX file (.tmx) dictionaries (simple XML file-based dictionary).

text file (,txt) dictionaries (simple text file-based dictionary).

SDL Trados (.sdltm) translation memories (2009 and later).

SDL Trados 2007 Translator's Workbench.

Trados (.tmw) Translator's Workbench.

Web-based translation memory systems, specifically:

–	Machine Translation (Microsoft and Google) (RC-WinTrans Add-On from Schaudin.com).

Creating a New Dictionary

You can create a dictionary or translation memory by using the Dictionary/TM | New menu command.

Location (path). A dictionary (dictionary file) does not need to have a specific location. It can be placed anywhere on the local disk or on a network drive. The dictionaries that are delivered with RC-WinTrans are located in the "Dictionaries" folder of the RC-WinTrans installation directory.

Adding an Existing Dictionary

A dictionary is made available to RC-WinTrans by adding it to the Dictionaries view. This can be done in one of two ways:

1.	Use the Add command from the Dictionary/TM menu.
2.	Move the dictionary from the file explorer into the Dictionaries view using the drag-and-drop mechanism.

Enabling a Dictionary to Find and/or Save Translations

1.	To use a dictionary for finding translation texts it must be enabled as a find reference.
2.	To access a dictionary to save translation texts it must be enabled as a save reference.

Find and save references can be enabled/disabled for a dictionary in the Dictionaries view.

Find and Save Options

Most users have their own criteria for finding translations in a dictionary. The criteria for finding text in and saving it from dictionaries can be specified in the Dictionary/TM Options dialog box.

Finding Translations

Please refer to the RC-WinTrans Help topic "Finding Translations in Dictionaries."

Automatic Translation

Please refer to the RC-WinTrans Help topic "Automatic Translation (Overview)."

Saving Translations

You can save a selected translation unit with the Save Translations command found in the Dictionary/TM menu, or use the Save Translation toolbar button (shown right). This command can also be used to save a selection of multiple translation units to a dictionary.

The selected translation unit(s) are saved to all dictionaries set as "save references" (provided the dictionary supports the same source and target languages).

Importing and Exporting Translation Data

Translation data can be imported from and exported to a certain dictionary listed in the Dictionaries view. These functions are used to import translation data (target texts) for a number of project items (translation units) at once. This is done by selecting the items in the Text Table view and executing the Import or Export command.