SDL Trados Studio supports a variety of file types. If a file is one of the supported file types, SDL Trados Studio can extract the translatable text from the file, so you can translate the document contents. If a file is not a supported file type, you cannot use SDL Trados Studio to translate it. If you try to open a file of an unsupported type, SDL Trados Studio displays an error message.
SDL Trados Studio maintains option settings for each supported file type. These options determine how SDL Trados Studio processes a file of that type, when the file is presented for translation. For example, the options specify:
How SDL Trados Studio identifies the type of the presented file, for example, what file name extensions are used for files of that type.
How SDL Trados Studio identifies which part of the file contents should be translated, and what content should not be translated. For example, the options specify what part of the file is structural information, and so are not translated.
For example workflows of the steps you need to go through to prepare, translate and post-process your files see:
The file type options that SDL Trados Studio provides are suitable for most users, and you might not need to change them.
However, you can change many settings that affect the way SDL Trados Studio processes files and presents them to the translator, so it might be useful for you to browse through the options, to see what you can change.
You might, for example, want to give a translator the ability to see the properties of a document, or, conversely to exclude parts of a document from translation, or to add items to the QuickInsert toolbar.
Also, if you want to add support for a new file type, you need to change the options— see the section How to Add a New File Type below.
SDL Trados Studio keeps the configuration settings for all the supported file types together, in a folder of file type settings, and keeps a number of different copies of these folders. For example, each project has its own version of file type settings, and so does each profile.
To add support for a new file type, you can create the file type or add an existing file type to the list of supported file types.
You can create file types based on XML or on text files. If you create a text file type, you can specify that the translatable text in the file is delimited by simple text or by regular expressions.
When you add a file type, it will be displayed in the list of file types in the File Types dialog box.
Finding the Right Set of File Type Options
How to Find the Right File Type Settings
Which File Types are Supported