A translation memory is a database that contains source language segments and their translations. Before you start translating a document, you open a translation memory and while you are translating the document, you retrieve translations from the translation memory and use them to translate document segments. This is known as 'applying' a translation memory match to the segment. You can apply a translation that is a 100% match for the document segment or you can apply a translation that is not quite a 100% match, but that can be edited to make it a 100% match.
When you have finished translating a segment, you can add the translation to the translation memory where it will be available for selection in the future. By default, when you confirm the translation, the translation is automatically added to the translation memory.
Translation memories are created in the Translation Memories view.
In SDL Trados Studio you can work with both local and server-based translation memories:
A local translation memory is a bilingual translation memory that is created and stored on your computer. Other users cannot access local translation memories.
A server-based translation memory is a multilingual translation memory that is stored on a server. A server-based translation memory can be used by anyone who can log on to the server. Server-based translation memories are accessed through the Internet or through an intranet. Once you have logged on to the server where the translation memory is located, you can work with the translation memory in exactly the same way that you work with local translation memories.
The key differences between local and server-based translation memories are:
Multiple users can work with the same server-based translation memory at the same time while only one user can work with a local file-based translation memory.
Server-based translation memories are multilingual and can have multiple source and target languages. Local translation memories are bilingual and have one source language and one target language.