How to Add Files to a Project

When you create a project, you add files to a project on the Project Files page of the New Project wizard. You can then specify their usage and file settings. You can also merge multiple files together.

When you add files, the New Project wizard attempts to identify the file type, usage and filter settings for each file and these are displayed in the Type, Usage and File Type Identifier columns. The New Project wizard automatically adds a filter settings file to relevant files once it has identified the file type. These settings can be modified as needed.

NOTE	For an overview of how to create a project, see How to Create a Project.

 

Add Files to a Project

You can add files individually or you can add a folder structure. All of the files in the folder structure are added to the project. The New Project wizard creates a folder for every target language you have selected, and places the prepared *.sdlxliff files and any reference files in the appropriate language folder. If you selected files in a folder structure, this structure will be replicated in the target language folders.

1. Display the Project Files page of the New Project wizard.

2. Add the files:

• You can drag and drop the files into the right-hand side pane on the Project Files page of the New Project wizard.

• If you want to individually add a files individually, click Add Files.  

• If you want to add a folder or folder hierarchy containing files, click Add Folder.

NOTE	Files cannot just be moved once they have been added to a folder. If you do need to move files, remove them from their folder and add them into the correct folder To remove files from a project, right-click on the file name and select Remove from the shortcut menu.

Change File Usage

File usage indicates why a file has been added to a project. For more information about file usage, see About File Usage.

By default all project files are assumed to be Translatable. However, file types which are not supported by SDL Trados Studio are given a usage of Reference. If you have added some reference files, their usage should be changed to Reference, otherwise an *.sdlxliff file will be produced for them.

To check and change your file usage:

1. Display the Project Files page of the New Project wizard.

2. Add the files you want to include in the project.

3. If the usage is incorrect, click Change File Usage.

4. Select one of the following:

• Translatable

• Reference  

• Localizable

5. Click OK to make the change.

Merge Files

Use the Merge Files function to merge multiple smaller files into one single document. Merging files can help you work faster as you can maximize the advantages of features like auto-propagation, spell-checking and verification when working in a single, bigger document.

You can merge files physically when creating a new project, or merge them virtually at any time in the Files view. Files merged physically are saved as one file after translation whereas files merged virtually are split back and saved as individual files. You can merge translatable files from any type of project or package.

To merge files physically when creating a new project:

1. Open the New Project wizard and go to the Project Files page.

2. Add the files you want to include in the project. Click Include Subfolders if you want to merge files that are not in the main folder. The files from all the folders in the structure are displayed in the right-hand pane.

3. Select the files you want to merge (you can use Ctrl or Shift to select multiple files) and click the Merge Files icon.

   NOTE	To unmerge files, select the merged document, right-click and select Remove from the shortcut menu. The merged document is removed from the file list and the original files remain in the list for translation.

4. Enter a name for the merged document and select the folder where you want it to be created.

5. Click OK

6. The name of the new merged document is displayed in the list of project files. Click the plus sign next to the merged file to see the documents it contains.

To merge files virtually in the Files view - QuickMerge:

1. Open the project in the Files view and select all the files that you want to merge using Ctrl or Shift.

2. Right-click on one of the selected files and select Open for Translation, Open for Review or Open for Sign Off, as required. You can also press Enter to quickly open for translation the selected files as one document merged virtually. Selecting the files and pressing Ctrl+Enter will open the files for translation as individual files.

3. The selected files open in the Editor as one single merged document. Studio automatically names the document merged virtually [Multiple Files - Name of the project (Names of the files included in the merging)]. The name of the project is trimmed automatically to show only the first 20 characters. Also, the names of the files are trimmed to show only the first 50 characters. This naming convention makes it easier to distinguish between merged files if you have multiple merged files open in the Editor or in the Recent Documents list.  

 When you save and close files merged virtually, Studio splits these files back and saves them as individual files.

NOTE	You can only use the QuickMerge feature for single files. Files which have been previously merged physically cannot also be merged virtually. This means that you cannot combine physically merged files with single files to open them as one single document merged virtually.

Specify File Settings

You can change the way SDL Trados Studio processes files. For example, you can add a specific type of XML file, or specify which text in a file is presented to the translator as translatable text.

To do this:

1. Display the Project Files page of the New Project wizard.

2. Click File Types. The Project Files Types dialog box is displayed where you can edit the file type settings.

NOTE	Click here for more information about file types.

Topic:  Published: November 10, 2014