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Export and Import Formats for Assets Tasks and Projects

To translate assets using SDL Trados Studio 2019 or earlier, or other supported desktop tools, you must export a translation kit containing the materials you need for the translation. You can generate a translation kit from the WorldServer Explorer by selecting Tools > Export/Import > Export Translation Kit, from the task view, or from the project view.

Translation Kit Export

A translation kit is a package that is sent from WorldServer to a translator to perform a translation task. A translation kit contains several different pieces:
  • The segmented assets that need to be translated.
  • Some portion of translation memory from the WorldServer installation that the translator can use to assist the translation process.
  • Some portion of terminology database from the WorldServer installation that the translator can use to assist the translation process.
This kit is packaged in the ZIP file format and will usually have an extension of .zip. (Exceptions are possible, as for Studio export, whose extension is .wsxz.) When the translator is done, he or she returns the translation kit. The only thing that changes in the returned kit is the updated segmented assets—the translator returns a set of translations for the source segments. The returned translation kit does not include a new translation memory or terminology database. This means that any changes that users make to the translation memory inside their translation workbench is completely local. Changes to the local translation memory or local terminology database have no effect on the WorldServer translation memory or terminology database. If the user has permission to update the TM, WorldServer updates the central translation memory based on the new segmented assets.

In Studio, after you finish a translation session you create a WSXZ file to return to WorldServer by selecting Project > Create Return Package and then selecting which files to be included in the package. Then, proceed to select the return package location, which can be either directly to the WorldServer server or to a file.

In older versions of SDL Trados Studio or SDL Trados TagEditor, after you finish a translation session you must re-zip the asset to prepare it for importing into WorldServer.

Translation Kit Import

When you import a translation kit back into WorldServer, the kit does not have to contain all the files that were in the original export kit. You can perform a partial import. For example, if you have completed translation of several assets, but haven't finished other assets, you could upload the first set of assets to make your work available to others. The original export kit contains a manifest with a record of all the assets exported, and when you zip up and import only a subset of these assets, WorldServer examines the manifest and issues a warning listing which files in the original export kit are not in the import kit.

There are several data formats supported for export and import of documents to and from the translation tools WorldServer supports. These are listed in the following table.

Desktop Translation ToolData Format
SDL Trados StudioWSXZ
WorldServer XLZ file for use with WorldServer Desktop Workbench 8.0 or laterXLZ
Any tool that supports itXLIFF
An external review document in Bilingual DOCX formatBilingual DOCX
The XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is not associated with any particular tool. Instead, it is an international standard promoted by OASIS. Any desktop translation tool may decide to support this format.
You might find that you cannot import assets that were previously exported by another user, because the system reports that you do not have the privileges to unlock the asset. At the bottom of the Management > User Setup > User Types page there is a selection box for a privilege that states:
[ ] "Can unlock assets locked by other users"

If this box is not selected then it means that the user should not be allowed to unlock an asset in the case where it is already locked by another user.

You can request that the system administrator grant you this privilege.