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Customizing Date and Time formats

When segmenting text and auto-substituting placeables, Trados Studio uses a default list of dates and times for each source and target language. This list ensures that the date and time formats of the source language are recognized and localized correctly in the target language.

About this task

The Dates list and the Times list are stored in the Language Resources of your local translation memory (TM). These is called Language Processing Rules for server-based and cloud TMs.

To customize the patterns that are identified as dates and times, and the way that they are localized into the target language, edit the default Language Resources or Language Processing R that your TM is using.

You can edit the language resource for an existing TM in the Translation Memories view. Alternatively, create a language resource template with custom Dates and Times lists that you can then apply to all future local project TMs.

For cloud TMs

All the settings for cloud TMs are read-only in Trados Studio and can be updated only from RWS Language Cloud. To customize placeables for cloud TMs, open your cloud account in a browser, go to the Resources tab and update the Language Processing Rule that your cloud TM is using. For information on how to update cloud language processing rules and placeables, see the Language processing rules chapter in the Language Cloud documentation.

For local and server-based TMs

Procedure

  1. Identify the TM or the language resource template for which you want to customize the formats:
    • to update formats for a local or server-based TM: in the Translation Memories folder, right-click your TM and select Settings > Language Resources.
    • to update formats for a language resource template: in the Language Resource Templates folder, right-click the template and select Settings.
  2. In the table, identify the language for which you want to customize dates and times:
    • edit formats for the source language to change the patterns that Trados Studio identifies as date and time formats. For example, add HH"hours" mm"minutes" to recognize formats like "12hours 54minutes" as non-translatable elements and not numbers followed by words.
    • edit the formats for the target language to change the formats that Trados Studio uses for auto-localizing placeables. For example, change the default French localization of date from standard " dd/mm/yyyy" to custom " dd.mm.yyyy".
  3. Customize a date or time format:
    1. In the Date Formats or Time Formats dialog box, expand the first drop-down menu to see the list of options for creating a new date format.
    2. Click the Add component plus icon next to each component to include Day, Month, Year and Day Name for date formats and Hour, Minutes, Seconds, AM/PM for time formats.
    3. Type separators between the components that you have selected. You can use any of the following regular separators ` : - / , ; * + ? > < _ ! @ # $ ^ & ( ) ~ = { } [ ] . The following characters are reserved for special separators: % \ " '
    4. Click the Add icon and check the Example column to see how Trados Studio will convert your specified format.
    5. Add as many custom formats as needed and click OK.
    6. Use the Move up Move up and Move downMove down arrows in the first column to prioritize the order of the custom formats. The first long and short formats in the list are used by default for QuickPlace and Automatic Translation suggestions (unless you choose another format under Auto-substitution > Dates and Times).

      For TM matches, Trados Studio uses the same format as in the TM match to show you examples of how dates and times have been localized in previous translations. You can make TM matches always use the same format by disabling the option For TM matches, copy the TM format under Auto-substitution > Dates and Times.

  4. Click OK to close the Date Formats or Time Formats dialog box.
  5. Make sure your preferred custom formats are enabled under Project Settings window > [Your language pair] > Translation Memory and Automated Translation > Auto-substitution > Dates and Times.
  6. Click OK to close the Project Settings window and save your settings.

Example