LookAhead and the MT quota
The LookAhead mechanism performs lookups in your translation sources, stores them in memory and makes them available for segment translation before you even activate the row requiring translation.
If you have a subscription with any of the available Machine Translation (MT) providers, you have an available quota of translation hits paid at character level. In this case, the MT hits are also present in the translation results obtained via LookAhead.
Clearing LookAhead lookups and its consequences for MT
- You decide to switch Match Repair on or off while translating.
- You decide to bypass the LookAhead translation results by performing manual lookups
- You disable LookAhead
- You do not finish translating the file and save it for later work
In any of the situations above, the MT translation search results that were retrieved before the LookAhead clear operation were charged from your subscription. When you resume work on your translation, MT translation results are retrieved again and charged again from your MT quota.
Best practices for concurrent usage of LookAhead and MT
- You should finish the file you are translating in a single uninterrupted translation session.
- You should not switch Match Repair on and off while translating.
- You should not perform manual lookups while translating.
Concurrent usage of LookAhead and MT
A translator receives a file on Business risks, which is due the next day.
The translator:
- Enables LookAhead and checks its MT subscription, which is worth 3000 characters.
- Activates the first row and starts translating the text. The LookAhead mechanism retrieves all the matching translation hits for the next 2 segments (rows). When the translator activates the second segment row, the translation results will be displayed instantaneously in the Translation Results window.
For our use case, let's assume that LookAhead retrieves segment A, which is 10 characters in length, from the MT provider. Segment A occurs in row 3 of your translation, but the translator is still working on row 1 of the translation. This means that, even if the translator did not translate row 3 yet, the result retrieved from the MT is already deduced from the available MT quota. Normally, this would not pose any problems, but what if the translator does not manage to finish the translation in the current translation session?
The translator receives a call informing them that there is a translation on Business security, which needs to be finished today for a high-profile customer. The translator, who, by now, has reached row 2 of the current translation, saves the Business risks translation for later usage, and starts working on the urgent Business security translation.
When the translator resumes the Business risks translation the next day, LookAhead is enabled and the MT subscription has 2990 available characters left. The translator activates row 2 and starts translating. As segment A, which is in row 3, was not translated the previous day, but has a matching hit in MT, LookAhead retrieves segment A again, just like the day before. As a result, 10 characters are deducted from the MT subscription, leading to a total of 2980 available characters.