How to open and Sign-off a file

This topic describes how to open and sign-off a translated project file in the Editor window of the Editor view. Opening a document for sign-off is an additional review that you can perform after a file has been opened for review.

About this task

When you open a file for sign-off, the Sign-off configuration is used. This means that the Editor view changes to the sign-off layout, Track Changes is automatically enabled, and the File Actions and Segment Actions groups on the Home tab show sign-off statuses only.

In the Editor window, the source language segments are displayed on the left and target language segments on the right. The segment status column in between the source and target segments contains information about the target segment status, for example whether the translation has been confirmed or rejected.

To open and sign-off a file:

Procedure

  1. Click the Files button in the navigation pane. All of the files in the active project are displayed in the Files view.
  2. In the box at the top of the Files view navigation pane, select the required target language. Project files for the target language are displayed on the right.
  3. Right-click the *.sdlxliff file to be reviewed and select Open for Sign-off from the shortcut menu. The file opens in the Editor view.
  4. If you want to edit a segment in the Editor window, simply click inside the target segment and start typing. You can use standard windows text editing functionality when working in SDL Trados Studio. You can also use the following tools to assist you in your review. These are the same tools that are available when the document is translated.
    • Editing Tools

      There are multiple text editing tools to assist you during translation. For example:

      • Spell Check: You can check spelling as you type or run a spell check when you have finished translating.
      • AutoSuggest: You can use the AutoSuggest tool that anticipates what you are about to type and presents you with a list of previously translated words and phrases that also begin with the characters you have typed so far. If one of the words or phrases matches what you were about to type, you can select it and it is inserted into the current segment.

      Click Overview: Working with Text to see the available text editing tools.

    • Tag Formatting Tools

      There are multiple tag formatting tools to assist you during review. For example, you can:

      • Press Ctrl + ,(comma) to display the QuickPlace drop-down list where you can transfer tags, numbers and other elements from the source segment to the target segment.
      • Insert tags. Click the button on the QuickInsert toolbar of the tag you want to insert.
      • Copy and paste tags. Press Ctrl+C or right-click and select Copy from the shortcut menu. Press Ctrl+V or right-click and select Paste from the shortcut menu.

      See Overview: Working with Tags to see the available tag editing tools.

    • Translation Memory Tools

      By default SDL Trados Studio automatically performs a translation memory lookup whenever you place the cursor in an untranslated segment (one for which the translation has not been confirmed). The best translation memory match is automatically placed in the target segment and, if the match is a 100% match, the translation is automatically confirmed. The percentage match is displayed in the segment status column. If you want to edit the translation, type in the target segment. When you edit the segment, the background color of the percentage match figure disappears to indicate that there was a percentage match with the translation memory which has been changed.

      Check About Working with Translation Memories to see the available translation memory tools.

    • Terminology Tools

      If a termbase is open, when you place your cursor in a segment a lookup is automatically performed. If there is a match for a term in the segment you are translating, a red bracket is displayed above the term in the source segment and a match is displayed in the hitlist in the Term Recognition window. You can press Ctrl+Shift+L to display a list of translations for the terms and insert them into the target text.

      Click About Working with Termbases to see the available termbase tools.

  5. Approve or reject the translations:
    If you want toDo the following

    approve an individual translation,

    place your cursor in the segment and click the Confirm (Signed Off) button on the Home tab > Segment Actions group or press Ctrl+Enter.

    approve a group of translations,

    hold down the Ctrl key and click on the segment number column to select rows you want to approve. Right-click in the segment number column of the last selected row and select Change Segment Status > Translation Approved from the shortcut menu.

    approve all translations that have not yet been reviewed,

    click in the File Actions group. This approves all the translations in the document, including those set to Sign Off Rejected, and sets all the translations to Signed Off.

    reject a translation,

    place your cursor in the segment and click the Reject Segment (Sign-off Rejected) button on the Home tab > Segment Actions group or press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

  6. When you have finished reviewing the document, select tab Tools > Verify from the menu bar to check for any errors in the document.
  7. Select File > Save from the menu bar to save the document and then select File > Close from the menu bar to close the document.
  8. If there are still translations that are not approved or rejected when you close the document, a prompt is displayed asking you if you want to approve all the translations in the document.
    • Click Yes to approve all translations, including those set to Sign Off Rejected, and set all the translations in the document to Signed Off.
    • Click No to leave the translations with the current status that is assigned to them and close the document.
    • Click Cancel to leave the translations with the current status that is assigned to them and keep the document open.
  9. If you are working with a SDL Studio GroupShare project, switch to the Files view, right-click on the file that you have just edited and then select Check in.
    When all segments in the document have either a Sign-off Rejected or Signed Off status, the status of the document changes:
    • If any segments have a status of Sign-off Rejected, the status of the document changes to Sign-off Rejected to indicate that the document needs to be sent back to the translator for more work. You should send the document back to the translator in a package.
    • If all segments have a status of Signed Off, the status of the document changes to Signed Off to indicate that no further work needs completing. You should generate a translated version of the document.