How to import/export a glossary

A glossary is a multilingual file containing information about concepts in a special subject, field, or area of usage, and their translations into several languages. Information on Matecat's glossary format can be found here.

Import a glossary

You can import a glossary through the "Translation Memory and Glossary" tab in the "Settings" panel.

Once you have accessed the "Translation Memory and Glossary" tab, click the down arrow next to the "Import TMX" button corresponding to the private TM key where you want to import your glossary and select "Import Glossary" from the dropdown.

When a new glossary is imported to a key that already contains an existing one, the content of the existing combinations will be replaced, while the content of the new locales will be added to the existing glossary.

So, for example, if a key contains a glossary that only has the en-US <> es-ES combination in it:

• if you import a new glossary that only has the en-US and it-IT locales, the content of this combination of locales will be added to the key and the content of the en-US <> es-ES will be left untouched;
• if you import a new glossary that has the en-US, es-ES and it-IT locales, the content of the en-US <> it-IT combination will be added to the key and the content of the en-US <> es-ES will be replaced.

Please note that if you have a TM key containing a glossary, associated with your project, but you are not the owner of that key, you can't modify the glossary.

Export a glossary

If you need to export your Glossary, just click "Export Glossary" from the dropdown, and a link to download it (in.csv format) will be sent to an email address of your choice.

Tips and workarounds

Case 1: I only need a blacklist to flag forbidden terms in the target

You can create a glossary that only has the "Forbidden" column, a column for the locale that you want to ban the words in and a column for another random locale. This way, Matecat will accept the file and the words will be correctly flagged as forbidden while working on a job.

Case 2: I have to update a large glossary that takes a long time to upload.

If you need to update a very large multi-combination glossary that takes a long time to import, upload a file that only has the updated locales in it and any other locale with which you wish them to be combined: this way, you will have the same result as reuploading the whole glossary again, but quicker.