Under Community Review

Smart TM Cleanup: A Lifesaver for Accidental XLIFF Imports!

Dear Trados Team,

I hope there is already such a feature, that I am not aware of, so please pardon me if there is one!

I’d like to suggest a feature that could be a real game-changer for both novice and professional translators using Trados Studio.

Imagine this: a translator — even a seasoned one — mistakenly imports poorly translated XLIFF files into a high-quality Translation Memory (TM). The result? A compromised TM filled with inaccurate segments that are hard to undo.

Currently, there’s no quick or elegant way to reverse such an action. That’s why I propose a new "Segment Cleanup" feature:
 Arrow right️ The ability to remove TM segments that match those found in one or more XLIFF files.
This would allow users to “roll back” accidental imports by identifying and deleting all segments that came from flawed XLIFF files.

Of course, best practice dictates using a temporary or “dummy” TM first and importing final results afterward — but mistakes happen, especially under deadlines. A feature like this would provide an extra layer of safety and flexibility.

I believe this would be relatively straightforward to implement and would significantly boost user confidence in managing their TMs with precision and peace of mind.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Best regards,
Sameh

Cartoon of a worried TM file with bandages on a hospital bed, surrounded by medical staff holding a clipboard labeled 'XLIFF Segment Match Removal Protocol'. Text reads 'We need to remove the contaminated segments, stat!' and 'When bad translations slip into your TM, Trados performs emergency cleanup surgery!'.

Parents
  •  doesn't batch delete solve this?  You need to have something to hook onto... a date the import occurred, username maybe... but a batch delete would do it I think.  If not, why not?

  • Hi Paul,

    Thank God, I just finished creating my stand-alone App for this and it is working like a charm. You can paste one or multiple XLIFF files and multiple SDLTMs and this will clean the All Tms, removing those same segments in the XLIFF files from the TM, while keeping everything else intact (other Translation Units). It is not an Open Exchange APP, but rather a standalone APP that does the task for me very well. Now Paul, any recommendations if I should share this on the AppStore? Please let me know as inshallah, this is just the beinning and I am inshallah planning to do my best to implement my own ideas that I wanted for years to implement. 

    All the best.

    Sameh,

    Sam's TWAS SDLTM Cleaner interface showing options to add SDLXLIFF and SDLTM files, a Start Cleaning button, and a processing log area.

  • We do live in interesting times! If you want to put it on the AppStore then send an email to app-signing@rws.com and the team there will help you to do that.

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