Cannot create new Termbase in Multiterm

Question

Hi everyone, 
 I am new to Trados Studio and Multiterm. I tried to create a new Termbase in Multiterm for several time but the message "Multiterm is unable to create the termbase. Not a vaild name" popped up. 
 May I ask how to solve this problem? 
 regards 
 Jennifer

Paul · Answer

Jennifer Chu 
 Change the name? 
 If you share the exact name you used we may be able to explain why it's a problem... but typically MultiTerm behaves better with paths and filenames that are all in western chars and no diacritics.

Paul · Answer

Jennifer Chu 
 It might be a common feature, but it doesn't mean you don't have to learn how to work with it properly. When you store large files such as Translation Memories (TMs) and Termbases in OneDrive, various synchronisation issues can arise. These issues often stem from the nature of cloud storage and the way large files are handled during the sync process. While some of these issues may be outside your control, there are several aspects you can manage to mitigate potential problems. For example: 
 
 Configure OneDrive to selectively sync folders that contain critical resources. This can help avoid unnecessary data transfer and reduce the risk of sync conflicts. 
 Perhaps pause OneDrive syncing while actively working with large TMs and Termbases to prevent partial uploads or sync conflicts. 
 Maintain local backups of their TMs and Termbases to ensure data is not lost if a sync issue occurs. This practice helps in quickly restoring the resources without relying solely on cloud storage. 
 
 OneDrive is no different to any other backup system, and it has not been built with support for specific software in mind. I have other software on my computer that uses large files, like Camtasia for example, and this has the same problem. So I have to manage what I'm doing and use these backup solutions appropriately. 
 Trados does support you working in the cloud and we also provide you with cloud capabilities as part of your Trados licence. But we don't support you working with shared drives as these are all tools that you can work with if you learn how to do this to support your needs. They are not a one size fits all.

Ozzie O · Answer

Jennifer, "New Termbase" (that is, "New Termbase.sdltb") is the default name when creating a termbase. You can keep it like that or use a name to your liking. Question: if your computer OS is in Chinese, do you mean to say that "New Termbase" is written in Chinese characters? In English? Please, clarify.

Regarding your computer OS in Chinese, the issue about your inability to create a new termbase may be due to how Windows handles the name of your termbase. First of all, there are forbidden characters when naming a file or a folder, these include <, >, :, /, \, |, ?, ", and *. Obviously, in a PC in Chinese, Windows will replace these characters accordingly with different Unicode characters to ensure file name compatibility.

I will surmise that the regional settings you are using in your PC are set to use a non-Unicode code page, such as GBK (also known as GB2312 or CP936), which can lead to issues with file naming and character representation.

To solve these issues with GBK in Windows, you can try changing the code page to a Unicode-compatible setting:

1. Go to **Control Panel** > **Region and Language**
2. Click on **Change date, time, or number format** (or equivalent)
3. Select **Unicode** as the default language
4. Restart your system.

Summarizing, your problem is related to whether the character encoding in your PC is based on GBK or on Unicode. (my guess).

On the other hand, whether using OneDrive (or Google Drive) or not, does not make any difference.

Trados Studio > 4. MultiTerm

Cannot create new Termbase in Multiterm