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Order of files in virtual merge

Ignacio Niveiro

Hi all,

 

I have a problem, one I am surprised by not having found any information in the internet, which seems quite strange as I believe my problem must have happened to a multitude of translators.

I now have Trados Studio 2017, but I believe this is not version-dependent. So here it goes.

 

I created a large project consisting on 14 smaller files which make up one manual, from the befinning to the end. I am a fanatic of virtual merge so I work opening all files at the same time, So far so good.

 

The problem lies in the order of “virtual merging”. I have noticed that the order of the files (I just copy pasted them from the Explorer window to the Files window in the relevant step when creating the project) does not match the natural order of the manual. I'd like to rearrange the files  so when I open them by “virtual merge”. they open in the right order and not in a random order they are.

 

I have to say that the 14 files have names that are not arranged numerically. For instance, one file is called Ship interior, another is called Ship exterior, another is Engines, etc. I mention this because their names are NOT Project1, Project2, Project3, etc. All in all, THE FILES ARE NOT LISTED CONSECUTIVELY.

Therefore, I need to be able to "virtual merge" this files in a particular order, or arrange them somehow so the virtual merging starts with the file named “Cover page” and not “Machinery”, and then goes to "Introduction", and not "Appendix". Any ideas of how to do so?

 

I mention I have been already working in this for 10 days so I'd rather not recreate the project if possible, unless it's the only way. :(

 

EDIT: I have discovered that if you pick the files one by one (in the Files tab), you can go any order you like using Control+Left click, and Trados will virtual merge the files in the order you selected them. That's rather annoyiing, as I have to do that each time I open Trados and I'd like this to stick.

 

Please help. I hope I explained the issue acceptably!
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  • 0 in reply to Paul
    Hmm.. Thanks for your quick answer Paul...

    Seems a tad user-unfriendly, doesn't it? I mean, I suppose your answre means there is no way to do it within Trados and you have to process it somehow... I'll check it but as I am now under a tight schedule, I am afraid I can't spend some time to discern its workings!

    However, when I am ready to look at it carefully, I surely will! However, it would be a nice addition for future versions or updates.. and it would certainly empower "virtual merge"!
  • 0 in reply to Ignacio Niveiro
    Why not select the files manually in the order you wish them to open? Just click the first file to open, then press and keep CTRL pressed, while clicking further file in the desired order. This will open them exactly in the way you need it.

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  • 0 in reply to Jerzy Czopik

    As Ignacio explained in his edit, having to manually select files EVERY TIME is quite annoying. Especially if you have rather many files :(.
    Again, one would expect the software to behave logically and user-friendly...

    (My guess is that the virtually-merged files are ordered according to their internal GUIDs, or something similarly illogical from user's perspective)

     : Instead of virtual merge, you will be better off by merging the files during creation of the project. You can order the files as you wish during this step and they will then retain the order.
  • 0 in reply to Evzen Polenka

    Unknown said:
    My guess is that the virtually-merged files are ordered according to their internal GUIDs, or something similarly illogical from user's perspective

    Not sure I understand this Evzen.  Virtually merged files are ordered in the order you select them or, if you select them all with Ctrl+A, in the order they are in when you look at them in the files view.

    I guess what Ignacio is after is a way to select the files in any order at all, and this may or may not have any logic to it that a computer could work out, and then save this order so you can reuse it later.

    Unknown said:
    Again, one would expect the software to behave logically and user-friendly...

    How would you see this working Evzen?  Keep in mind that not everyone will want the same order to be automatically reused every time.

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • 0 in reply to Paul
    Okay, reading Ignacio's post couple more times I guess I have totally misunderstood the whole thing... as it seems it's not about virtual merge order at all, but about custom-ordering PROJECT FILES in general... which is completely different story (and can be achieved only by merging the files during project creation, as I suggested).
    This merging has some drawbacks, though... as was already discussed in the past, there is no "un-merge" (for unknown reason), so there might be unwanted consequences...
  • 0 in reply to Evzen Polenka

    Ok, let me re-explain the situation. I am translating a large project, an owner's manual for a ship. I did not prepare the files, my agency prepared them for me, and what they did was to divide the large project into several Trados files, each of them named after a section in the manual. Hence, I have a file named Cover Page.sdlxliff, another called Engine.sdlxliff, another called Equipment.sdlxliff, and so on. You get the picture, right

    My method of work is as follows. As I have to return the files as I got them (can't change number or name of files), I created a project to work on. I did not bother on choosing a particular file order for the project creation for 2 reasons: first, I did not think it would be significant (that is, it didn't occur to me) and second, I did not really know the correct file order as I didn't have the entire manual as reference (I can imagine Cover Page will be the first file in the manual, but I had no idea whether Engine section went before or after Safety procedures...)

    When working in the project, I use virtual merge as it's easier to me for several reasons: first I get an overall view of the project, and second, if I have to make any Search and Replace (something I do very often, for example, when changing measurements to Spanish format. For instance, you can change all 1.5km to 1,5 km easily with Search and Replace and regular expressions!). That way, I can do global changes to all files, something that is a life saver.

    The problem is this. When I want to do a virtual merge to work on the project, I find there is NO WAY to establish virtual merging order. This is my Files tab.

    You can see, from the order they are arranged, that the first file is Appendix, which is not good. It's true that I can go one by one selecting all files with CTRL key, but having to do that every single translating session is annoying. I think the software would allow me to move those files up and down (that is something that can be done, for instance, with Translation Memories priority) but it seems forgetful and mistaken that Trados won't allow for a way to sort these file names any way you like.

     

    I hope I now have explained this better. Since it seems there is no way to do this within the system, how can I go propose this change for a future Trados Studio update? I can't imagine why nobody has ever come up with such idea before, the order of virtual merging IS IMPORTANT! And we sometimes can't use real merging and we have to stick to virtual merging! (we may have to keep the files as they were sent to us, for example!!!)

     

    Thank y'all
  • 0 in reply to Ignacio Niveiro
    Hi ,

    I think we do understand the problem. Evzen gave you the solution that will work for you by merging the files when you create your project. This way you have one sdlxliff to work with in the order you wish.

    On your suggestion... being able to move them up and down might be ok for a project with a few files in it, but I don't think it'll be too useful for much larger projects. Having said that, it's not a bad idea for use when appropriate and I'd recommend you post this in the ideas site rather than here - http://ideas.sdl.com

    In the meantime, I'd just rename the files for translation as it's simple enough to do, and then undo the renaming once you have completed the project and saved your target files.

    Paul

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • 0 in reply to Paul
    Thanks, Paul,

    Unfortunately, I need to work with the files I was given, and at the time I started the project, I did not know the correct order. Besides, I am not sure whether sorting the files at the project creation stage would help me with the Virtual Merge I need to use... if I create the files sorting them in a particular order, that order will be kept in the Files tab? I am not sure, I will have to check it out.

    And let me disagree with you. With much larger projects, it will be more useful, not less. The proof is simple, imagine I have this same problem but instead of having 8 files, I have 80... :-OOO

    I will definitely post the idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • 0 in reply to Ignacio Niveiro

    Unknown said:
    And let me disagree with you. With much larger projects, it will be more useful, not less. The proof is simple, imagine I have this same problem but instead of having 8 files, I have 80... :-OOO

    That's not a large project ;-)  Now imagine 6000 files in 500 subfolders.  How useful would it be in this scenario?

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!
    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

  • 0 in reply to Paul
    I would better let users to judge the usefulness... the history has proven way-too-many of those "we know what you (don't) need" theoreticians to be wrong... (remember the 640kB which should have been enough for everyone? ;-) ).
    The truth is that the existing possibility to Ctrl-click the files in desired order before virtually merging them is really very well hidden from users... IMO a sign of functionality being 'patched' to the product without proper context and/or UX design.