How to prevent merging segments in SDL Trados Studio

Question

Hi, is it possible to prevent merging segments within same paragraph when creating a project in SDL Trados Studio and sending a package for translation? Further question if we cannot prevent merging segments, is there a way to check if segments have been merged? I know that you can open an sdlxliff file in Studio and visually check if the segment numbering is continous, but is there a way to automate the check? 
 Many thanks 
 Jouni

Jesús Prieto · Answer

Jouni Jakonen 
 Oh, sorry, I had missunderstood! 
 There is no way to prevent the translator for merging segments (more on this below), but you can verify if he/she has done that (which is your 2nd question). 
 To check if the translator has merged segment, go to the Advanced Display Filter , select the Segment tab, tick the following check boxes, and press Apply Filter : 
 
 If there are merged segments, those segments are merged (you&rsquo;ll note some segment numbers missing if you remove the filter). 
 Last, you can &ldquo;prevent&rdquo; the translator from merging segments across paragraphs if you set the project like that: 
 
 or like that: 
 
 But nothing prevents the translator to change the projects settings to: 
 
 So back to square one: you can&rsquo;t prevent translators from merging segments.

Jouni Jakonen · Answer

Brilliant! I did not realize to check the Advanced Filter settings! This helps a lot. 
 Jouni

Paul · Answer

Jouni Jakonen 
 And in case it's useful... here's a python script you can run on a folder with SDLXLIFF files in it: 
 import os
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
from pathlib import Path

def parse_sdlxliff_file(file_path):
 try:
 tree = ET.parse(file_path)
 root = tree.getroot()
 
 namespaces = {
 'sdl': 'http://sdl.com/FileTypes/SdlXliff/1.0',
 '': 'urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.2'
 }
 
 results = []
 for trans_unit in root.findall('.//trans-unit', namespaces):
 seg_mrk = trans_unit.find('.//seg-source/mrk[@mtype="seg"]', namespaces)
 segment_id = seg_mrk.get('mid') if seg_mrk is not None else "Not found"
 
 source_elem = trans_unit.find('source', namespaces)
 source_text = source_elem.text if source_elem is not None else "Not found"
 
 merge_status_elem = trans_unit.find(
 './/sdl:seg-defs/sdl:seg/sdl:value[@key="MergeStatus"]', 
 namespaces
 )
 merge_type = merge_status_elem.text if merge_status_elem is not None else None
 
 if merge_type in ["MergedParagraph", "MergedSegment"]:
 results.append({
 'segment_id': segment_id,
 'source_text': source_text,
 'merge_type': merge_type,
 'filename': file_path.name # Add filename from the path
 })
 
 return results
 
 except ET.ParseError:
 return []
 except Exception:
 return []

def process_sdlxliff_folder():
 folder_path = input("Please enter the folder path containing sdlxliff files: ")
 
 if not os.path.isdir(folder_path):
 return
 
 sdlxliff_files = list(Path(folder_path).glob('*.sdlxliff'))
 
 for file_path in sdlxliff_files:
 results = parse_sdlxliff_file(file_path)
 
 for result in results:
 print(f"File: {result['filename']}")
 print(f"Segment #{result['segment_id']}:")
 print(f"Source: {result['source_text']}")
 print(f"Merge Type: {result['merge_type']}")
 print("-" * 50)

def main():
 try:
 process_sdlxliff_folder()
 except KeyboardInterrupt:
 pass

if __name__ == "__main__":
 main() 
 Returns something like this: 
 Please enter the folder path containing sdlxliff files: c:\Users\pfilkin\OneDrive - RWS\Documents\SDL\TESTING\Jouni Jakonen\Merged Segments\ 
 File: 02 - merged.xlsx.sdlxliff Segment #2: Source: Parameter Specification Merge Type: MergedParagraph -------------------------------------------------- File: 02 - merged.xlsx.sdlxliff Segment #7: Source: 50 Hz Capacity Merge Type: MergedParagraph -------------------------------------------------- File: 04 - merged.docx.sdlxliff Segment #49: Source: The Green Future Wind Farm is a sustainable project that aligns with global climate goals. By implementing robust mitigation measures, the project aims to minimise environmental impact while maximising clean energy production. Merge Type: MergedSegment -------------------------------------------------- 
 Could be helpful if you have a lot of files and don't want to have to manually check every one.

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How to prevent merging segments in SDL Trados Studio