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

Paul · Accepted Answer

Jouni Jakonen

Indeed, much trickier to reliably find them. I note the advanced display filter cannot find these ether... probably why the approach changed in later versions! However, you could try this:

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_source = trans_unit.find('.//seg-source', namespaces)
            if seg_source is None:
                continue
                
            seg_markers = seg_source.findall('.//mrk[@mtype="seg"]', namespaces)
            location_markers = seg_source.findall('.//mrk[@mtype="x-sdl-location"]', namespaces)
            
            # Only process if multiple segments and any location markers exist
            if len(seg_markers) > 1 and len(location_markers) > 0:
                for i, marker in enumerate(seg_markers):
                    segment_id = marker.get('mid')
                    segment_text = ''.join(marker.itertext()).strip()
                    
                    # Consider it merged if:
                    # - It's the first segment (often merged in your examples)
                    # - OR it contains an x-sdl-location marker
                    has_location_within = len(marker.findall('.//mrk[@mtype="x-sdl-location"]', namespaces)) > 0
                    is_first_segment = (i == 0)
                    
                    if is_first_segment or has_location_within:
                        results.append({
                            'segment_id': segment_id,
                            'source_text': segment_text,
                            'merge_type': 'MergedSegment (old format)',
                            'filename': file_path.name
                        })
        
        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()

The approach here identifies merged segments in older SDLXLIFF files by:

Targeting multi-segment <trans-unit> elements with <mrk mtype="x-sdl-location"> tags.
Flagging the first segment and any with internal x-sdl-location markers as merged.
Reporting these with filename, ID, text, and merge type.

This balances specificity (catching #1 and #5 as your samples) with generality (no ID hardcoding), using the best structural clues available. So surely not perfect but might be helpful if you're having problems and need to find them!

Paul Filkin | RWS

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Jouni Jakonen · Answer

Great Paul, I admire your patience and perseverance with this! I was able to confirm that this really works . 
 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

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