I'm reading through the entire on-line manual and, by coincidence, I've just hit a section about exactly this - and that demonstrates that I don't understand something in the terminology.

The passage is: "Main translation memories are any translation memories that are added to a project. A main translation memory can be local or server-based translation memory. Project translation memories contain translations that have been taken from the main translation memories that you selected for a project." (docs.sdl.com/.../GUID-A1325586-CB7B-4C56-9C2E-26D760546410

What I don't understand here: I created the TM when I created the project. The TM should hold things from the files I made it from, not some other ("main") TM, no? And I thought the main TM would be a default, general, supra-project TM. I have something wrong, here, obviously, but I can't quite figure out what. I just reworked security permissions to get access to my own files and now I'm verifying all the files before finalizing them, which may help. But I'd still like to make sure I know what all this means.

I should add that I've just installed 2017 and started moving files over. I don't think I even have brought any TMs over - there may not BE a TM other than the one I created for (and as part of) this project from those files.

KEY: the REASON I created a project TM was to control suggestions (I'm thrilled about the idea of using fragment matches for suggestions). I figure I can keep a TM for each area topic (legal, medical, whatever) and then combine them when and how and to the extent I like, rather than having one mass TM. Will that not work?

ok - definitely misunderstanding things here.

What I don't understand here: I created the TM when I created the project. The TM should hold things from the files I made it from, not some other ("main") TM, no?

No. The Main TM can be a TM you create when you create your Project or it can be any number of TMs you already have that you add to your project.  It doesn't necessarily contain anything from the files in your Project, unless you have translated these files, or parts of them, before.  There is no TM update at this stage from the source files.  So if you create a TM at this stage it will obviously be empty and won't be populated until you start translating.

And I thought the main TM would be a default, general, supra-project TM.

No.  A Project TM is like a scratch pad TM.  This is created in addition to your Main TM if you use the create Project TM batch task when you prepare your project.  So you have these options:

If you select just "Prepare" then you'll get this "Project TM".  Now when you work all your translations will be updated interactively into the "Project TM(s)" and not your "Main TM(s)".  You only add them to your "Main TM" at the end of your Project (or whenever you feel like it) using the "Update Main TM" batch task.

You can still create multiple TMs for your subject matter if this is the way you wish to work, but they are still "Main TMs".  The Project TM is populated from the Main TM based on content in the Main TM that matches the content of the source files.  So if you use the defaults, 70% fuzzy, then you should get anything found in your Main TM that would have been a 70% match or higher, placed into your Project TM.  This way you work with a TM that is maybe a few hundred, or thousand Translation Units, as opposed to the Main TM that might contain a million.

Hope that helps a little.

Hi Agnes du Perray 

You don't have to do any of this, but if you want to use these different phases for your own translation management then you just open the file in different ways.  If you douoble click the file in your Project it will always open in Translation mode.  But if you use the commands on the ribbon you'll see you can open for Translation, for Review or for Sign-off.  All this does is stamp the segments with a different status so you can manage the process in a controlled way.  It's not required to make the product work correctly... it's just a feature you can choose to use or not.

Hi Paul,

sorry, will keep the conversation here so that we don't duplicate questions and answers. So if I don't have to go through the review and sign-off process, how do I make sure my TM is updated when I finalize my project, or files ?
Skype won't work for me on this PC, sorry.

It must be clearly explained in one of the quick guides or documentation, it's just that I can't find it. I've looked at the TM management quick guide and it is not explained (a big miss IMHO).

Thanks anyway for trying to help, I'm sure I'll get it done someday. I have managed to Align documents and feed my TM with previously translated files, so in the worst case scenario I will continue doing that as new files keep being added to the project, but it is frustrating because I know there is a quick and automatic way to do it and I can't seem to manage.

Unknown said:

Skype won't work for me on this PC, sorry.

We could use Chrome Remote Desktop if you use Chrome, or perhaps I can just call you and answer your questions?  This is going to take a while to keep answering like this and guessing what you are doing... it is Friday night!

Unknown said:

I've looked at the TM management quick guide and it is not explained (a big miss IMHO).

TM Management has nothing to do with this process!

I'm sure the answer is really very simple.