It seems to me that SDL's conception of how termbases are used - i.e. as essentially static connections - does not reflect the fluidity with which translators can switch and shuffle termbases during the life of a project.

I translate a lot of materials in which the end client has very specific requests for what term to use for certain financial or engineering concepts. What this means is that I frequently want to save a term to a specific termbase that is not the current default termbase. For example, I might be in a situation (as I was just now) where I am operating with a company-specific termbase as default but I want to save a general financial term to my "general" termbase.

Currently the way I do this is to pick up the mouse, click on the Project Termbase Settings, select the termbase, click on the arrow button until it becomes default, click on the annoying (and for my purposes) pointless "language has changed" dialog box, click OK, add term, then go back through the whole procedure in reverse to change the default termbase to what it was before.

As I do this frequently it becomes a clunky and irritating operation that takes me right out of my translating flow.

I have two questions. First, are there any existing tools or plug-ins that allow me to switch termbases more quickly and easily?

Second, if no such tools exist, shouldn't there be something in Studio that allows this?

Essentially I'm envisaging of a ctrl-tab equivalent for termbases. You hit a key combination and a list of the project termbases pops up with the termbase after the current default selected, you either release the ctrl-tab equivalent key to select this (which becomes the default), or you keep hitting the hot key until you get the one you want, then release. Then you add your term and hit the ctrl-tab equivalent to return to the previous default. Vastly simplified over the current setup.

Oh, and we also need a setting to disable the popup warning of a language change. This morning I have three termbases, each Japanese/US English, but I get this warning every time they change. It serves no functional purpose in such a context.

Thanks,

Dan