Never getting matches Thread poster: robertorod
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Trados is never giving me any matches unless it finds the exact pair. I have checked the Translation memory and by the pairs that appear there , it should at least provide me a fuzzy one. But it invariable answers that there is no match. The TM has pairs that I imported from previous translations related to the same subject. I have checked with many pages of documents related to the same content in the TM and same result: not one single match. One single different word and no match provided. ... See more Trados is never giving me any matches unless it finds the exact pair. I have checked the Translation memory and by the pairs that appear there , it should at least provide me a fuzzy one. But it invariable answers that there is no match. The TM has pairs that I imported from previous translations related to the same subject. I have checked with many pages of documents related to the same content in the TM and same result: not one single match. One single different word and no match provided. If I have to translate manually each one of the pairs, what's the point of having Trados? What am I missing or doing wrong with this famous program? ▲ Collapse | | |
Have you set specific TM options? | Aug 4, 2008 |
Hi Robert (?), the most obvious reason I can think of is the match percentage is set too high in Translator's workbench. Did you set TM options? If not, simply choose Options>Translation Memory Options in Workbench and then set the match values (General tab) and Concordance values (Concordance tab) accordingly. Make sure that the Start Concordance Search if no Segment Match is Found option is checked, otherwise the application will not look up concordances. Hope this solves yo... See more Hi Robert (?), the most obvious reason I can think of is the match percentage is set too high in Translator's workbench. Did you set TM options? If not, simply choose Options>Translation Memory Options in Workbench and then set the match values (General tab) and Concordance values (Concordance tab) accordingly. Make sure that the Start Concordance Search if no Segment Match is Found option is checked, otherwise the application will not look up concordances. Hope this solves your problem Annelise ▲ Collapse | | |
Still not even close matches | Aug 4, 2008 |
Hello Annelise, Thanks so much for your reply. I´ve played with those options and still not getting matches. In fact I lowered all percentages so that it may find any possible match. The Concordance Search does show isolated words it found, but they are not really useful, since I still have to type the whole translation myself. The CS is just showing instances where similar words appear. But the sentences are totally dissimilar. I fed the TM using the Align Translated Files ... See more Hello Annelise, Thanks so much for your reply. I´ve played with those options and still not getting matches. In fact I lowered all percentages so that it may find any possible match. The Concordance Search does show isolated words it found, but they are not really useful, since I still have to type the whole translation myself. The CS is just showing instances where similar words appear. But the sentences are totally dissimilar. I fed the TM using the Align Translated Files feature with content from two already translated documents with same content. I cannot say though that the new document and the two that were fed necessarily contain instances of one to sentences. Have you been using Trados for a while?. When you started using it first, did it give you 100 percent (or even approximate matches) immediately? Could it be that it needs a certain basic number of pairs in memory in order to start giving 100% matches? I'll really appreciate your comments about the results you got and are getting with Trados. Roberto ▲ Collapse | | |
Yes, bee using it for a while | Aug 4, 2008 |
Hi roberto, I have used it almost everyday ever since I have settled as a freelancer and before that I used several CAT tools. I don't think the application is the problem here, and I have never had this problem. Maybe you should try to reorganise your TM, by choosing File>Reorganise : it will re-generate indexes in your TM and thus you should be able to get the 100% matches you are expecting, if there are any. Annelise | |
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Matches depend on being matches there? | Aug 4, 2008 |
Hi Annelise, I think your "if there are any" at the end of your answer is the key. What if there aren't any? I mean, when the program finds an exact match, OK, it puts it there, problem is that it almost never finds it, because there aren´t any 100% matches. I have just tried with about 20 different segments of different lengths. Out of those it only found 2 perfect matches. In all the others it just said: No match! or it gave those fuzzy or isolated words matching th... See more Hi Annelise, I think your "if there are any" at the end of your answer is the key. What if there aren't any? I mean, when the program finds an exact match, OK, it puts it there, problem is that it almost never finds it, because there aren´t any 100% matches. I have just tried with about 20 different segments of different lengths. Out of those it only found 2 perfect matches. In all the others it just said: No match! or it gave those fuzzy or isolated words matching that forces me to write the whole thing as if I were not using Trados. I'm still thinking if this is a matter of either "all or none". I expected at least a fuzzy approximation to at least 50% of the sentences. No getting even that. I have already tried re-organizing the TM, but results are the same. The question that remains is: could it be a matter of using it for some time until it "learns more". The other issue is that, even though sentences could repeat themselves sometimes, mostly in their structure, the words in them could be different, and one single different word is causing this "No match" result. No matter the configuration for Concordance, Penalties, etc I set there. It does not find a match, because there isn't a match. Could it be there will never be? You say you had good results from the very beginning? Did you start also by feeding TM with content from documents already translated, or memory was empty when you started? Did you get 100% full matches all the time when you started, or you had a high percentage of no matches at the very beginning? When did it begin to improve? Your answers could give me an idea of what to expect? The whole thing is: Should I be patient and work as if I were not working with Trados and wait until Trados gives the right perfomance? The other thing is that I am just trying Trados, have not purchased it yet. And my decision to purchase depends basically on its perfomance. I will be posting a few images on a web page showing the results I have in order to show several people that use Trados. Thank you for following me Roberto ▲ Collapse | | |
Well I am not sure I am following you | Aug 5, 2008 |
Hi Roberto, I am not sure you understand right the purpose of a program like trados. Basically a translation memory is like a database: you first have to add data to it before you can use it. Like any "stupid" IT program, it only uses the material you provide. So unless you already translated several files containing the same sentences as the file you have to translate now, you won't get any 100% matches, because trados, like any other CAT tool, cannot make translations of its own. ... See more Hi Roberto, I am not sure you understand right the purpose of a program like trados. Basically a translation memory is like a database: you first have to add data to it before you can use it. Like any "stupid" IT program, it only uses the material you provide. So unless you already translated several files containing the same sentences as the file you have to translate now, you won't get any 100% matches, because trados, like any other CAT tool, cannot make translations of its own. It has to be "fed" with translations. Most of the time, I receive TMs from my clients and so I get matches, because these TMs have been regularly fed with new translations for weeks, months or years. If you only translated few files til now, it is quite normal you are not getting high fuzzies (very similar sentences) or 100% matches. But you can still use the concordance feature so as to make sure you use a consistent terminology throughout all projects. And even though you don't get matches, it is important to update your TM with your translations, because it helps you keep track of the terminology and the style used for a particular client. Until you get matches from it one day. You jut have to be patient and maybe get some training on the tool, but if you regularly work for the same clients or in the same areas, I would advise you use a CAT tool anyway:-) Cheers, Annelise ▲ Collapse | | |
Understood and thanks | Aug 5, 2008 |
Thank you for your support. From what I have done till now I can confirm that it is as you say. I really thought that they had managed to create a program that will quickly learn from what you feed it. I now know that it may take months until it starts giving me at least 30% of exact matches. I'll have to be patient, as you say, and continue translating through the Workbench windows until Trados learns something. Bye and and best wishes Roberto | | |
Birthe Omark Denmark Local time: 15:44 Member (2006) French to Danish + ... Penalty for alignment ? | Aug 5, 2008 |
Hi Robert, You wrote that you had created the TM from aligning previously translated documents. Have a look at the Translation Memory Options in the Tools menu. Go to the tab 'Penalties'. You will see that the default for aligned TU's is 2% - this means that you will NEVER get a 100% match. You may want to juggle those penalty settings, and maybe this will help you. Good luck, and don't exasperate. Birthe | | |