This post is addressed to new users who have started working on their first file in SDL Trados Studio and find that translated segments aren’t getting sent to their Translation Memory (TM). A segment comes up in the document that is identical to one you have already translated but there are no Translation Results in the top window, no signs of autopropagation and no 100% matches. So how can you solve this problem?

Here are some DOs and DON’Ts to troubleshoot the issue:

Do:

1. Make sure you assigned a TM when you opened the document or created the project. Use the add or create buttons to do this.
   

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2. Confirm segments as you translate.
   If you use Ctrl+Enter to advance to the next segment, the translated segment will be confirmed (notice the status icon changes) and it’ll be sent to your TM. Move the cursor back up to the previous segment after using Ctrl+Enter. The translation unit should now appear in the Translation Results window.
3. Check you actually have a TM in your project.
   Go to Project settings>tools>options>language pairs>all language pairs>Translation memory and automated translation. Have you got at least one TM in this window? If you haven’t, then you need to add an already existing TM, or create a new one.
4. After confirming that your project has got a TM assigned, make sure you’ve enabled the “update” box following the path mentioned in point 3. Depending on your Windows font settings, this dialogue window sometimes cuts off and the update box disappears.
   

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5. Make sure that you are updating the TM in your general settings.
   Go to Tools>options>editor>automation and check that the “Update translation memory” option is selected.
   

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6. Check whether you’re using a project TM without realising it.
   By default, a project TM is not used. If, however, you’ve been getting look-up results in the Editor window and then see an empty TM when you open it in the Translation Memories window, you may have opened the wrong TM, or you may have done the translation with a project TM.
7. Try running one of these batch tasks: Update Main Translation Memories or Finalize. The difference between the two is that Finalize generates the target document as well as updating the main TM. Access Batch Tasks like this: Go to the Files View, select your target language, right click the translated file and select Batch Tasks.
8. Enable the right boxes when you run a batch task. You’ll probably want to tick Translated, Translation approved, and Signed off.

And a big don’t:

Don’t confuse the Translation Memories window with the translation process itself. The Translation Memories window (bottom left-hand corner on the Home screen) is where you open a TM to see what it contains and to carry out maintenance on it. Don’t open a TM in the Translation Memories window if you want to translate a file. Assign your TM to the project you’re working on (or add it when you’re opening a document to translate).

If you have been through all the above points and your TM is still not being updated, as a last resort you can import your translated file into the TM. Go to View>Translation Memories, then File>Open>Translation Memory (or simply click Alt+Shift+O from anywhere in Studio). Now go to File>Import and select the translated sdlxliff file.
Hey! Your TM is now bang up to date!