Export, as a TMX file, only the Translation Memory (TM) entries that a project's work units saved. You don't have to export the whole TM. Use it to keep an external TM in sync right after you deliver a project or a work unit.
💡 Who is this for? Account Admins and Project Managers. You need the Project Export or Import file permission (People > Users > [User] > Permissions), which both roles have by default.
What a TM updates export contains
A work unit is one file in one target language of a project. As a project's translations are saved to its TMs, each TM entry remembers the last work unit that saved it.
A TM updates export includes the entries whose current version was saved by the work units you choose. A TMX file (Translation Memory eXchange, the standard TM file format) is created for each TM, with:
The source and the target of each entry.
A
work_unit_idproperty on each target, which identifies the work unit that saved it.
Example: work unit A saves "Hello → Olá" to your TM. Later, work unit B changes the same entry to "Hello → Oi". A TM updates export for work unit B includes "Hello → Oi". An export for work unit A doesn't include the entry, because its current version belongs to work unit B.
ℹ️ Entries that are not included:
Entries that another work unit overwrote later, as in the example above.
Entries whose text was changed outside a work unit, for example edited on the Translation Memory page or replaced by a TM import. These entries no longer belong to any work unit.
Translations the TM skipped instead of saving.
This export is not the TMX in the Loc-kit. The Loc-kit TMX contains the TM matches offered to the linguist for a work unit. TM updates contains what the work units saved back to the TM. To export a whole TM, see How to export the Translation Memory.
1. Open the TM updates export
Go to Projects and open the project. The work units list is on the project's Overview tab. You can start the export from three places, depending on what you want to export.
The whole project or the selected work units
To export only some work units, first select their checkboxes in the work units list.
Click Import/Export above the work units list.
Under Export, select TM updates (TMX).
Click one of the following: * Whole project at workflow to export what every work unit at one workflow step saved. You choose the workflow step in the next window. * Selected Work Units to export only what the selected work units saved. The number next to it shows how many work units are selected.
One work unit
In the work units list, click … at the end of the work unit's row.
Click Export TM updates.
The selected tasks
On the project's Tasks tab, click Loc-kit. Under TM updates (TMX), click Whole project at workflow, or select tasks in the list and click Selected tasks.
2. Choose the TMs and export
The Export TM updates window lists each TM the project saves to and how many Entries the selected work units saved in it.
If you chose Whole project at workflow, check the workflow step at the top of the window. The first step is selected by default. If you choose another step, the entry counts update.
Select the TMs to export. Every TM with entries is selected by default. A TM with 0 entries can't be selected.
Click Export.
What happens next depends on how many TMs you export:
One TM: the TMX file downloads when it's ready, and the window closes.
More than one TM: each TM shows its status (Queued or Exporting). When a TM's file is ready, click Download on its row. Each TM has its own file.
💡 Large exports can take a few minutes. You can close the window while the export runs. Keep the project page open: the files download automatically when they're ready.
Troubleshooting
Message | What it means | What to do |
This project does not save to any translation memory. | None of the project's TMs receive the work units' translations. | On the project's Context tab, under Translation Memories, check that at least one TM has Write selected. |
No translation memory entries were saved by this selection. | The work units you chose didn't save any entry that still belongs to them. | Check that the work units' translations were saved to the TM. Entries overwritten later or edited outside a work unit are not exported. |
Some TM updates could not be exported. The others are ready to download. | At least one TM failed, and the rest are ready. | Download the files that are ready, then export the failed TM again. |
Failed to export TM updates | None of the TMs could be exported. | Export again. If it fails again, contact support. |
The export is taking longer than expected. Close this window and export again later. | The export didn't finish within 30 minutes. | Close the window and export again later. |