Exchanging translation documents through XLIFF files

XLIFF is a standard format for exchanging multilingual content between various systems. The acronym stands for XML Localization Interchange Format File. Through its support for the XLIFF format, memoQ can co-operate with numerous translation tools and content management systems (CMS). XLIFF files are XML files that are more or less readable to the human eye and perfectly readable to other programs (provided they also have XLIFF support).

For more on XLIFF files as the means of interoperating with other tools, see the Exchange formats – other tools: XLIFF topic.

You can also use XLIFF to exchange bilingual translation documents between two copies of memoQ. Through XLIFF you can transfer translation documents and static views to another computer without losing information. All translation documents and static views can be exported into XLIFF files.

By default, an XLIFF file exported from memoQ has all the information stored in a translation document. If you export a translation document into an XLIFF file, and import it into memoQ on another computer, you will be able to export the translation with the original formatting – without asking for the original source document or returning the document to the originating computer. More specifically, an XLIFF file stores the following information from a translation document:

•All source text

•All target text that was filled in

•Match rates for pre-translated segments

•Status of segments (not started, edited, pre-translated, confirmed, proofread)

•Flags for segments (errors, warnings, repetitions, auto-propagated segments, find-replace marks)

•Details for errors and warnings

•Comments

•Preview if present in the original document

•Formatting information to re-create the translation with the original formatting
 

memoQ XLIFF export

•To export a translation document into an XLIFF file, select the document in the Documents tab of the Translations pane of Project home. Then on the Documents ribbon tab, click Export > Export Bilingual, and, in the first page of the Bilingual export wizard, choose memoQ XLIFF. By default, from translation documents (not from views), memoQ will export the skeleton, which is the formatting information necessary to export the translation in the original format. You can choose not to include this information by clearing the Include skeleton check box. This will reduce the size of the file but also prevent export on the other computer.

Note: The formatting skeleton makes sense to memoQ only. If you are sending the document to another system, it might be wise not to send the skeleton since the other system will not be able to export the document.

•To export a static view into an XLIFF file, select the view in Project home > Translations pane, and go to the Views tab. Then on the Documents ribbon tab, click Export > Export Bilingual and in the first page of the Bilingual export wizard, select memoQ XLIFF.

If you import an XLIFF file into your project where there is already a document with the same name, memoQ will attempt to update the document. For a successful update, the number of segments must be the same both in the translation document and the imported XLIFF file.

Important: An XLIFF file exported from memoQ 6.0 and higher is always bilingual. If you choose to export a document into XLIFF in the All languages mode in the Translations pane of Project home, memoQ will export a separate XLIFF file for each target language.

Important: To set up multilingual memoQ projects, you need the Project Manager edition of memoQ 6.0 or higher.

Using memoQ XLIFF in memoQ version 5

You can use the MQXLIFF export in memoQ 2013, rename it to XLF, and import this file into memoQ version 5. This way, you can transfer files back from memoQ version 6.0 and higher to version 5. After finishing the translation and/or review in memoQ 5, export as XLF and then rename the file back to *.mqxliff.