Chapter 10. Editing behavior

1. Automatic match insertion
2. Allow the translation to be equal to source
3. Export the segment to text files

The dialog in OptionsEditing Behavior... enables the user to select, how the current segment in the editing field is to be initialized and handled:

Figure 10.1. Editing behavior options

Editing behavior options

1. Automatic match insertion

You translate your files by moving from segment to segment, editing each current segment in turn. When moving between segments, you may wish to populate the editing field with an existing translation in the fuzzy match pane or with the source text. In OptionsEditing Behavior... OmegaT offers you the following alternatives:

The source text

You can have the source text inserted automatically into the editing field. This is useful for texts containing many trade marks or other proper nouns you which must be left unchanged.

Leave the segment empty

OmegaT leaves the editing field blank. This option allows you to enter the translation without the need to remove the source text, thus saving you two keystrokes (Ctrl+A and Del)

Insert the best fuzzy match

OmegaT inserts the translation of the string most similar to the current source, if it is above the similarity threshold that you have selected in this dialog.

2. Allow the translation to be equal to source

Documents for translation may contain trade marks, names or other proper nouns that will be the same in translated documents. There are two strategies for segments that contain only such invariable text.

You can decide not to translate such segments at all. OmegaT will then report these segments as not translated. This is the default. The alternative is to enter a translation that is identical to the source text. OmegaT is able to recognize that you have done this. To make this possible, go to OptionsEditing Behavior... and check the box Allow translation to be equal to source.

3. Export the segment to text files

The text export function exports data from within the current OmegaT project to plain text files. The data are exported when the segment is opened. The files appear in the /script subfolder in the OmegaT user files folder, and include:

  • The content of the segment source text (source.txt).

  • The content of the segment target text (target.txt).

  • The text highlighted by the user, when Ctrl-Shift-C is pressed or Edit > Export Selection is selected (selection.txt).

The content of the files is overwritten either when a new segment is opened (source.txt and target.txt) or when a new selection is exported (selection.txt). The files are unformatted plain text files. The whole process can be steered and controlled via Tck/Tcl-based scripting. See Using the OmegaT text export function for specifics, examples and suggestions.