Translation Memory

Suite
Customer Experience Employee Experience Strategy & Research
Product
Qualtrics
What's on this page

About the Translation Memory

The translation memory allows you to store translations that can be quickly downloaded into projects and dashboards across your brand. Once translations are uploaded to the translation memory, they can be accessed on demand by anyone in your brand.

The translation memory can be used in the following products:

Accessing the Translation Memory

When translating a survey, you can access the translation memory in the translations tab of the survey builder. Click the 3 dots next to a language to access the translation memory options.

Translation memory options in the three dot menu of the translation tab
Translation memory options in the three dot menu of the translation tab

When translating dashboard labels, the translation memory can be accessed in the translations tab of the dashboard settings. For more information, see Managing Languages Using the Translation Memory.

Managing translation memory in the dashboard settings
Managing translation memory in the dashboard settings

Updating the Translation Memory

Qtip: You must have the Update Translation Memory user permission enabled in order to update the translation memory. For access to this feature, reach out to your Brand Administrator.

You must update the translation memory in order for translated strings to be accessible across your brand. Once you update the translation memory, you’ll be able to fetch translations by following the steps in the section below.

In the translations tab of your survey, click the three dot menu next to a language.
Update translation memory option
Update translation memory option
Select Update Translation Memory.
Click the checkbox next to the translations you’d like to upload to the translation memory. To select all translations on a page, click the checkbox on the upper left corner of the table.
Table with all translations that you select via checkboxes which translations you want to update
Table with all translations that you select via checkboxes which translations you want to update
Qtip: If you have multiple pages of translations, you can click Select all translations to quickly select all of them.
Option to select all items that pops up in above the translation memory table
Option to select all items that pops up in above the translation memory table
Click Update Translation Memory.
After confirming, click Proceed.
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Fetching Translations from the Translation Memory

Fetch translations from the translation memory to pull them directly into your project.

In the translations tab of your survey, click the three dot menu next to a language.
Fetch from translation memory option
Fetch from translation memory option
Select Fetch from Translation Memory.
Using the dropdown list, select whether you want to fetch all translations or only the ones missing from your project.
Dropdown menu with the options to select all or only missing translations
Dropdown menu with the options to select all or only missing translations
Click Fetch translations.
Select the translation you’d like to retrieve. The status column shows which translations differ from the translation memory.
Selecting the translation row that is not identical via the checkbox
Selecting the translation row that is not identical via the checkbox
Click Fetch translations.
Click Confirm.
Confirm and save your changes by clicking the blue confirm button
Confirm and save your changes by clicking the blue confirm button

Editing Translation Memory

Once you’ve fetched the translation memory for a language in your survey, you can edit your project’s translation and the translation memory itself at the same time. You can also just edit the project translation.

Making direct edits to the translation memory ensures that the next time a project in your brand fetches the translation memory, it’ll match the most up-to-date translations. 

Example: You fetch the translation memory for your survey. You realize there’s a better way to ask a question in Spanish than either the memory or the survey says. You can fix the question’s Spanish translation in both the memory and the survey simultaneously.

Qtip: You must have an existing translation memory before you can follow the steps below. See Updating the Translation Memory.

If you need to add lots of content from your project to the translation memory, you should update the translation memory. However, for smaller, individual edits, see the steps below:

Fetch translations.

fetching translation memory
fetching translation memory

Review the translations retrieved for this language. Each row represents a different line of  translatable text. You’ll see a column for:

button to edit next to each row
button to edit next to each row
  • Source text: The text in its original, untranslated form.
  • Current translation: The translation in the survey project right now.
  • TM translation: What’s in the translation memory right now.

Click Edit next to a translation you want to change.

The editor contains the translation memory (TM translation). Edit the text to match what you want to appear in your project’s translation.

rich text editor where you enter the translation
rich text editor where you enter the translation

To update the translation memory with your edits, click Update Translation Memory.

Attention: If you don’t select this setting, only the project translation will be edited, not the translation in the memory.

Click Save.

Qtip: The steps covered above can only be performed in a survey. For dashboards, see steps on fetching and updating the translation memory.

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