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Discover studioViews - the new way to split or merge files in Trados Studio 2021

Discover how you can quickly split and merge files to send for translation or review

Nicole Loney
by Nicole Loney March 17 2021 - read time: 5 min

Splitting files between two or more translators is common practice in the translation industry. Perhaps you have such a large project that one person working on it alone is not an option, maybe you need to split the content between subject matter experts so that they can translate or review the areas relevant to them, or it could just be that you have a tight deadline you need to meet. Whatever the reason, it’s important each translator is clear which part of the document they are to focus on and that you, as the project manager, have a quick and easy way to compile all the translations together at the end.

This has been a challenge that Trados Studio users have been trying to solve for years, as there is no built-in solution available in the core product itself. One of the great things about Studio though is that we have our very own SDL AppStore where you can download apps to extend the functionality of your translation environment; discover apps that enable you to work with different file types that are not natively supported in Studio, connect to third party machine translation providers, automate your translation processes, leverage free translation memories or termbases, and more. With over 250 (mostly free) apps compatible with Trados Studio, you are likely to find something that helps make your life easier. And most importantly, there is a brand-new app worth highlighting to our readers here today that solves our issue at hand!

The old: SDL XLIFF Split/Merge

Before I introduce this new app however, I just thought I would mention an existing app that you may have come across before called ‘SDL XLIFF Split/Merge’; first published back in 2009 and regularly updated over the years, this was one of the first apps we developed to help users split and merge files in Studio. Users can choose to benefit from this technology from within Studio itself, or through a standalone app, meaning files can be split and merged without even having Studio open. Whilst this app successfully does what it set out to do - to split and merge files - and is still available on the SDL AppStore, it does have its limitations. Being based on rather old technology means the application can be quite ‘challenged’, its user interface is quite dated and what’s more, once the file has been split, there is no quick and easy way built into the app that helps you to manage and update the original projects with the split files that have been translated and delivered back to you.

The new: studioViews

This is where our new split and merge app called ‘studioViews’, exclusively for Trados Studio 2021 users, really comes into play. At first glance, studioViews and SDL XLIFF Split/Merge may seem similar, as both apps enable users to quickly and easily split or merge files from within the Studio interface. However, there are some significant differences that set the two apps apart.
First and foremost, as you would expect, the new studioViews user interface is much cleaner and easier to navigate. With this new app we have also introduced the concept of “views”- rather than simply splitting or merging your files, studioViews enables you to create a customized “view” of your translatable content which you can then save as a file and send for translation or review. Users can create their customized “views” by splitting or merging files from either the Files view within Studio, or by opening up the files individually in the Studio editor and then creating a new “view” based on their segment selection. To put this in real terms, you could manually select the segments you want to feature in your “view” in the Studio editor and use studioViews to export just the ‘selected segments’, or you could even use the Advanced Display Filter for example, to identify the content you would like in your “view” and export all the ‘visible segments’. This app provides you additional flexibility to split the translatable content however you see fit. What’s more, studioViews also enables you to save virtually merged files as a single SDLXLIFF, which helps to reduce the number of files you need to manage.
In addition, whilst you are creating your “views”, you also have the option to not only determine where they should be saved, but also what you would like them to be called, making it even easier to find and locate the files you need to send out to your translators or reviewers. Plus, every time a ”view” is created, the user has the option to open and save a report so they can effortlessly keep track of the files they have processed.  
The best feature in studioViews, however, is the option to ‘import into select files’. This option was missing in the original SDLXLIFF Split/Merge app and caused great difficulties for project managers when it came to collating all the translations back into one file again. With this feature in studioViews, you can quickly reimport the “views” straight back into the original project and retain all segment statuses, match values, tracked changes, comments etc. As you can imagine, this is a massive win for project managers as this information is vital when it comes to finalising translations and paying translators/reviewers for their work. It also saves project managers a lot of time and effort, as previous work-around methods of combining files could be quite tedious.
In summary, studioViews makes the end-to-end process of splitting and merging your files a whole lot easier and if you’re still using SDLXLIFF Split/Merge, we do highly recommend swapping over to this great new app! Whether you’re a project manager splitting files on a regular basis, or a freelance translator teaming up with another translator on an ad hoc basis, this app is one to have in your armoury.

If you’re interested in learning exactly how to use studioViews, watch this webinar or view our studioViews Community Wiki page here.
Published on March 17 2021 in Apps  , SDL Trados Studio  , Translation Management  , Business Advice  , Language Services  , Localization Manager
Nicole Loney
about Nicole Loney Nicole is a Product Marketing Executive at SDL.