Home
Key TMS features
Every TMS should have certain features you should look for to meet your business needs.
Project management
Even though the primary goal of a TMS is to automate a lot of tasks in the translation process, it still requires people to manage it.
File formats
You need to know what file formats are usually sent for translation in your company so that you could decide which TMS to choose.

Key TMS features
Every TMS should have certain features you should look for to meet your business needs.
- Project management
  Even though the primary goal of a TMS is to automate a lot of tasks in the translation process, it still requires people to manage it.
  - Searcher
    Each TMS is an extensive and comprehensive tool to manage your translatable content. As a result, it is very important that it has a good searcher so that you could easily find what you are looking for.
  - Notifications
    An intelligent TMS should act as a project manager and communicator between team members, and notify everyone working on it when they have new tasks, and when there is new content ready for translation.
  - Analytics
    According to The Economist, data is now the most valuable resource in the world, ahead of oil. That is why it should be regarded as the company's biggest asset. The translation process is no different. You should be able to present the management with all kinds of data at any time.
  - Workflows
    One of the main features of a TMS is work automation. This is reflected, for example, by workflows which keep all translation stakeholders on the same page. This is where the process is actually managed with full traceability.
  - Working outside
    Often TMSs are based on a subscription model in which you pay for the number of concurrent users, i.e. people that use the tool at the same time. As a result, it is good if the TMS offered the possibility for the vendor to work in another CAT tool.
  - File formats
    You need to know what file formats are usually sent for translation in your company so that you could decide which TMS to choose.
  - Anonymization
    To comply with the GDPR, companies are required to anonymize clients' TM content, essentially remove personal data.
  - Mobile version
    The world goes mobile, so do TMSs.
- Finance management
  The main reason for investing in a TMS is to reduce costs that your organization spends on translation in general. See how can this tool help you achieve it.
- Content management
  A TMS maintains all the translation-related content centrally to be accessed in real time.
- Translation editor (Workbench)
  Currently, hardly anyone translates in an original document, be it Word, HTML file or InDesign. Most translators and reviewers work in special text editors that are core CAT tool components.
- Quality management
  There are still discussions on what should be considered a high-quality translation. Is it an error-free document in the target language or the smooth process where every step complies with the established procedure?
- Machine translation
  Machine translation engines are third-party systems for automatic translation that are not standard components of a TMS.
- Connectors
  Learn how to gain more control over your content by integrating content management systems and translation management systems via a connector.
- Security
  Nowadays, data security is on top of mind of all businesses, with the translation industry being no exception.
- Documentation
  When you start working with a new tool, it is extremely useful to have relevant documentation at hand to refer to it when you need it.
- Support
  High-quality documentation is useful, but in some cases it may not be enough. As with every IT tool, with TMSs you can also experience technical problems.
- Product development
  You have bought a TMS and what comes next? Since every IT tool is upgraded from time to time and you get the new version instantly if you use the cloud-based software, you need to be ready for constant changes.

File formats

You need to know what file formats are usually sent for translation in your company so that you could decide which TMS to choose.

It is best to decide on the one that processes not only those but also similar formats to cater for future developments.

It is also good if a TMS supports the original file formats that you use so as to reduce the risks of files corrupting after being converted to a replacement format.

For example: if your company translates a lot of Adobe InDesign indd files, look for a TMS that processes indd files directly and does not require idml format only, because after conversion of indd to idml you may have the layout distorted or links to images broken, which will result in a lot of additional work by a graphic designer.

In case of an IT company, it is extremely important that a TMS supports the native formats used by your development, such as XML, resw/resx, JSON or .po - so as not to translate using an Excel sheet.

XTM supports the following file formats for translation:

Some TMSs require a filter to be able to process a particular file format that is not supported by default. For example, if you want to translate a Markdown file in memoQ, you need to apply a plain text filter and add rules to handle Markdown syntax. As a result, some Markdown tags may appear in the Editor as plain text and if used improperly by a translator, can result in more work to bring them back in the translated text. XTM processes .md files without a filter so you can save your time and effort for more productive tasks.

Sample Markdown file in XTM Workbench — Figure 1. Sample Markdown file in XTM Workbench