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Key TMS features
Every TMS should have certain features you should look for to meet your business needs.
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.
Preview
The aim of the visual mode in TMSs is to show you a preview of the source and target file so that linguists could click on the text in the preview and enter or correct a translation in the target segment.

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.
- 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.
  - Inline tags
    Inline tags are non-translation elements located within a segment of translatable text (e.g. in a sentence).
  - Preview
    The aim of the visual mode in TMSs is to show you a preview of the source and target file so that linguists could click on the text in the preview and enter or correct a translation in the target segment.
  - Filtering
    You choose a TMS for time and cost savings so one way to make you and your linguists work faster is to use filters in the text editor.
  - Offline editor
    Sometimes you know you will not have internet access (rare cases nowadays but it can still happen if you are able to work from anywhere) and you would like to have your job done.
- 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.

Preview

The aim of the visual mode in TMSs is to show you a preview of the source and target file so that linguists could click on the text in the preview and enter or correct a translation in the target segment.

The target preview is immediately updated with the translation which allows you to see the full context of your translation as you are working on it.

Not only does it provide translators and reviewers with much expected visualized context, but also shows places where texts are too long and need to be shortened to be visible. It also saves time of post-processing work e.g. of graphic designers.

In XTM you can see the live preview of the following files:

HTML
XML
PDF (only editable)
Word
InDesign (only with an InDesign server enabled which is an additionally paid service)
SRT (to see video subtitles in context)

With a real-time preview of translations, you can also eliminate errors and omissions. Certainly, project managers will receive fewer questions from linguists lacking context. In addition, if translators know the final result of their work already while doing it, they will have greater satisfaction with it.

HTML file preview in XTM — Figure 1. HTML file preview in XTM

Interactive pdf preview for indd files in XTM — Figure 2. Interactive pdf preview for indd files in XTM - French translation