Dealing with numbers in Memsource (what an horrific tool...)
Thread poster: Huw Watkins
Huw Watkins
Huw Watkins  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
Oct 28, 2015

Hi Guys,

A client I work for on a reasonably regular basis insists that I use Memsource to complete translations for them. I assume that offers many advantages to them such as keeping their TM on a server and not having to send it to me for the translation among other things.

However, from my end I find Memsource to be an absolutely horrific tool for numerous reasons. The primary one of which is that it is utterly inefficient on many levels and there is an almost comple
... See more
Hi Guys,

A client I work for on a reasonably regular basis insists that I use Memsource to complete translations for them. I assume that offers many advantages to them such as keeping their TM on a server and not having to send it to me for the translation among other things.

However, from my end I find Memsource to be an absolutely horrific tool for numerous reasons. The primary one of which is that it is utterly inefficient on many levels and there is an almost complete lack of control with the setting under the hood. Maybe I have been spoilt with how good SDL Trados Studio has become over the years, but I would expect at least a basic level of automation in Memsource that simply doesn't appear to be there. Take processing numbers for example in lengthy documents with huge amounts of repetitions and tables of numbers.

Memsource appears a) Not to populate and localise numbers at the pre-translation stage no matter which limited settings I attempt to apply b) Not to autoconfirm numbers at the auto-propagation stage. This means I am left needlessly confirming potentially hundreds of segments manually. I have managed to cut down the labour overhead somewhat by using filters and batch confirming, but it is still wholly inadequate seeing as I am not paid for repetitions and, presumably, numbers.

Are there any experienced Memsource users out there? Can someone perhaps give me some time and labour-saving tips on this?

I would be very grateful.

Huw
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Vaclav Balacek
Vaclav Balacek  Identity Verified
Czech Republic
Local time: 14:39
English to Czech
+ ...
Dealing with numbers in Memsource Oct 29, 2015

Dear Huw,
This is Vaclav - Memsource technical support.
I am sorry to hear that Memsource has given you such hard times.
If you contact me on [email protected], we can set up a quick online call and I can show you some ways to get around this.
Memsource does pre-translate and automatically confirm numbers (i.e. segments containing just numbers), and there are a number of ways to filter and process numbers in batches.
... See more
Dear Huw,
This is Vaclav - Memsource technical support.
I am sorry to hear that Memsource has given you such hard times.
If you contact me on [email protected], we can set up a quick online call and I can show you some ways to get around this.
Memsource does pre-translate and automatically confirm numbers (i.e. segments containing just numbers), and there are a number of ways to filter and process numbers in batches.
Perhaps we will be able to find a way for you to get round this.
Thank you.
Vaclav
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Huw Watkins
Huw Watkins  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Vaclav Oct 31, 2015

Actually I have managed to get in contact with someone in the agency who clearly has some knowledge about setting up projects in Memsource at their end. Suddenly Memsource is starting to look like a half decent tool and I apologise if my feedback has been unduly harsh.

My only criticism then is that when you put a tool like this under the exclusive control of PMs who often have no idea about the difficulties faced by translators actually doing the hard yards, it invariably leads to
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Actually I have managed to get in contact with someone in the agency who clearly has some knowledge about setting up projects in Memsource at their end. Suddenly Memsource is starting to look like a half decent tool and I apologise if my feedback has been unduly harsh.

My only criticism then is that when you put a tool like this under the exclusive control of PMs who often have no idea about the difficulties faced by translators actually doing the hard yards, it invariably leads to problems. I think users should be allowed to tweak settings at their end too - i.e. be able to add their own TMs and Glossaries to a client project, enable MT if the translator likes this feature and calibrate numbering conventions and so forth. A more dynamic cooperative approach would make for a much better user experience and, indeed, end product.

[Edited at 2015-10-31 11:40 GMT]
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Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Member (2004)
English to Italian
you can... Oct 31, 2015

Huw Watkins wrote:

I think users should be allowed to tweak settings at their end too - i.e. be able to add their own TMs and Glossaries to a client project, enable MT if the translator likes this feature and calibrate numbering conventions and so forth. A more dynamic cooperative approach would make for a much better user experience and, indeed, end product.

[Edited at 2015-10-31 11:40 GMT]


as I said before, you have to subscribe to a paid-for version... yes, you have to pay to work better...


 
David Turnbull
David Turnbull
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Italian to English
Any results on this? Jan 29, 2021

Hi, a late follow-up on this!

Is there any way to automate the conversion of number-only segments in Memsource?

I will soon receive some Italian financial reports with a lot of numbers e.g.

1.234.567,00
which I would need to convert to:
1,234,567.00

or
2,235
which would convert to
2.235

Presumably I can do this in the Desktop editor using a series of find-replace operations with Regexp, but it will be
... See more
Hi, a late follow-up on this!

Is there any way to automate the conversion of number-only segments in Memsource?

I will soon receive some Italian financial reports with a lot of numbers e.g.

1.234.567,00
which I would need to convert to:
1,234,567.00

or
2,235
which would convert to
2.235

Presumably I can do this in the Desktop editor using a series of find-replace operations with Regexp, but it will be a bit long?

My current plan is to bring it into MemoQ and convert the numbers there using the native function, but it is a bit mad this function still doesn't exist on Memsource?

Is there any easier way?

David
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Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 16:39
English to Russian
Regex Jan 29, 2021

To replace 1.234.567,00 with 1,234,567.00
Find: ^([0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]),([0-9][0-9])$
Replace with: \1,\2,\3.\4
Begin with the longest numbers, then remove group2 — that is ([0-9][0-9][0-9]). — and repeat replacement to cover shorter numbers.

To replace 2,235 with 2.235
Find: ^([0-9]),([0-9][0-9][0-9])$
Replace with: \1.\2

Depending on the length of your numbers, you have to run replacement 3 to 4 times, fraction of
... See more
To replace 1.234.567,00 with 1,234,567.00
Find: ^([0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]),([0-9][0-9])$
Replace with: \1,\2,\3.\4
Begin with the longest numbers, then remove group2 — that is ([0-9][0-9][0-9]). — and repeat replacement to cover shorter numbers.

To replace 2,235 with 2.235
Find: ^([0-9]),([0-9][0-9][0-9])$
Replace with: \1.\2

Depending on the length of your numbers, you have to run replacement 3 to 4 times, fraction of a second each. Even with 5 replacements, it still takes less time then moving to/from memoQ.

[Edited at 2021-01-29 18:51 GMT]
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David Turnbull
 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 16:39
English to Russian
Regex 2 Jan 29, 2021

If you want to cover all numbers amid text, use the following method:
To replace 1.234.567,00 with 1,234,567.00
Find: ([0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]).([0-9][0-9][0-9]),
Replace with: \1,\2,\3.
Again, begin with the longest numbers, then remove group2 — that is ([0-9][0-9][0-9]). — and repeat replacement to cover shorter numbers.

To replace 2,235 with 2.235
Find: ([0-9]),([0-9][0-9][0-9])
Replace with: \1.\2


David Turnbull
 
David Turnbull
David Turnbull
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:39
Italian to English
Thanks Stepan Jan 29, 2021

Very helpful.

 


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Dealing with numbers in Memsource (what an horrific tool...)






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