How to Prevent Data Loss If Your CAT Tool Crashes

Useful tips about working with CATs

If your CAT tool crashes and there is a risk of losing the completed portion of your translation, the first priority is to preserve the work you have already done. Only after securing the data should you attempt to fix the issue. Otherwise, you may have to redo the translation from scratch.

In most CAT tools, your translation is stored in two places:

• The project files you are actively working on
• The Translation Memory (TM), which stores the segments you have translated

If the most recent version is stored in the project files:

• Make a copy of the files in their current state
• Delete the entire project
• Re-import the original (untranslated) project
• Replace the newly imported files with the saved versions

If the most recent version is stored in the Translation Memory (TM):

• Make a backup copy of the TM in its current state or export it (for example, in TMX format)
• Delete the entire project
• Re-import the original (untranslated) project
• Replace the project’s TM with the saved version (or import the saved TMX file into it)
• Re-run the translation of the source files using the restored or updated TM

Both approaches involve certain nuances. During these steps, it is important to clearly understand what you are doing to avoid accidentally losing the translation entirely.