We recently took some time to talk about AutoSuggest. No, it is not a new for of self-help self or anything like that. Instead, it is a very useful tool for translators since it goes beyond the matches in a TM segment.
Let’s take a look at how this tool works. The simplicity of its logic seems too good to be true. As you translate in Trados Studio, the programs will automatically fill in words when a the first few letters of any of the terms in the AutoSuggest dictionary are typed. These suggestions are based on statistics and uses the dictionary as loaded by you (or your system administrator). If the term or phrase suggested is indeed the one you want to use in this translation, press Enter to insert it. If the suggestion is irrelevant, just ignore it and continue with the translation. There is no need to click the mouse or some complicated combination of keys; you only need to hit Enter.
Perhaps the best aspect of AutoSuggest is its logic: it does not suggest hundreds of words or phrases at random when really only make sense within the context of the sentence we are working on. This is the technology that really separates the Trados Studio dictionaries from the predictive text messaging on cell phones. Here are some examples:
In a certain document, with a translation memory of more than 25,000 translation units, by typing “r”, Trados Studio suggests “réchauffement planétaire” as a translation into French for “global warming”.
In the next segment of the same document, using the same TM and dictionary, by typing “r” Trados Studio suggests “réduction des emissions” for “emission reduction”.
What is the secret of all this? The creation of what we call “AutoSuggest Dictionary.” Trados Studio allows us to create such a dictionary from a TM or .tmx file of over 25,000 translation units, as mentioned above. This approach ensures that the suggestions are directly related to the subject being translated.
“AutoSuggest” is a tool that without doubt increases the productivity of translators to a tremendous extent. The exciting thing is that it is always improving.
(Versión en español: https://www.trustedtranslations.com/autosuggest-como-funciona-2011-12-12.html)
