OmegaT 6.0.1 - User Manual

# Preferences

Use Options Preferences... to access this dialog (the `OmegaT` menu on macOS).

Use the search field at the top of the preferences list to look for specific items.

Preferences set in this dialog are saved to the default configuration folder and apply to all translation projects unless you have specified a different configuration folder.

### Note

It is possible to have OmegaT use a different configuration folder to define project-specific configurations. See the Command line launch section for details. If you specify such a configuration folder, all modifications made in this dialog will be stored there.

## General

`Use TAB to Advance`

  The default key to validate and leave a segment is Enter .

  This option sets the segment validation key to Tab instead.

  This option is useful with some Chinese, Japanese or Korean character input systems.

`Always Confirm Quit`

  The program will ask for confirmation before closing.

`Access Configuration Folder`

  Opens the local folder where OmegaT configuration files are stored.

  ### Note

  The location depends on the operating system and launch options. See the Configuration Folder appendix for details.

## Machine Translation

`Automatically fetch translations`

  Enable this option to automatically fetch machine translations from the providers you have enabled and configured. If you leave this option disabled, machine translations are only fetched when you use Edit Replace with Machine Translation C + M in the current segment. You then have to press that combination again to insert the suggestion.

`Untranslated segments only`

  Check this box to send only untranslated segments to the machine translation services.

`Provider list`

  In the list of machine translation available in OmegaT, check the Enabled box for each provider you want to access. Use the Configure button to manage your authentication credentials for that provider.

  ### Note

  Most providers require some kind of registration before using their services. Make sure you have the proper credentials before using this function.

  Table 3. `Required credentials`

  Engine | Required credentials | Link
  --- | --- | ---
  Belazar |  |
  DeepL | Requires a Deepl Pro Advanced plan available only in some countries | https://www.deepl.com/en/pro
  MyMemory (machine translation) |  | https://mymemory.translated.net/
  Apertium | URL, key | http://www.apertium.org
  MyMemory (human translation) |  |
  IBM Watson | URL, Model ID, Login ID, Password | https://www.ibm.com/watson
  Google Translate v2 | API key | https://cloud.google.com/translate/

## Glossaries

`Display TBX glossaries context description (TBX 2)`

  Uncheck this option if the context description shown for each glossary entry is unnecessary or too long.

`Match term groups even if the terms appear separately`

  When a glossary term is a compound word, the term will match even if the words appear separately in the source text.

`Use stemming`

  OmegaT will use the associated tokenizer to find matches.

`Replace matches when inserting source text`

  When you use

  - Edit Replace with Source C + S + R ,

  - Edit Insert Source C + S + I or

  - the `Insert the source text` preference, etc.

  to insert the source content in the target segment, words with a glossary entry will automatically be replaced by their translation.

`Ignore matches with very different case (e.g., USER vs user)`

  Matches with very different case are not displayed.

`Layout`

  Select a layout for the glossaries pane contents. Additional layouts can be added as plugins.

`Merge alternate definition of the same term`

  If a glossary item has multiple definitions, they will be displayed on the same line.

## Dictionaries

Preferences here define how the contents of the dictionary folder are displayed in the Dictionaries pane.

`Search automatically`

  While the option is disabled, use Edit Search Dictionaries A + S + D to search for matches of the selection or of all the terms in the segment source.

  When the option is enabled, OmegaT automatically searches in all the dictionaries for matches of the terms it identified in the segment, as it enters the segment.

`Use fuzzy matching`

  OmegaT will use the associated tokenizer to find matches.

`Use condensed view`

  Some dictionary drivers provided as plugins do not support this feature.

## Appearance

`Theme`

  Select a theme for the OmegaT user interface.

  Additional themes can be added as plugins. The themes also provide predefined set of default colours.

  Not all natively provided Java themes are compatible with OmegaT operation.

`Restore Main Window`

  Restores the OmegaT window panes to their default arrangement.

  Use this feature when you are unable to restore the desired arrangement after undocking, moving, or hiding one or more panes. You can use it when panes do not appear as expected after an OmegaT upgrade.

### Font

Select the font and font size used to display the text in the main window panes.

### Note

OmegaT uses the same font for both the source and target languages. If you work in a language pair that uses different writing systems, make sure you choose a font that can display both languages correctly. Characters that are not supported will appear as squares.

`Apply this font to tabular data (project files, statistics, etc.)`

  Tabular data is by default displayed in a monospaced font that keeps columns properly aligned. Using a proportional font will break that layout.

`Apply a different font size to the dictionaries pane`

  By default, the dictionaries pane uses the same font size as the main window panes.

### Colours

You can assign different colours for the various parts of the user interface.

Scripts can be used to set predefined themes. OmegaT is bundled with a script called Switch Colour Theme that provides a default dark theme. See the Scripting window for details.

### Note

Automatic dark theme detection is available on Linux systems with the Gnome/GTK look and feel for users who run OmegaT on OpenJDK. This feature depends on Java functionality that is not yet available on other platforms.

## Global File Filters

This dialog lists the file filters available to projects that do not use local file filters.

The contents of this preference are identical to the contents of the local file filters dialog. See the File Filters appendix for details.

### Note

If local file filters are used, modifying global file filters will have no effect on the project.

## Global Segmentation Rules

See the Segmentation appendix for a general explanation of segmentation (global or local, paragraph or sentence, etc.)

### Warning

This dialog only accesses the global segmentation rules. If you have set local rules in the Project Properties dialog, modifications here will not be taken into account.

### Language sets

Only the rules associated to language patterns that correspond to the source language of your project are applied. See the Languages project properties.

Example 20. Rules for Japanese

For a translation from Japanese, only the rule set associated to the `JA.*` pattern and the generic rule sets associated to the `.*` will be taken into account.

When you click on a language pattern in the top half of the dialog, a list of associated rules will be displayed in the bottom half of the dialog.

All segmentation rule sets for a matching language pattern are active and are applied in order. Rules for specific language regions should be higher than default ones.

Example 21. Cascading priorities

The rules for FR-CA should be set higher than those for FR.* , which should themselves be higher than the generic .* set.

Thus, when translating from Canadian French the rules for Canadian French—if any—will apply first, followed by the rules for French and lastly, by the generic rules.

To create a new rule set:

1. Click Add. An empty line will appear at the bottom of the table.

2. Change the name of the rule set and the language pattern to the desired label and corresponding pattern. The language pattern is a regular expression.

3. Use the Move Up button to set the rule set priority.

### Set contents

### Warning

Exception rules should be listed above break rules.

When OmegaT reads files, it puts a non-breaking marker at every exception location. Places that do not have such markers and that match break rules will be break locations.

`Exceptions`

  To define an exception rule, leave the Break/Exception check box unchecked.

  Specify text combinations that are exceptions to a break rule. For example, Mrs. Dalloway should not be split in two segments even though a break rule for period followed by a space generally defines a sentence.

`Breaks`

  To define a break rule, check the Break/Exception box.

  Separates the source text into segments. For example, period followed by a space generally defines a sentence end in English.

Add

  The Before pattern identifies the parts that are before the break or exception point.

  The After pattern identifies the parts that are after the break or exception point.

  The Before and After patterns are regular expressions. See the Regular expressions appendix for details.

The existing rules always provide a good starting point.

## Auto-Completion

The auto-completion menu is available in the Editor pane. See the Auto-completion menu section for details.

Click on Glossary to configure the auto-completer glossary view.

Click on Autotext to configure the Autotext options, and to add or remove entries.

Click on Character Table to set the Character table auto-completer options.

Click on Enable history completion or Enable history prediction to set history based completions.

### Note

Absolutely none of your data (history, etc.) is ever sent to an external server by OmegaT for processing. All prediction/completion results are computed locally.

If the Show Relevant Suggestions Automatically option is checked, typing the first letter of a translated glossary entry, or `<` for a tag, automatically launches the auto-completer.

## Spellchecker

OmegaT has a built-in spellchecker but requires you to install spellchecking dictionaries based on your target languages.

### Warning

OmegaT will use the language dictionary that has the same name as the target language code set in the Languages project property. An FR-FR dictionary will not spellcheck FR target segments. If necessary, modify the name of the dictionary or change your project’s language settings.

`Spellcheck the translation`

  Enable after installing a spellchecking dictionary. OmegaT will underline spelling mistakes with red wavy-lines.

  Use the editor context menu to correct the mistake, to Ignore All or to Add to Dictionary. See spellchecker files for details.

`Spellchecking dictionaries location`

  The folder where OmegaT will install and search for spelling dictionaries. It is generally in the Configuration Folder folder.

`Available languages`

  The list of dictionaries that are present in the above folder.

  If none are displayed it either means that you have not yet installed a spelling dictionary, or that your project uses a specific configuration folder that does not contain yet a spelling dictionary.

`URL of downloadable spellchecking dictionaries`

  The default URL where OmegaT will look for dictionaries to install.

  You can also download dictionaries from other locations, or copy dictionaries installed locally.

Install new language...

  Displays the list of available dictionaries from the above URL.

  ### Warning

  This action requires an internet connection

  Select the dictionaries that you want to install and click Install. Depending on your internet connection it may take a while before the dictionary is installed.

## LanguageTool

`Service type`

  Select the location of the language checker.

  Using a different language checker on your local machine than the one supplied with OmegaT allows you to customize the verification rules.

`Rules`

  Select the rules depending on whether they are relevant to the type of text you are translating.

## Global External Searches

External searches are either web searches or local commands that take the string selected in the Editor as a parameter. The web searches are opened in the default browser and the commands are equivalent to items launched on the command line.

`Allow local external search commands`

  ### Warning

  For security reasons, local external searches are disabled by default.

  Local external search commands are saved in the filters.xml file. Only activate this option if you trust the source of that file.

`Context Menu Priority`

  This option enables you to change the order of the commands in the Editor pane context menu. Values around 100 display commands at the top, and values around 900 display them at the bottom.

  ### Warning

  Restart OmegaT to apply this change.

`Sets`

  Each set represents a group of web searches or local commands that are launched simultaneously.

  A set must be given a name. The name will be displayed at the bottom of the Tools menu.

  If you check Show in Editor context menu, the set name will also be displayed in the context menu if a string is selected.

  URL searches as well as commands must contain the string `{target}` to be accepted. The `{target}` placeholder will be replaced by the string that was selected in the Editor.

  URLs are opened with the default web browser, one per tab.

  Example 22. URL search example

      https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22{target}%22+site%3A.fr+-linguee

  This opens a search for the {target} term on DuckDuckGo with a number of search parameters.

  Commands are opened on the command line. The Delimiterdefines the delimiter between command parameters. The default delimiter is `|`.

  Example 23. Command example

      /usr/bin/open|dict://{target}

  This opens the dictionary application that implements the `dict` protocol on your machine looking for the {target} term.

## Editor

When entering an empty segment:

`Insert the source text`

  Use this option temporarily for parts of the translation that do not require much transformation.

`Leave the segment empty`

  You can enter your translation right away.

`Insert the best fuzzy match`

  OmegaT inserts the translation with the highest match percentage above the value you set in this dialog.

  The prefix identifies translations inserted as fuzzy matches. You can also register the prefix in the `Flagged text` preference to include it in the tag issues checking process and make sure you do not forget it in your translation.

`Attempt to replace fuzzy match numbers`

  When a fuzzy match is inserted, OmegaT tries to replace the numbers in the fuzzy match with the numbers in the source text.

  ### Note

  Only integers and simple floats (e.g., 5.4) are considered.

  Example 24. Fuzzy match number conversion

  2001 in the source:

      [[2001年]]、ドイツの永住権を取得。

  2003 in the fuzzy match:

      [[2003年]]、ドイツの永住権を取得。
      [[2003]], elle acquiert la nationalité allemande.

  When the match is inserted, OmegaT will convert 2003 to 2001:

      [[2001]], elle acquiert la nationalité allemande.

`Allow translation to be equal to source`

  A translation that is identical to the source text is not recognized as a translation by default. OmegaT will erase it and will count the segment as not translated.

  Use this option to force OmegaT to register such entries and count them as translated.

`Export the segment to a text file`

  When OmegaT enters a segment,

  - the content of the source part is copied to the source.txt file,

  - the content of the target part (if any) is copied to the target.txt file,

  both located in the scripting folder.

  ### Note

  This function has no relation to the Scripting function.

  The files are overwritten when OmegaT enters a new segment.

  The Extract Text Content script does something similar but for the whole project at once. See the Scripting window.

`Stop at untranslated and alternatives translations`

  Go To Next Untranslated Segment C + U also stops at segments with alternative translations.

`Allow tag editing`

  Tags should generally not be modified, but that is possible when this option is enabled.

`Check issues when leaving a segment`

  OmegaT runs an issues check on the segment as you leave it. The option is equivalent to using Tools Check Issues... C + S + V .

`Save auto-populated status`

  Translation memories located in tm/auto and tm/enforce can auto-populate the project memory. Segments that receive automated translation at that time can be marked in the Editor pane by using View . Highlight Auto-Populated Segments .

  See the Reuse TMs how-to for details.

`Save origin of translation`

  When machine translation is enabled, OmegaT registers the name of the engine that was used to populate a given segment.

`Initial number of loaded segments`

  The editor initially loads and displays 2,000 segments, and progressively loads more as you scroll up or down. Change this number according to your machine performance.

`Paragraph delimitation format`

  Use View Display Paragraph Delimitations to identify segments that belong to the same paragraph.

## Tag Processing

`Check printf function variables`

  Check printf variables in file formats other than the PO format. The PO filter already handles variables marked with `%`.

  You can select

  `None`

    None of the variable patterns are checked.

  `Simple variables (e.g., %s, %d)`

    Only the simple variable patterns are checked.

  `All variables (e.g., %s, %-s)`

    This can result in false positives in some files.

`Check simple Java MessageFormat placeholders`

  Check Java MessageFormat placeholders in file formats other than the Java Bundles format. The Java Bundles filter already handles placeholders marked with `{#}` where `#` is a number.

`Allow translated tags to be in a different order`

  Tags in a different order than the source will not appear in the list of tag issues. See the Tools Check Issues... C + S + V menu for details.

`Block the creation of translated files with tag issues`

  If you try to create the translated files, OmegaT will display the issues dialog until no issues are found. See the Tools Check Issues... C + S + V menu for details.

`Count flagged text and custom tags in statistics`

  Unlike OmegaT tags, flagged text and custom tags are by default counted in the statistics. See the Tools Statistics menu for details.

`Custom tags`

  Use regular expressions to define custom tags. To define a list of tags, group each tag between parentheses and separate the groups with `|` (equivalent to "OR" in regular expressions).

  For example, use `\d+` to treat all numbers as tags, enabling you to check that numbers have not been accidentally changed in the translation.

  Similarly, use `</?[^>]+>` to make sure that HTML (or similar) tags entered into the source text are preserved without modification in the translation.

  Use parentheses and `|` to have OmegaT consider the two tags: `(\d+)|(</?[^>]+>)` .

  See the Regular expressions appendix for details.

`Flagged text`

  Text in the target segment matching this expression is marked in red and identified as an extraneous tag for issue checking purposes. See the Tools Check Issues... C + S + V menu for details.

## Team

The name you enter here will be attached to all the segments you translate.

`Repository Credentials`

  List of projects for which login details have been stored in OmegaT. Remove a project from this list if you want OmegaT to ask you for its credentials the next time you access it.

## `TM Matches`

`Sort fuzzy matches by:`

  By default, stemming is used to determine the closest matches displayed in the Fuzzy Matches panel.

  To obtain more literal matches closer to 100%, select the Full text, including tags and numbers option.

`Minimal threshold to show a fuzzy match`

  OmegaT displays the five best fuzzy matches above 30% by default. You can change that threshold here.

  ### Note

  Each of the three types of matching percentages presented in the Fuzzy Matches pane are taken into account to determine whether a match is displayed. Potential matches are rejected if all three percentages are below the threshold.

`Select how tags of non-OmegaT TMXs should be displayed`

  Determine how to handle tags in TMX files generated by other tools.

  You can choose whether to display them and whether to use standard XML notation for standalone tags (e.g. <i/>).

`Include matches from other languages`

  Segments that have matches in different target languages can also be displayed in the Fuzzy Matches pane. You can apply a penalty to such matches.

`Match display template`

  Change how fuzzy matches are displayed, through the use of pre-configured variables:

  The default is:

      ${id}. ${fuzzyFlag}${sourceText} ${targetText}
      <${score}/${noStemScore}/${adjustedScore}%
      ${filePath}>

  Here is a possible alternative:

      ⥤ ${id}. <${score}/${noStemScore}/${adjustedScore}%> ${fuzzyFlag} ${fileNameOnly}
      [NEW]▷ ${diff}

      [OLD]◀ ${diffReversed}
      ◀ ${targetText}

  The template variables are also available from a drop-down menu and can be inserted with a button.

  Table 4. Match template variables

  `${id}` | Number of the match from 1 to 5
  `${sourceText}` | The source text of the match
  `${diff}` | A string that shows the differences between the source and the match.
  `${diffReversed}` | Same as ${diff}, but with the differences (what is to be inserted and deleted) inverted.
  `${targetText}` | The target text of the match
  `${score}` | Percentage calculated with the Stemming, no tags and no numbers option.
  `${noStemScore}` | Percentage calculated with the No tags and no numbers option.
  `${adjustedScore}` | Percentage calculated with the Full text, including tags and numbers option.
  `${fileNameOnly}` | The TM filename, without the extension.
  `${filePath}` | The TM file full path.
  `${fileShortPath}` | The TM file relative path.
  `${initialCreationID}` | The ID of the translator who created the segment.
  `${initialCreationDate}` | The date when the segment was created.
  `${changeID}` | The ID of the translator who last changed the segment.
  `${changeDate}` | The date when the segment was last changed.
  `${fuzzyFlag}` | Indicate that this match is fuzzy (currently only for translations from PO files with the #fuzzy mark).
  `${sourceLanguage}` | The segment source language.
  `${targetLanguage}` | The segment target language.

## View

`Display all source segments in bold`

  By default, only the current segment is displayed in bold face.

`Display active source segment in bold`

  If source segments are displayed in normal face, you can use this option to display only the current source segment in bold.

`Mark all repeated segments`

  Use View Highlight Repeated Segments to mark the second and subsequent copy of a repeated segments. Use this option to also mark the first copy of the segment.

`Simplify tag tooltips`

  OmegaT tags are protected text that represents format-specific tags in the source document. When hovering on an OmegaT tag, OmegaT displays a tooltip that contains the original content of the tag. If that content was originally enclosed in paired tags, the paired tags can be removed from the tooltip for better readability.

`Customize segment modification information`

  Segment modification information is displayed over the segment. the default setting shows who last modified the translation and when:

  Example 25. Default display

      Translation last modified by suzume on Oct 6, 2022 at 2:18:27 PM
      [[チューリッヒ大学]]大学院博士課程修了。
      [[Université de Zurich]] Elle finit sa thèse de doctorat.<segment 0178>

  Use View Display Modification Info to display segment modification information.

`Standard template`

  Use the template variables to adapt this template to your needs.

`Template for segments without date`

  Use the template variables to adapt this template to your needs.

## Saving and Output

`Project data saving interval`

  Allows the user to select the interval between automatic project data saves. See the Automatic backups section for details.

  Change the default interval (3 minutes) depending on the characteristics of the project:

  - Short intervals (10 seconds minimum) for projects synchronized on an internal server.

  - Longer intervals for team projects hosted on external servers.

`Global post-processing commands`

  OmegaT can automatically run commands after you use Project Create Translated Files C + D or Project Create Current Translated File C + S + D . You can define such commands here.

  Commands specified here are available to all the projects that use the same configuration folder. They are saved in the omegat.prefs file.

  The template variables list gives you access to various project data and system variables. See the Template Variables section for details.

`Allow local post-processing commands`

  ### Warning

  For security reasons, the local post-processing commands are disabled by default.

  You can also define local post-processing commands available only to a given project. Such commands are defined in the `Local post-processing commands` window.

  Local post-processing commands are saved in the omegat.project file. Only activate this option if you trust the source of that file.

  ### Note

  Local commands are run before global commands.

## Proxy Login

If you use an authenticated proxy server to access the Internet, enter your credentials here.

## Secure store

Define or reset the master password used to protect login credentials as well as access keys for machine translation services.

Before resetting the master password, always make a backup of that information, because it will be deleted and will have to be re-entered.

## Plugins

Displays the list of all the installed plugins.

Plugins are by default installed in the configuration folder, but can also be installed in the plugins/ folder under the application folder.

Additional plugins can be found on the OmegaT development site.

## Updates

Use this option to choose whether to be automatically notified of updates to OmegaT.

If OmegaT detects an update, it will display a link to the download page. See the Upgrade section for details.