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Protect segments that must not be translated

Some rows in your files must stay in the delivered file but should never be translated or billed: rows that hold only tags or placeholders, numbers, or product codes. Two rules in the word count profile find these segments for you. Wordbee copies the source into the target and locks the segment, so it no longer counts as translation work or cost.

Set up the rules in a word count profile

Both rules are off by default. You can turn on either one or both.

Follow these steps to turn on the rules:

  1. Go to Settings > Translation settings > Word counting and open the word count profile you want to change.

  2. Scroll to the Not to translate section, below Repetitions within project, and select one or both options:

    • Do not translate and lock markup-only segments: protects segments that contain only inline markup (tags) and spaces. The markup can come from the file itself or from your do-not-translate rules, such as do-not-translate words or font colors in Excel.

    • Do not translate and lock segments matching these patterns: protects segments whose source text matches one of your patterns.

  3. If you selected the pattern option, enter one regular expression per line in the box below it.

  4. Click Save. To apply the change to projects that already use this profile, click Save and spread instead (see Apply the rules to existing projects).

You can't save the profile if a pattern isn't a valid regular expression, or if the pattern option is on but the box is empty.

How patterns are matched

Each pattern must match the whole source text, and inline tags are ignored. So the pattern \d+ matches a segment that contains only 1250, but it doesn't match "Buy 2 items".

Pattern

Protects segments like

^\d+([.,]\d+)?$

1250 or 1250,75 (numbers only)

^[A-Z]{2,4}-\d{3,6}$

SKU-10422 or AB-123 (product codes)

The markup-only option protects only segments that really contain no text. A pattern can also match segments that contain translatable text, so check your patterns carefully.

To change word count profiles, you need access to Translation settings. To unlock a protected segment later, you need the Can lock/unlock segments access right.

What happens to matching segments

The rules run during the normal word count:

  • in Standard projects, when you count words or a count is triggered by an order;

  • in Codyt projects, when documents are marked for online translation;

  • during recounts and manual machine translation.

When a segment matches a rule and has no translation yet, Wordbee:

  • copies the source text into the target;

  • confirms the segment (green status) and locks it;

  • marks it as Not to translate;

  • counts its words in the total volume but leaves them out of cost calculation;

  • doesn't send it to translation memory lookup or machine translation, so it uses no MT connector volume.

The copied text stays in the delivered file, even if you don't select the option to use the source text when there's no translation.

Segments that already have a translation are never changed by these rules. This applies to partially translated documents and to multilingual files that already contain translations.

In XLIFF exports, protected segments are exported as signed-off.

Apply the rules to existing projects

Turning on a rule doesn't change documents that were already counted.

Follow these steps to protect matching segments in running projects:

  1. Open the word count profile and turn on the rule.

  2. Click Save and spread to apply the profile to every project that uses it.

  3. Recount the documents in those projects.

If the source text of a protected segment changes, the next recount updates the target so it matches the new source, without using translation memory or machine translation.

Find protected segments in work progress and the Editor

To check how many segments are protected, click the Word count icon next to a document or job. The work progress popup shows:

  • a gray Not to translate part in the Translation bar;

  • a Not to translate line with the number of segments and words.

Protected segments don't count under To translate. In the Validation bar, they count as valid segments.

In the Editor, protected segments look like ordinary locked, confirmed segments. To see why a segment is locked, hover over the lock button in the segment toolbar. The tooltip reads Not to translate. Users who can't unlock segments also see this tooltip.

Unlock a protected segment

If a protected segment does need translating, unlock it in the Editor. Unlocking removes the Not to translate status. The copied text and the green status stay the same, so you can edit and confirm the translation as usual. Because the segment now has a translation, later recounts won't protect it again.

A segment also loses its Not to translate status when the system unlocks it automatically, for example after a source update from a connected system.

Turning off a rule in the word count profile doesn't unlock segments that are already protected. To release them, unlock them in the Editor.

Example Scenarios

Use Case

How To

I don't want to pay translators for rows that contain only tags or placeholders

Turn on Do not translate and lock markup-only segments. Those rows are copied from the source, locked, and left out of cost.

My file has rows that contain only prices or quantities

Turn on the pattern option and add ^\d+([.,]\d+)?$.

Product codes such as SKU-10422 should stay as they are

Add a pattern that describes your code format, for example ^[A-Z]{2,4}-\d{3,6}$.

I want to stop spending MT volume on rows that don't need translation

Turn on either rule. Matching rows are skipped by machine translation, including manual MT.

My project is already running and I want to protect matching rows now

Turn on the rule, click Save and spread, then recount the documents.

Only one client's projects should use these rules

Create a dedicated word count profile with the rules on and assign it to that client's projects.

A protected row actually needs a translation

Unlock the segment in the Editor (requires Can lock/unlock segments), then translate and confirm it.

I want to stop protecting new rows but keep the existing ones locked

Turn off the rule and save. Segments that are already protected stay locked until someone unlocks them.

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