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Importing Files

Import File... (⇧⌘I)

Opens a file picker to import one or more source documents into the current project. You must have an active project before importing files. Multiple files can be selected at once.

Supported File Formats

Format Extension Import Method
Plain Text .txt, .text, .md, .csv, .tsv Split by paragraphs (double newline) into segments
Microsoft Word .docx Extracts paragraphs with inline formatting (bold, italic, underline, hyperlinks) preserved as tags
Microsoft Excel .xlsx Opens a preview sheet for sheet/column selection before importing
Microsoft PowerPoint .pptx Opens a preview sheet for slide-based segment selection before importing
PDF .pdf Extracts text page by page, split into paragraph segments with page numbers noted
XLIFF .xliff, .xlf Parses XLIFF 1.2 and 2.0 bilingual files, importing source and target text with translation status

Notes on Document Import

  • DOCX files preserve inline formatting as tags (bold, italic, underline, hyperlinks, line breaks), which are tracked in the segment metadata.
  • XLSX import opens a preview sheet with three configuration areas:
    • Sheet selection: Each worksheet in the Excel file is listed with a checkbox. Select which sheets to include in the import. Row counts are shown for each sheet.
    • Column mode: Choose from three modes:
      • Single column — Every text cell in the selected sheets becomes a translation segment.
      • Separate source and target columns — Pick which column contains the source text and which contains existing translations. Useful for importing pre-existing bilingual spreadsheets or glossaries. The target column picker includes a "New column (empty target)" option — when selected, all segments are imported with empty target text and translations will be written to a new column (after the last existing column) on export.
      • Select columns to translate — Choose specific columns from a checklist to import. Only text from the selected columns is imported as segments. This is useful for spreadsheets with mixed content where only certain columns contain translatable text.
    • Data preview: The right panel shows a live preview of the data from selected sheets, with column letters and cell content visible so you can verify the correct columns before importing.
  • PPTX import opens a preview sheet showing all extracted text grouped by slide number, with thumbnail previews of each slide displayed alongside the text segments. Each paragraph has a checkbox to include or exclude it. Slide headers include Select Slide / Deselect Slide buttons, and a global Select All / Deselect All button toggles all segments. You can edit text before importing, similar to the PDF preview.
  • PDF import opens a preview sheet where you can review extracted text, edit segments, and choose which content to import. The preview displays a split view with the original PDF on the left and editable segments on the right, grouped by page number.
  • Page-based selection: Each page group header includes a Select Page / Deselect Page button to toggle all segments on that page at once. A global Select All / Deselect All button in the toolbar toggles every segment across all pages. Individual segment checkboxes remain available for fine-grained control.
  • For scanned or image-based PDFs, OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is used via the macOS Vision framework. Select the correct document language for best OCR results.
  • For all formats, context (previous/next paragraphs) is preserved where applicable.

Import XLIFF...

Imports one or more XLIFF bilingual files (.xliff, .xlf) as project files. XLIFF (XML Localisation Interchange File Format) is the industry-standard bilingual format for exchanging translation data between CAT tools. Both XLIFF 1.2 and XLIFF 2.0 are supported.

When an XLIFF file is imported:

  • Each <trans-unit> (1.2) or <unit> (2.0) becomes a translation segment.
  • Existing target translations are preserved with Translated status.
  • Empty targets are marked as Untranslated.
  • Notes (<note> elements) are preserved in segment metadata.
  • Multiple XLIFF files can be selected and imported at once.

This menu item provides a dedicated, filtered open panel for XLIFF files. XLIFF files can also be imported via the general Import File... (⇧⌘I) command.

Import TMX...

Imports a TMX (Translation Memory eXchange) file. TMX is the industry-standard XML format for exchanging translation memory data between CAT tools. Imported entries are added to the Translation Memory and become available for matching against your segments.

  • Progress indicator: A progress bar appears at the bottom of the window during TMX import, showing the current completion percentage. This is especially useful for large TMX files with thousands of entries.
  • Language pair validation: When the imported TMX file's language pair does not match the current project's source and target languages, a warning dialog appears. You can choose to Import Anyway (the entries are still added) or Cancel the import. This prevents accidentally loading a TMX file from an unrelated language pair.

Import Glossary (CSV)...

Imports a CSV file containing glossary entries into the current project. The CSV file should have a header row with the following columns:

Column Required Description
sourceTerm Yes The term in the source language
targetTerm Yes The term in the target language
domain No Subject domain (e.g., "Legal", "Medical")
definition No Definition or context for the term
mandatory No "true" if the term must be used in translations
prohibited No "true" if the term must not be used in translations

Imported entries are added to the project's glossary and immediately become available for matching.

Analyze File... (⇧⌘A)

Opens the file analysis sheet where you can analyze one or more files without importing them into your project. This is useful for estimating workload before starting a translation.

The sheet opens empty with a large Add Files... button in the center. Click it to select files from your disk. You can add more files later without closing the sheet.

Multi-File Analysis Interface

The analysis sheet displays each file as a row with its icon, name, type, size, and three key metrics: segment count, word count, and character count. Features include:

  • Add Files... button — Available in the header bar and as the initial empty-state action. Add files at any time without closing the sheet.
  • Remove (×) — Remove individual files from the analysis list.
  • Totals row — When multiple files are analyzed, a summary row at the bottom shows the combined segment, word, and character counts across all files. This gives you a quick total workload estimate for a batch of documents.
  • Per-file status — Each file shows a spinner while being analyzed. Errors are displayed inline with an orange warning icon and can be dismissed individually.

PDF automatic OCR: If a PDF file contains no extractable text (e.g., scanned documents, image-based PDFs), OCR is automatically triggered using the macOS Vision framework. The OCR extracts text from all pages and provides accurate segment, word, and character counts — no manual intervention needed.

This feature is also available from the Welcome screen and does not require an open project.