memoQ online project settings

It is important to understand particular settings options for memoQ projects and how these can facilitate or hinder the work in certain project scenarios. The information on this page reflects the features of memoQ version 9.

Project languages

All memoQ projects of every type can have only one source language specified.

memoQ projects created with a PM edition license can have any number of target languages specified. (A Translator Pro license only allows projects with one target language to be created, but a project created with the PM license which has multiple target languages can be used by someone with a Translator Pro license.) Server projects are all created directly with access to PM edition functions.

An existing project can have its target languages changed by a user with a PM license. It is not possible to change the source language of an existing project. The project languages can be seen in the Overview for the project, but for online projects, languages must be added in the PM control window, not in a checked-out copy of the project.

New languages must be added to online projects in the Overview of the PM control window

Template vs. no template

Two options for new online projects

There are two pathways to create a new online project directly on the server (local projects can also be published to the server once created).

These are:

• using a template (from the dropdown menu or choosing a template from the quick selection box on the right of the New Project icon)
• not using a template (from the dropdown menu)

What are the differences? Templates allow projects to be created with pre-configured settings that may be important for certain clients, subjects or types of work, and they can include automation such as automatic file pre- and post-processing or translation file backup to archive finished documents or protect against accidental deletion. There are wizards available for both methods of project creation. The online project creation wizard for templates and the one for non-template projects differ; the wizard for projects without templates has a total of five configuration pages where information must be entered and decisions must be made; for a template project, many things are defined in the template itself, so there are only two pages in the creation wizard, and the first page (for selecting files) can be skipped.

There is a lecture available on YouTube which introduces memoQ templates and a good approach to using them, and the book by Marek Pawelec is also an excellent introduction, although its focus is on local projects. Local project template options are more limited than the options for online project templates, but if the local options suffice for your online project needs you can create a template project locally and publish it to a server.

Auto-pilot in online template projects

Online projects created with a template at first do not show all the controls seen when creating a project without a template. To make changes, such as adding additional translation memory resources, LiveDocs corpora, etc. it is necessary to turn off the auto-pilot feature so all options will be visible.

Potential troubles

Workflow phase setting

Default setting: translation and revision phases can overlap in the online project.

It is very important to consider whether concurrent editing should be allowed when a translation has not yet been completed and delivered using the Deliver/Return option in the project checked out by the translator. This setting cannot be changed once the project has been created. The overlap of translation and revision phases is enabled by default and should only be changed for good reason when the project is created!

• In urgent project situations, it is best to enable revision (editing by the R1 or R2 roles) to occur while the translation is still in progress, i.e. not to change the default setting. If the translator has concerns about changes being made to the work in progress, these are best resolved by discussion on the project's Communication tab (if enabled) or by other means. If concurrent revision is not enabled, the editor may be unable to carry out the tasks of the R1 or R2 role until the translator "delivers" the work using the memoQ project function (the Deliver/Return button).
• This setting can be examined in an existing project by looking in the PM control window under Settings > Project options > Workflow options. One way to avoid overlap even if it is allowed by the setting is to delay assignment of the reviewer roles.
• Reminder: once the project has been created, the setting for workflow overlap cannot be changed! If this is inconvenient, a new project will have to be created and all the resources transferred to the new project to resolve the problem.

Project deadlines

Pay attention to deadline settings when configuring the project. Failing to do so may result in unpleasantries like translators and reviewers receiving e-mail scolding them for tardiness on a project just assigned and far from its real desired completion date.

Notifications

Make sure that the person managing the project is in fact defined as the project manager on the People page of the PM project control window. This will ensure that notifications are sent to the right e-mail address.