# Import/Export Errors

This page covers common problems when importing or exporting files.

### “Cannot read file” / import fails

**Common causes:**

* The file is open in Word (or another app)
* The file is read-only or in a protected location
* The file format doesn’t match the workflow

**Fix:**

1. Close the file everywhere (Word, CAT tool editors, preview panes)
2. Copy it to a simple path (for example `C:\Temp\`) and try again
3. Re-export from the CAT tool using the recommended bilingual/package format

### memoQ bilingual shows no segments

**Cause:** Export format doesn’t contain the expected bilingual table.

**Fix:**

* Re-export from memoQ as **Bilingual DOCX** in a **two-column table** format.
* Open the DOCX in Word and confirm it really contains a Source/Target table.

### Trados SDLPPX fails to extract

**Common causes:**

* Corrupt/partial package
* Unsupported package structure

**Fix:**

* Ask for a fresh export from Trados Studio.
* Ensure the package includes all required files.

### Garbled characters / encoding issues

**Cause:** Text encoding problems coming from the source file or export.

**Fix:**

* Re-export from the source tool with a modern Unicode/UTF-8-friendly path when possible.
* For Latin-1/Windows-1252 mojibake (e.g. "é" appearing where "é" should be), open the file in a text editor that supports re-interpreting the encoding (Notepad++ has *Encoding → Convert to UTF-8*) or run `ftfy` on it from the command line.

### Segments don’t match on reimport

**Cause:** Segment structure changed.

**Fix:**

* Don’t merge or split segments in Supervertaler
* Export using the matching CAT format
* Avoid deleting placeholder/tag-only segments

### “Source file not found” during export

**Cause:** The original source file/folder was moved after import.

**Fix:**

* Use **Project → Relocate Source Folder** and point it to the new location.
* If the original source is gone, re-import the project from the correct source.

### Exported file has no translations

**Cause:** Targets are empty or the wrong export format was chosen.

**Fix:**

* Verify the Target column contains translations.
* Export the matching format for the workflow you imported.

### Formatting lost on reimport

**Cause:** Tags not preserved.

**Fix:**

* Verify tags are balanced (for example `<b>text</b>`)
* Don’t delete CAT placeholder tags
* Re-export using the correct CAT workflow

### Bilingual table reimport fails

**Cause:** Bilingual tables are great for review, but not always suitable for CAT tool reimport.

**Fix:**

* Prefer the dedicated CAT exchange formats (memoQ/Trados/Phrase/CafeTran).
* If you must use a bilingual table, don’t edit the table structure in Word.


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