# Glossary Basics

Glossaries (termbases) help ensure consistent terminology across your translations.

### What is a Glossary?

A glossary is a database of terms with their translations:

| Source (EN)      | Target (NL)     | Domain | Notes           |
| ---------------- | --------------- | ------ | --------------- |
| software         | software        | IT     | Don't translate |
| click            | klikken         | IT     | Verb            |
| machine learning | machinaal leren | AI     | Official term   |

### Why Use Glossaries?

1. **Consistency**: Same term = same translation every time
2. **Efficiency**: Don't look up the same term twice
3. **Quality**: Use approved terminology
4. **Client requirements**: Follow style guides

### Glossary Features in Supervertaler

#### Automatic Highlighting

Terms from active glossaries are highlighted in the source text:

* Green background by default
* Hover to see the translation
* Higher priority = darker shade

#### Multiple Glossaries

Maintain separate glossaries for:

* Different clients
* Different domains (legal, medical, IT)
* Different projects

#### Priority Levels

Assign priority (1-10) to terms:

* Priority 1 (highest): Must be used
* Priority 5: Standard terms
* Priority 10: Optional/suggestions

#### Forbidden Terms

Mark terms as "forbidden" to flag text that should NOT be translated or should be avoided.

### Creating Your First Glossary

1. Go to **Project resources → Glossaries**
2. Click **+ Create Glossary**
3. Enter a name (e.g., "Client ABC Terminology")
4. Choose source and target languages
5. Click **Create**

### Adding Terms

#### Manually

1. Click on your glossary
2. Click **+ Add Term**
3. Enter source term, target term
4. Optionally add domain, notes, priority
5. Click **Save**

#### From Selection

1. Select text in the source column
2. Right-click → **Add to Glossary**
3. Enter the target translation
4. Choose which glossary to add to

#### Import from File

1. Go to **Project resources → Glossaries**
2. Click **Import**
3. Select a TSV file (tab-separated: source, target, domain, notes)
4. Watch the progress dialog

### Glossary Settings

#### Activation

Glossaries must be activated to show matches:

* ✅ **Read**: Terms are highlighted and shown in lookups
* ✅ **Write**: New terms can be added during translation

#### Highlight Style

Choose how terms appear in the grid:

* **Background**: Green background shading
* **Dotted Underline**: Subtle underline
* **Semibold**: Bold text

Go to **Settings → View Settings → Glossary Highlight Style**.

***

### See Also

* [Creating Glossaries](/help/glossaries/creating.md)
* [Importing Terms](/help/glossaries/importing.md)
* [Term Highlighting](/help/glossaries/highlighting.md)
* [TermLens (Inline Terminology)](/help/glossaries/termlens.md)
* [Term Extraction](/help/glossaries/extraction.md)


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