Batch Translate

You are viewing help for Supervertaler for Trados — the Trados Studio plugin. Looking for help with the standalone app? Visit Supervertaler Workbench help.

Batch Translate lets you translate multiple segments at once using AI. It is located in the Supervertaler Assistant panel, on the Batch Operations tab.

The Batch Operations tab also supports Proofread mode for AI-powered quality checking. See AI Proofreader for details.

Starting a Batch Translation

1. Open the Supervertaler Assistant panel (View > Supervertaler Assistant)

2. Switch to the Batch Translate tab

3. Choose a scope from the dropdown

4. Choose a prompt from the prompt selector

5. Click Translate

Scope

The scope dropdown controls which segments are translated:

Scope	Description
Empty Segments Only	Translates segments that have no target text
All Segments	Translates every segment in the file
Filtered Segments	Translates only the segments currently visible after applying a filter
Filtered Empty Only	Translates empty segments within the current filter

Prompt Selection

Choose a prompt to guide the AI translation style and domain. The prompt selector shows:

• Default Translation Prompt – a general-purpose prompt that works well for most content types. Use it as-is or duplicate it in the Prompt Manager and customise it for your domain.

• Custom prompts – your own prompts created in the Prompt Manager

For specialised fields (medical, legal, patent, etc.), create a custom prompt with domain-specific terminology rules and instructions. A tailored prompt is the single most effective way to improve translation quality.

Provider and Model

The current AI provider and model are displayed below the prompt selector. To change them, open the settings dialog (gear icon in the TermLens header) and go to the AI Settings tab.

Progress and Logging

During translation:

• A progress bar shows overall completion

• A real-time log displays the status of each segment as it is translated

• The Stop button aborts the batch at any time – segments already translated are kept

Translate Active Segment (Ctrl+T)

Press Ctrl+T to translate the active segment instantly. This uses the same provider, model, and prompt as Batch Translate, so you can switch prompts or providers and immediately use them for single segments with Ctrl+T.

Ctrl+T is also available via right-click in the editor ("Translate active segment").

How it works

1. The active segment's source text is sent to the AI provider configured in AI Settings

2. The selected prompt (from the Batch Translate tab) is applied, along with termbase terms

3. The translation is written directly into the target cell

4. Inline tags (bold, italic, field codes, etc.) are preserved in the translation

AI Context in Batch Translate

Batch Translate uses several context sources from your AI Settings to improve translation quality:

• Document content – when enabled, all source segments are included in the system prompt so the AI can determine the document type (legal, medical, technical, etc.) and adapt its style accordingly. This is shared across all batches.

• Termbase terms – terminology from enabled termbases is injected into the prompt, including term definitions and domains when that option is enabled.

• Custom prompts – the selected prompt provides domain-specific translation instructions.

TM matches and surrounding segments are not included in Batch Translate – these are Chat & QuickLauncher features only. See the AI Settings page for a full comparison table.

Clipboard Mode

If you prefer to use a web-based AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) instead of an API, tick the Clipboard Mode checkbox. This replaces the Provider and Translate button with Copy to Clipboard and Paste from Clipboard buttons. Supervertaler builds a complete, ready-to-use prompt — including your selected prompt, terminology, document context, and numbered bilingual segments — and copies it to your clipboard. See Clipboard Mode for full details.

Tips

Translate Empty Segments First

Start by translating only the empty segments (scope: Empty Segments Only). Review the results, then fix any issues. This avoids overwriting segments you have already edited.

Generate a Domain-Specific Prompt Automatically

Click AutoPrompt… next to the prompt dropdown. Supervertaler analyses your entire document, detects the domain, and uses AI to generate a comprehensive translation prompt with terminology rules, style guidelines, and anti-truncation controls — all tailored to your specific project. See AutoPrompt for details.

Create Domain-Specific Prompts Manually

For specialised content, you can also duplicate the Default Translation Prompt in the Prompt Manager and add domain-specific instructions (terminology rules, style preferences, formatting requirements). A tailored prompt is the single most effective way to improve translation quality.

Combine with TM

If your project has a translation memory, TM matches are shown alongside AI translations. You can pre-translate with TM first (using Trados's built-in batch tasks), then use Batch Translate to fill in the remaining empty segments with AI.

Review After Batch

AI translation is a first draft. After a batch run:

1. Review each translated segment

2. Fix any terminology or style issues

3. Confirm segments with Ctrl+Enter (Trados default)

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See Also

• Clipboard Mode

• AutoPrompt

• AI Proofreader

• Supervertaler Assistant

• TermLens

• Keyboard Shortcuts