Using Excel or Word Glossaries

Wordfast Classic (WFC) and Wordfast Pro 3 (WFP3) use a tab-delimited text file format for glossaries. Wordfast Pro (WFP) version 4 and above uses a SOLR database format for its glossaries; however, it can import glossaries that are in a tab-delimited text file format.

In other words, if you have a glossary in a Word document table or a glossary in an Excel file, you need to start by converting it to a tab-delimited text file:

• The first column must contain the source terms.
• The second column must contain the target terms.
• The third column may contain descriptions or other meta-data related to the terms.

Converting Glossaries for use in Wordfast

Saving a glossary from Excel

Excel Glossaries

1. Make sure that your Excel file only includes 2 columns: one for the source terms and the other for the target terms.
2. Make sure that each field includes only the term (in the form expected to appear in original texts); omit any notes or unnecessary additions.
3. From the Excel File menu > Save as, choose "Tab-delimited" as your file type. Note: If your language pair includes special characters that get broken after converting into a txt file, you can select "Unicode Text", instead.
4. Click OK if a message prompts: "The selected file type does not support multiple workbooks that contain multiple sheets. To save only the active sheet, click OK."
5. Click Yes if a message prompts: "(The file) may contain features that are not compatible with Text (Tab-delimited). Do you want to keep the workbook in this format."
6. Now, you can close Excel without saving (as you have already saved the glossary).

Converting a table to tab-delimited text in Word

Word Table Glossaries

1. Make sure that your table includes only 2 columns, one for the source terms and the other for the target terms.
2. Make sure that each field includes only the term (in the form expected to appear in original texts); omit any notes or unnecessary additions.
3. Word 2000, XP or 2003: From the Table menu, select: Convert Table to Text, and Separate text with: Tabs. Word 2007, 2010 or 2011: Go to Layout pane and click Convert Table to Text.
4. Click the File menu (or the MS logo of Word 2007), click Save as and from "Save As Type", and select "Plain Text" (or "Text Only"). (Note: Use "Other encoding" -> "Unicode" if your language requires that).

Saving a glossary from Word

Loading/Importing a tab-delimited text file glossary

Wordfast Classic

1. Go to the Terminology tab and any glossary sub-tab.
2. Click Select, and select the (.txt) file you obtained from the conversion process above.

Wordfast Pro 3

1. In your project, click Project Terminology > Import.

Importing a text glossary into Wordfast Pro

Wordfast Pro

1. Open a project.
2. Click on the Project Terminology tab.
3. Click on the Import Glossary icon.
4. Select "Tab delimited" as the File Type.
5. Click on Browse… to navigate to and select the tab-delimited text file glossary.
6. Chose to create a new glossary or import it into an existing one.