Glossaries

How do I connect my existing translation memory or glossary?

If you already have a reviewed translation (also called a translation memory or TM) or terminology (also called a glossary) you want to use in Smartcat, you can connect it to your projects in just a few steps. The process depends on where your linguistic assets currently live.

Zachary Ralston Updated August 03, 2026 2 min read

Scenario 1: Your linguistic asset is already in Smartcat

If you've previously created or imported a translation memory or glossary into your Smartcat workspace, you can attach it to any project.

To attach an existing TM or glossary to a project:

Open your project and go to the project Overview page.
Click on Linguistic Assets in the project settings panel.
Click Add, then select Select an existing TM (for translation memories) or Select an existing glossary (for glossaries).
Choose the asset(s) you want to attach from the list and click Add.

That's it — your existing linguistic assets are now connected to the project and will be used during translation.

📌 You can use the search and filter options to find assets by subject, client, or project tag.

Scenario 2: Your linguistic asset is in an external tool

If your translation memory or glossary was created in another tool (such as SDL Trados, memoQ, or a spreadsheet), you'll need to import it into Smartcat first, then attach it to your project.

Step 1: Import your asset into Smartcat

For translation memories:

Smartcat accepts TMX, SDL TM, and Excel (XLSX) files
See: Import and export translation memories

For glossaries:

Smartcat accepts Excel (XLSX) and MultiTerm XML files
See: Importing and exporting glossaries

Step 2: Attach the imported asset to your project

Once your TM or glossary is imported into Smartcat, follow the steps in Scenario 1 above to attach it to your project.

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