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.

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:

1. Open your project and go to the project Overview page.

2. Click on Linguistic Assets in the project settings panel.

3. Click Add, then select Select an existing TM (for translation memories) or Select an existing glossary (for glossaries).

4. 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.

FAQs

My TM/glossary is already in Smartcat — how do I attach it to a new project?

Open the project's Overview page, click Linguistic Assets, click Add, then choose "Select an existing TM" or "Select an existing glossary" and pick the asset(s) you want.

My TM or glossary was built in another tool (like Trados or memoQ) — can I still use it?

Yes. First import it into Smartcat — TMs accept TMX, SDL TM, or Excel (XLSX); glossaries accept Excel (XLSX) or MultiTerm XML. Once imported, attach it to your project the same way as an existing Smartcat asset.

How do I find the right TM or glossary among many in my workspace?

Use the search and filter options on the Add screen to find assets by subject, client, or project tag.

Can I attach more than one TM or glossary to the same project?

Yes — you can add multiple existing TMs and glossaries to a project through the same Linguistic Assets → Add flow.

If in the new glossary file there are old terms that need to be updated and new terms added, but unchanged old terms don't appear in the new file, which import option should I choose?

Use Add terms, not Replace all terms, for this scenario. Replace all terms wipes out every existing entry and replaces the glossary with only what's in the uploaded file. Since your unchanged old terms aren't in that file, they would be deleted entirely. Add terms merges the upload into the existing glossary instead: terms that need updating get their translations refreshed, new terms are added, and terms you didn't include in the file are left untouched.

Smartcat's duplicate-detection logic matches entries by their source term, and it checks across all languages on a given concept — not per-language. In other words, if an existing concept already has a translation for the source term you're importing, the import is treated as an update to that same concept rather than creating a separate duplicate entry, regardless of which target language the new file's translation is in. This confirms you can safely use Add terms for incremental updates without worrying about accidentally duplicating entries for the same source term.