STAR’s terminology management tool, TermStar NXT, has some very interesting and practical features that facilitate tasks related to efficient terminology management. A translation project manager or a terminology manager can use these features to integrate all information in the dictionary so that the translator is only required to enter terms in the dictionary and not worry about entering any other additional information related to the term, such as context, source, etc. If default values are set, TermStar NXT takes care of automatically completing additional fields.

You can specify default values for fields in each dictionary that provide additional information about the term. It is always beneficial to have additional information about the term, such as source, context, definition, grammatical information, etc. in order to ensure the high quality of the dictionary. This makes it very easy for translators and project managers to understand the term even when a dictionary has been in use for a long time. TermStar NXT automatically enters these default values when you add a new data record or entry. The default values make entering terminology easier and ensure that the entries are correct. The advantages of using default values are as follows:

• TermStar NXT makes the task of entering new data records and entries easier as you do not have to repeatedly enter identical values individually (e.g. source or context).
• TermStar NXT increases the consistency of the dictionary entries as the default values prevent the same field contents from being spelled differently each time.
• TermStar NXT automatically enters the default values when you create new data records or entries.

If you already have some default values set, please note that new default values do not affect existing dictionary entries. You can use the global changes function if you want to make changes to existing dictionary entries as a whole (we will explain this in our upcoming posts related to terminology).

Let’s get started with how to add default values to a dictionary. It is very useful to do this immediately after creating a project dictionary and before sending it out to the translator. In this way, the translator will only have to enter terms in the dictionary and all other information will automatically be pre-completed.

Follow these simple steps in order to specify default values:

Step 1: Select Dictionaries | Dictionaries/Databases | Manage dictionaries/databases from the resource bar. TermStar NXT displays the TermStar database expert window with a list of the existing database connections.

Step 2: To make TermStar NXT display the dictionaries in a database, click on the plus sign next to the database. TermStar NXT will thus display the dictionaries contained within the database.

Step 3: Select the dictionary for which you wish to change the settings and click Settings. TermStar NXT displays the Settings window.

Step 4: Select the Default values tab as shown in the image below:

Step 5: Click Add to specify a new default value. TermStar NXT will display the Add fields window as seen below:

Step 6: From the Fields list, select the field for which you wish to enter a default value.

Step 7: From the Languages list, select the language to which the default value should apply.

Step 8: Enter the default value required in the Default value field beneath the table as shown in the following image:

Step 9: Click Add again if you wish to define other default values. Save the default values by clicking on OK.

This allows you to add as many default values as possible. This not only helps to keep the dictionary organised, but also provides all of the necessary information about the existing terms to a translator. In addition to this, it saves the translator time because all of this information is pre-completed. In the image below, you can see the difference between creating an entry without adding default values and creating one after adding default values:

I hope you find this post interesting. Stay tuned for our upcoming posts related to terminology management. In the meantime, please do tell us how useful you found this post by commenting below. Also, do let us know if you would like us to come up with a specific post and we will be happy to comply.