Open a Trados Studio .sdltm translation memory without a licence and convert it to TMX, Excel or CSV in your browser. Step by step, plus other ways.
To open an SDLTM file without Trados, convert it to TMX, the exchange format every CAT tool reads. The quickest way is to drop the .sdltm into the free SDLTM converter: it reads the memory in your browser, lets you look through and search the units, and saves them as TMX, Excel or CSV. Nothing is uploaded.
A client sends you a Trados memory, you work in memoQ, Phrase or OmegaT, and your tool won't open it. That is the usual situation. Here is how to get at the content, what is kept along the way, and what to watch for.
An .sdltm file is a Trados Studio file-based translation memory. It is not a text file like TMX: it is a SQLite database with tables for the memory, its translation units and its custom fields. Each segment is stored in Trados's own serialized format, and details such as the status and origin of a unit are packed into numeric columns. That is why other CAT tools can't import it directly, and why opening it in a text editor shows nothing useful.
For the difference between SDLTM, TMX, XLIFF and TBX, see XLIFF, TMX and TBX explained.
The TMX is laid out like a Trados export, so other CAT tools, and Trados itself, import it with its metadata. It keeps:
The context codes Trados uses for context matches are left out. Excel and CSV only contain source and target, so use TMX whenever you want to keep dates, users or fields.
You don't always need a separate conversion step. The TMX editor opens an .sdltm directly as a translation memory, so you can fix target segments and download a TMX. The TM cleaner uses the same workspace, so you can remove duplicates and empty units from a Trados memory and download a clean TMX. In both cases the original .sdltm isn't changed. If you need the TMX as a spreadsheet later, the TMX to Excel converter turns it into .xlsx and back.
With Trados Studio. If you or a colleague has a licence, the native way is to open the memory in Studio's Translation Memories view and export it to TMX. Memories that live on a server (GroupShare) also have to be exported from Trados, because a file converter can't reach them.
Ask the client for a TMX. Whoever sent you the .sdltm has Trados and can export the memory as TMX from it. If you only need it once, asking is often the simplest path.
With a desktop TMX editor. Maxprograms TMXEditor, a cross-platform editor for Windows, macOS and Linux, lists converting Trados Studio SDLTM files to TMX among its features. The source code is open, but the installers need a subscription after a free trial.
With a SQLite browser. Because an .sdltm is a SQLite database, a generic SQLite viewer can open it. You will see the tables, but the segments are in Trados's internal markup and statuses are stored as numbers, so this works for a quick look, not for a usable memory.
For a wider look at which tools read which formats, see the CAT tools comparison and memoQ vs Trados.
The latest changes are missing. Trados can keep recent changes in a separate file next to the memory, ending in -wal. If Trados was open when you copied the .sdltm, those changes may not be in the copy. The converter warns you when a memory uses this mode. Close Trados and copy the .sdltm again.
"The file looks damaged". This usually means the file was copied while Trados was writing to it. Close Trados, copy it again and retry.
"This isn't a Trados Studio memory". You may have a MultiTerm termbase (.sdltb), a project file or a bilingual .sdlxliff instead. Termbases are not supported. An .sdlxliff can be opened in the TMX editor or TM cleaner, which build a TMX from its segments.
Too many units for Excel. Excel has a row limit. For very large memories, save as TMX or CSV instead.
Wrong language codes in the target tool. The TMX uses the language codes stored in the memory, such as en-US or es-ES. If your CAT tool's project uses a generic code (es instead of es-ES), check how it maps sub-languages when you import.
Tags look strange in Excel. Excel and CSV keep inline tags as TMX-style XML so they aren't lost. Use the TMX if you are going back into a CAT tool.
Yes. An .sdltm is a database that only Trados Studio opens natively, but the SDLTM converter reads it in your browser and saves it as TMX, which every CAT tool imports, or as Excel or CSV.
Drop the .sdltm into the converter, choose TMX under "Save as" and click Download. The TMX keeps segments, tags, dates, users, usage, status, origin and custom fields.
Yes. Choose Excel in the converter and you get source and target in two columns. If you already have a TMX, the TMX to Excel converter does the same and can convert the spreadsheet back to TMX.
File-based memories from Trados Studio 2009 and later share the same format and work. Server memories (GroupShare) and MultiTerm termbases (.sdltb) are not supported.
No. The file is read in your browser and never reaches TraduQ's server, so you can use it with memories covered by an NDA.
Yes. The TMX is written like a Trados export, so you can import it into a Trados memory with its metadata.
Old memories often carry duplicates and empty units. Read how to clean a TMX translation memory, and if you have several memories for the same pair, how to merge TMX files.
TraduQ is a marketplace for translators, and its file tools are free, need no sign-up and run in your browser, so your files never leave your computer.