Translation Memory Exchange file (.tmx)

Translation Memory Exchange (.tmx) is a file format utilized in the translation industry for exchanging data between different localization tools. It is an XML-based format that follows standardization, enabling the sharing of translation memory data across various platforms and tools, regardless of the software employed.

TMX file example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<tmx version="1.4">
    <header creationtool="Localizely" creationtoolversion="2.0" datatype="PlainText" 
            segtype="block" adminlang="en-us" srclang="en" o-tmf="Localizely"/>
    <body>
        <tu srclang="en">
            <tuv xml:lang="en">
                <seg>Next</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="de">
                <seg>Nächster</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="fr">
                <seg>Suivant</seg>
            </tuv>
        </tu>
        <tu srclang="en">
            <tuv xml:lang="en">
                <seg>Previous</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="de">
                <seg>Bisherige</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="fr">
                <seg>Précédent</seg>
            </tuv>
        </tu>
        <tu srclang="en">
            <tuv xml:lang="en">
                <seg>Home</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="de">
                <seg>Startseite</seg>
            </tuv>

            <tuv xml:lang="fr">
                <seg>Page d&apos;accueil</seg>
            </tuv>
        </tu>
    </body>
</tmx>

TMX file structure

A TMX file consists of two sections, the header and the body. The header section contains general information about the file, such as the tool that generated it, source language, and similar. The body section is where all the translation memory data is stored, organized in a structured manner. The translation memory data is divided into translation units, which are the fundamental building blocks of the TMX file. Each translation unit is made up of a source text segment and its corresponding translated segments, which are organized using translation unit variant elements.

Element	Description
`tmx`	TMX document – The `tmx` element encloses all the other elements of the document.
`header`	File header – The `header` element contains information pertaining to the whole document.
`body`	Body – The `body` element encloses the main data, the set of `tu` elements that are comprised within the file.
`tu`	Translation unit – The `tu` element contains the data for a given translation unit.
`tuv`	Translation Unit Variant – The `tuv` element specifies text in a given language.
`seq`	Segment – The `seq` element contains the text of the given segment.

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Translation Memory Exchange file (.tmx)

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TMX file example

TMX file structure

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