Translation Memory advanced configuration

The Trados Cloud Platform API provides advanced settings for Translation Memory (TM) operations, including powerful filter expressions and field update options. These features give you fine-grained control over which translation units match and how Translation Memory fields are updated.

See also: Configuring advanced project settings and Configuring advanced project template settings.

Applicable API endpoints

The TM advanced configuration options in this document apply to the following API endpoints.

Project endpoints:

  • Get Project - Retrieve project details, including Translation Memory settings
  • Update Project - Update project configuration, including Translation Memory settings

Project template endpoints:

Translation Memory filters

Translation Memory filters let you apply complex criteria during TM operations. Filters can reference system and custom fields, and support multiple data types and operators.

Hard filter configuration

Hard filters enforce strict criteria that Translation Units (TUs) must meet to be considered matches. See the official documentation.

A filter configuration contains:

  • expression: A logical expression describing the criteria
  • fields: An array of field definitions referenced by the expression

Filter expression syntax

Filter expressions are built from comparison expressions combined with logical operators.

Logical operators:

  • AND - both conditions must be true
  • OR - at least one condition must be true
  • NOT - negates the following condition

Example:

(NOT "TU confirmation level" = "Not Translated" OR "Last modified on" > 2024-02-29T10:00:00.000Z) AND "Source segment length" >= 10

This expression selects TUs that are either not marked as "Not Translated" or that were modified after 2024-02-29T10:00:00Z, and that have a source segment length of at least 10 characters.

Filter expression grammar

Filter expressions are parsed with ANTLR4 (ANother Tool for Language Recognition). The grammar below specifies the formal syntax and operator precedence.

Understanding the grammar helps you:

  • Construct complex expressions correctly
  • Reason about operator precedence
  • Validate expressions before sending them to the API
  • Build tooling to generate or validate expressions

ANTLR4 grammar definition:

/**
 * ANTLR4 Grammar for Filter Expressions
 * 
 * This grammar defines the syntax for filtering translation units in the Trados Cloud Platform API.
 * 
 * Supported operators: =, !=, <, <=, >, >=, CONTAINS, DOES NOT CONTAIN, MATCHES, DOES NOT MATCH
 * 
 * Field names must be quoted strings.
 * Values can be quoted strings or unquoted numeric values.
 */
grammar FilterExpression;

// Root rule - top level expression that can contain logical operators
expression
    : orExpression EOF
    ;

// OR has lowest precedence - allows chaining: expr OR expr OR expr
orExpression
    : andExpression (OR andExpression)*
    ;

// AND has higher precedence than OR - allows chaining: expr AND expr AND expr
andExpression
    : notExpression (AND notExpression)*
    ;

// NOT has highest precedence among logical operators - optional negation
notExpression
    : NOT? primaryExpression
    ;

// Primary expressions include comparisons and parenthesized expressions
primaryExpression
    : comparison
    | LPAREN orExpression RPAREN
    ;

// Comparison expressions: MUST have all three components: field operator value
// This enforces the Field-Operator-Value triplet structure
comparison
    : field operator value
    ;

// Field names - must be quoted strings
field
    : QUOTED_STRING
    ;

// Operators - only the specific operators defined in the specification
operator
    : COMPARISON_OPERATOR
    ;

// Values can be quoted strings or unquoted numeric values
value
    : QUOTED_STRING
    | NUMERIC_VALUE
    ;

// Lexer rules

// Keywords and logical operators
AND     : 'AND' ;
OR      : 'OR' ;
NOT     : 'NOT' ;

// Parentheses
LPAREN  : '(' ;
RPAREN  : ')' ;

// Field names - quoted strings that represent field names
QUOTED_STRING
    : '"' (~["\\\r\n] | '\\\\' | '\\"')* '"'
    ;

// Numeric field values (integers only)  
NUMERIC_VALUE
    : '-'? [0-9]+
    ;

// Comparison operators - all supported operators
COMPARISON_OPERATOR
    : 'DOES NOT CONTAIN'
    | 'DOES NOT MATCH'
    | 'CONTAINS'
    | 'MATCHES'
    | '<='
    | '>='
    | '!='
    | '<'
    | '>'
    | '='
    ;

// Catch invalid identifiers to prevent ANTLR from accepting them
INVALID_IDENTIFIER
    : [a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_]*                                   // Invalid words like ORR, NOTT
    ;

// Whitespace (ignored) - MUST come before catch-all rule
WS  : [ \t\r\n]+ -> skip ;

// Catch-all rule for any invalid character (including Unicode)
// This MUST be the last lexer rule to catch anything not matched above
INVALID_CHARACTER
    : .                                                       // Any single character not matched by rules above
    ;

System fields

The following system fields are available for filter expressions:

Field name Field type Description
Last modified on dateTime When the TU was last modified
Last modified by singleString User who last modified the TU
Last used on dateTime When the TU was last used
Last used by singleString User who last used the TU
Usage count integer Number of times the TU has been used
Created on dateTime When the TU was created
Created by singleString User who created the TU
TU confirmation level singlePicklist Confirmation status of the TU
Source segment singleString Source text content
Target segment singleString Target text content
Source segment length integer Length of source text
Target segment length integer Length of target text
Number of tags in source segment integer Count of tags in source
Number of tags in target segment integer Count of tags in target

TU confirmation level values

See the official documentation for background information on translation statuses. The Trados Cloud Platform API accepts the following exact values for TU confirmation level:

  • Not Translated
  • Draft
  • Translated
  • Translation Rejected
  • Translation Approved
  • Sign-off Rejected
  • Signed Off

Filter operators

Supported operators depend on the field type:

Operator singleString multipleString singlePicklist multiplePicklist dateTime integer
= ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
< ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
<= ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
> ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
>= ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✔ ✔
!= ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✔
CONTAINS ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
DOES NOT CONTAIN ✔ ✔ ✘ ✔ ✘ ✘
MATCHES ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘
DOES NOT MATCH ✔ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

Filter field definition

Filter fields are represented differently in responses and requests.

Filter fields in API responses (GET endpoints)

When you retrieve TM settings using the GET endpoints (see Applicable API endpoints), the response includes full metadata for each referenced field:

  • fieldId: Field identifier (system field name or custom field ID)
  • fieldTemplateId: system for system fields, or the custom field template ID
  • fieldTemplateName: Field template name
  • name: Field name (for system fields this equals fieldId)
  • type: Data type
  • allowedValues (optional): Present for singlePicklist and multiplePicklist fields

Filter fields in API requests (PUT endpoints)

When you update filter configuration via PUT (see Applicable API endpoints), you do not need to include the fields array. The system resolves field metadata automatically from the field names used in the expression.

Supported field types:

  • singleString - single text value
  • multipleString - multiple unique text values
  • singlePicklist - single selection from predefined options
  • multiplePicklist - multiple unique selections from predefined options
  • dateTime - date and time value
  • integer - integer value

Translation Memory field updates

See the official documentation for details on fields and field templates.

Note: Custom field definitions and values appear in GET responses under settings.translationMemorySettings.updateTranslationMemoryFields. The response includes both field metadata and configured values.

Field update configuration

Field update payloads and responses differ by endpoint.

Field updates in API requests (PUT endpoints)

When updating TM settings via PUT (see Applicable API endpoints), use a simple structure:

  • fieldId: Field identifier (system field name or custom field ID)
  • values: Array of values to apply (format depends on field type)

Field updates in API responses (GET endpoints)

When you retrieve TM settings via GET, the response includes full field metadata (see Filter field definition), plus:

  • values: Array of currently assigned values. Types singleString, singlePicklist, integer, and dateTime contain exactly one value; multipleString and multiplePicklist may contain multiple values.

Example configurations

Updating TM settings (PUT request)

When updating a project or project template's TM settings via PUT (see Applicable API endpoints), provide only fieldId and values where applicable - the system will resolve metadata automatically.

{
  "settings": {
    "translationMemorySettings": {
      "filters": {
        "hardFilter": {
          "expression": "(\"Created by\" CONTAINS \"API Integration\" OR \"TU confirmation level\" != \"Not Translated\") AND NOT (\"Text\" MATCHES \"exampleText\" AND \"Usage count\" >= 10)"
        }
      },
      "updateTranslationMemoryFields": [
        {
          "fieldId": "1e5b54da-9048-45f7-a5d8-c3878ac4c5b7",
          "values": [
            "11"
          ]
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "25c0dce2-11d0-44c0-837e-1f5030e2204d",
          "values": [
            "multiText1",
            " multiText2 "
          ]
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "55eb47bb-20bc-43e0-b1e1-9b373e5ca157",
          "values": [
            "1List"
          ]
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "bf6e413d-e617-4fcd-be13-e389af7ce7d4",
          "values": [
            "1Multi List",
            "2Multi List"
          ]
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "3e71fc28-a128-4c69-befd-eee38ce998e4",
          "values": [
            "singleText1"
          ]
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "6c6d9004-3a9e-4bde-97b4-62a6d2ec1a7f",
          "values": [
            "2025-10-29T12:00:00.000Z"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
Note

In PUT requests you only specify fieldId and values; metadata is resolved automatically.

Retrieving TM settings (GET response)

When you retrieve project or project template settings via GET and include the query parameter fields=settings.translationMemorySettings.filters.hardFilter.fields,settings.translationMemorySettings.updateTranslationMemoryFields, the response will include full field metadata.

For details about the fields query parameter, see Use fields in your requests.

Example response:

{
  "id": "6895b4bf6b83b41210883f09",
  "settings": {
    "translationMemorySettings": {
      "filters": {
        "hardFilter": {
          "expression": "(\"Created by\" CONTAINS \"API Integration\" OR \"TU confirmation level\" != \"Not Translated\") AND NOT (\"Text\" MATCHES \"exampleText\" AND \"Usage count\" >= 10)",
          "fields": [
            {
              "fieldId": "Created by",
              "fieldTemplateId": "system",
              "name": "Created by",
              "type": "singleString"
            },
            {
              "fieldId": "TU confirmation level",
              "fieldTemplateId": "system",
              "name": "TU confirmation level",
              "type": "singlePicklist",
              "allowedValues": [
                {
                  "id": "translated",
                  "name": "Translated"
                },
                {
                  "id": "approvedTranslation",
                  "name": "Translation Approved"
                },
                {
                  "id": "approvedSignOff",
                  "name": "Signed Off"
                },
                {
                  "id": "draft",
                  "name": "Draft"
                },
                {
                  "id": "rejectedTranslation",
                  "name": "Translation Rejected"
                },
                {
                  "id": "rejectedSignOff",
                  "name": "Sign-off Rejected"
                },
                {
                  "id": "notTranslated",
                  "name": "Not Translated"
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "fieldId": "3e71fc28-a128-4c69-befd-eee38ce998e4",
              "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
              "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
              "name": "Text",
              "type": "singleString"
            },
            {
              "fieldId": "Usage count",
              "fieldTemplateId": "system",
              "name": "Usage count",
              "type": "integer"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      "updateTranslationMemoryFields": [
        {
          "fieldId": "1e5b54da-9048-45f7-a5d8-c3878ac4c5b7",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "Number",
          "values": [
            "11"
          ],
          "type": "integer"
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "25c0dce2-11d0-44c0-837e-1f5030e2204d",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "MultiText",
          "values": [
            "multiText1",
            " multiText2 "
          ],
          "type": "multipleString"
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "55eb47bb-20bc-43e0-b1e1-9b373e5ca157",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "List",
          "values": [
            "1List"
          ],
          "allowedValues": [
            {
              "id": "ab074228-0f8c-4ef3-8039-ad4d6442cade",
              "name": "1List"
            },
            {
              "id": "29f4b861-5d58-4921-b47c-19146f6d7431",
              "name": "2List"
            },
            {
              "id": "0f2d0324-0f11-46db-bb66-ad9cad21f176",
              "name": "3List"
            }
          ],
          "type": "singlePicklist"
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "bf6e413d-e617-4fcd-be13-e389af7ce7d4",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "MultiList",
          "values": [
            "1Multi List",
            "2Multi List"
          ],
          "allowedValues": [
            {
              "id": "907a34ca-b072-4687-8af1-8ab41ac881c8",
              "name": "1Multi List"
            },
            {
              "id": "304e1ee1-3a71-4c7c-b123-e5811a812dfd",
              "name": "2Multi List"
            },
            {
              "id": "8225e4b7-a954-4503-88de-fe9f7ced77cb",
              "name": "3Multi List"
            }
          ],
          "type": "multiplePicklist"
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "3e71fc28-a128-4c69-befd-eee38ce998e4",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "Text",
          "values": [
            "singleText1"
          ],
          "type": "singleString"
        },
        {
          "fieldId": "6c6d9004-3a9e-4bde-97b4-62a6d2ec1a7f",
          "fieldTemplateId": "976cc1d2-c422-461d-a2d6-71bb52a4eba8",
          "fieldTemplateName": "Custom Field Template with Field Definitions",
          "name": "DateTime",
          "values": [
            "2025-10-29T12:00:00.000Z"
          ],
          "type": "dateTime"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}
Note

In GET responses, the fields array is automatically populated by the system based on the field names used in the filter expression, including both system fields and custom fields. The response provides complete field metadata including fieldTemplateId, fieldTemplateName, name, type, and allowedValues (for picklist fields).