Terminology Database Import Options

Once you set up a terminology database in WorldServer, you can import entries into the TD from different file formats.

Select a file format and browse for the file you want to import into the WorldServer terminology database (TD).

Note: You can accept the default options for the format, or change them as required by your environment.

Delimited File: Simple Format

A file containing terminology entries in a simple grid format with a column for each language or attribute and a row for each term entry. A header row is required. These files can have .csv or .txt file extensions.

To determine whether the file you want to import is Simple or Advanced format, look at the following:

Does the file contain a row for each term entry? If so it is a Simple format file.
Do term entries span rows? If so it is an Advanced format file.

CSV: Advanced Format

A CSV (Comma-Separated Values) file containing entries for a term database. This is a more advanced format that preserves term attributes.

MultiTerm 5 Format

A file in WorldServer MultiTerm 5 format containing entries for a WorldServer TD. These legacy files can be created from a MultiTerm 5 termbase.

Note: You can also connect to a MultiTerm 2011 server to use MultiTerm termbases directly.

TBX

A file in TBX (TermBase eXchange) format.

The import file can either be an exported terminology database file that has been modified or a new file containing new TD entries. If you are importing a new file, you may need to create custom attributes (in Management > Administration > Customization) to ensure you import all the information from the database.

Note: You can only import entries into a WorldServer TD, not a MultiTerm termbase.

Duplicate Detection

If you have the correct permissions, you can configure the sensitivity of duplicate entry detection during TD import. Three parameters for doing this are available in the exchange.properties file:

termdb.import.preventDuplicates = true
termdb.import.checkAttributes = false
termdb.import.overwriteAttributes = true

If preventDuplicates is true, WorldServer does not create new entries that duplicate existing term entries. The checkAttributes and overwriteAttributes parameters apply only if preventDuplicates is true. The checkAttributes option controls whether WorldServer compares entry and term attributes when testing for duplicates. If false, WorldServer ignores attributes and compares only the terms.

If the overwriteAttributes option is true, WorldServer copies the import entries’ and terms’ attributes into the existing term entry. Where the attribute does not already exist in the term database counterpart, the import attribute is added to the relevant entry or term. Where the attribute already exists, the import attribute overwrites the database's counterpart. If overwriteAttributes is false, WorldServer does not change the attributes of the duplicate entries or terms.

Note: Duplicate detection behaves differently for files that use the Simple Delimited File Format. For Simple Delimited File Format, where a duplicate is detected, attributes are always overwritten. WorldServer only compares terms and attributes in an entry for which there is a corresponding column in the glossary being imported. If they match, the row is treated as a duplicate even if the term entry has a superset of the terms in the import data.

For more information about using the exchange.properties file, see the WorldServer Administrator Guide.