Review the bilingual translation in Word
Applies to: Pattrans desktop 0.2
Content updated: 3 August 2026 Compatibility checked: 3 August 2026
Every run comes with a bilingual copy: a three-column Word file you review directly in Word, then import back so Pattrans builds a new target copy.
Importing costs no Standard Words — Pattrans uses the text you reviewed; there is no AI re-translation. Each import creates a new copy, it does not overwrite the previous one, and there is no limit on how many times you import. Available on every plan.
What the bilingual copy is
A Word file with three columns:
| Column | Contents |
|---|---|
| No. | The segment code — how Pattrans puts your edit back in the right place |
| Source | The sentence from your source document |
| Translation | The translation of that sentence — this is the column you edit |
The top of the file carries the review instructions plus the project name and the source and target languages.
Get the bilingual file
Two routes, same file:
- Right after a run finishes, at Complete, select Open bilingual.
- Or go to Bilingual Review → the Create bilingual copy panel, pick the project under Project, then select Create bilingual copy.
If the project already has one, Pattrans says A bilingual copy already exists for this project and offers: Open the old copy · Overwrite · Keep both · Open folder.
Rules for editing
These are also printed at the top of the file:
- Edit only the Translation column.
- Do not edit or delete the No. and Source columns.
- Do not delete rows and do not change their order.
- When you are done, save in Word format .docx.
The No. column is how Pattrans knows where each sentence belongs in the document. Delete or change it and that segment cannot be put back.
Highlighted spots are the ones worth checking closely. To change how highlighting works, go to Translate › Layout & marking › Highlight QA.
What is updated, and what is not
| Updated | The text itself, including upper and lower case |
| Not updated | Anything about appearance — font colour, font size, typeface, alignment, line and paragraph spacing, page margins |
To change formatting, edit the final translation directly rather than the bilingual file.
Import it back
Go to Bilingual Review → the Create translation from a bilingual file panel, and drag the reviewed file onto the drop area or use or click to choose · DOCX.
Pattrans reads the project name from the file itself and shows Auto-detected from file: … — change it under Target project if needed. If it cannot detect one, pick the target project yourself.
Select Import & create target copy. When it finishes, Pattrans reports how many segments were imported and how many of them you had edited.
If you get a warning
A warning does not damage the translation. It tells you where Pattrans could not apply an update, and those places keep the translation they already had:
| Situation | What Pattrans does |
|---|---|
| A row is missing its segment code, or the code is invalid | Keeps that segment’s current translation |
| Two rows carry the same segment code | Uses the first one |
| A segment does not appear in the file at all | Keeps that segment’s current translation |
When you see a warning, reopen the bilingual file, find the row named, and check its No. cell.
If the import will not run
| Pattrans says | What to do |
|---|---|
| This is not a Pattrans bilingual copy | Pick a file Pattrans created, not a Word file you built yourself |
| This review belongs to a different project | Pick the right one under Target project |
| The file is open in Word | Close it in Word and try again |
| Could not read the file | The file is corrupt or has lost its bilingual table — create a fresh bilingual copy and review again |