Katrien Van Extergem 

Have you tried comparing the "cleaned" XML with the original source XML?  It's pointless comparing it to the SDLXLIFF that could contain more than the text you see since all you see is based on the parser rules, not the actual content of the full source.

Dear Paul,
Thank you very much for your response.
Yes, I’ve already compared the original source XML with the cleaned version. It’s actually in the cleaned XML that I noticed additional text appearing, which wasn’t translated that way in the target segment of the SDLXLIFF file in Studio. You can see the comparison below.
On the left is the original source XML, and on the right is the cleaned XML.

Katrien Van Extergem 

ok - makes sense to me now.  I vaguely recollect seeing something similar a long time ago.  What version of 2022 are you using?  The current version is:

Trados Studio 2022 SR2 - 17.2.12.19268
MultiTerm 2022 SR2 - 17.2.5.2838

Make sure you have this version installed and let me know if you can still reproduce it.  If you can, can you provide a sample xml and also your settings file so we can test?

Dear Paul,
I have version Trados Studio 2022 SR2 - 17.2.12.19268 installed.
I was able to reproduce the issue.
Could you please share your email address so I can send you the sample XML and my settings file securely?

Katrien Van Extergem 

A sample means something you can share publicly.  Do not send me the full files you're working with.  Just take a sample from your file that behaves this way, then anonymise it.  The settings file should be ok to share.  Just zip them and attach to your reply.

Please find the sample and settings here:

xml settings.zip7532.sample.zip

Katrien Van Extergem 

Thanks for the files.  I couldn't reproduce this, so perhaps you can look at what I have done and tell me what you're doing differently that might help me get the same result as you?

Dear Paul,

Thanks again for your response and for taking the time to look into this.

I’ve reviewed the video, and indeed, when I retranslate the source file on my end, I get the same result as you. However, that’s not where the issue lies. The project was created with my Studio version but the translations I received were part of a return package from my suppliers. Yesterday, I asked my supplier to manually re-translate the file and resend it to me, and I got the same unexpected result: additional text appears in the target file, even though it is not present in the bilingual sdlxliff.
It’s a fairly straightforward xml file, and I honestly don’t understand what could be going wrong here. For your reference, I asked and my supplier is working with SDL Trados Studio Professional 2015.
This is something I really want to look into, as I find it quite alarming to feel this level of uncertainty about the translations we’re delivering. What worries me most is that I discovered the issue purely by coincidence. We would normally assume that the bilingual file in Studio and the cleaned output would be identical, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I’m attaching both the project and the return package from the supplier. Would you be willing to take a closer look based on those files please?
I’d really appreciate your help.

testproject.zip2474.test.zip

Dear Paul,

Thanks again for your response and for taking the time to look into this.

I’ve reviewed the video, and indeed, when I retranslate the source file on my end, I get the same result as you. However, that’s not where the issue lies. The project was created with my Studio version but the translations I received were part of a return package from my suppliers. Yesterday, I asked my supplier to manually re-translate the file and resend it to me, and I got the same unexpected result: additional text appears in the target file, even though it is not present in the bilingual sdlxliff.
It’s a fairly straightforward xml file, and I honestly don’t understand what could be going wrong here. For your reference, I asked and my supplier is working with SDL Trados Studio Professional 2015.
This is something I really want to look into, as I find it quite alarming to feel this level of uncertainty about the translations we’re delivering. What worries me most is that I discovered the issue purely by coincidence. We would normally assume that the bilingual file in Studio and the cleaned output would be identical, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I’m attaching both the project and the return package from the supplier. Would you be willing to take a closer look based on those files please?
I’d really appreciate your help.

testproject.zip2474.test.zip

Katrien Van Extergem 

Katrien Van Extergem said:

This is something I really want to look into, as I find it quite alarming to feel this level of uncertainty about the translations we’re delivering.

I took a look at the files and I can only surmise that this problem is created by a version of the software that was last updated 8-years ago.  Studio 2015 would have no idea about XML2 and there is absolutely zero prospects of that version being updated to support it properly now.

I think your solution is to ensure your vendors are working with supported versions of Trados Studio.  I thought a little about whether I could create a script to identify the superflous tags that get added and clean the sdlxliffs up before saving the target file.  But in practice I think this is most likely risky for you as you might remove something important that should be there depending on the file you are handling.

Upgrading after that time, for a professional translator, seems a reasonable request :-)

Dear Paul,
OK, I understand that the issue likely stems from the use of an older version of Trados Studio, and your explanation about XML2 support (or lack thereof) in Studio 2015 makes sense.
I will follow up with our vendor and recommend they upgrade to a supported version of Trados Studio. As you rightly pointed out, that does seem like a very reasonable step at this point for a professional setup.
Thank you for your great support and for your detailed feedback!