What is the TTX file format?
.ttx files are associated with Trados translation software, now maintained by RWS Group (which acquired SDL in 2020).
Files with the .ttx extension store bilingual text translated with Trados TagEditor, including both source and target segments. .ttx files also store inline formatting information encoded as XML tags - preserving the original document's structure so the translated target file can be regenerated faithfully. Trados supported converting many source document types into .ttx, including .doc, .RTF, .XML, .htm, .sgml, and .pdf files. The .ttx format is now a legacy specification; SDL Trados Studio 2009 replaced it with .SDLXLIFF as the standard bilingual file format, and current projects should use that format instead.
Trados uses translation memory - a database where all previously translated segments are stored - to aid the process of translating source text. Translation memory files can be stored locally on the user's disk or remotely on a server. Because .ttx files store not only text but also their formatting data, it is advisable to open them using a dedicated CAT (Computer-Aided Translation) tool. SDL Trados Studio maintains backward compatibility for .ttx files; competing tools such as memoQ and Déjà Vu also support the format via import filters.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWTTX is an XML text file with no executable code. Open as plain text safely. Standard XML external entity (XXE) parsing precautions apply when processing programmatically.
Format details
in a nutshell- FontTools TTX (font XML dump) - fontTools Python library uses .ttx for an XML representation of OpenType/TrueType font tables; completely unrelated to translation - shares only the extension.
- Crystal Reports connection file - Some sources (including db_name in this database) attribute .ttx to Crystal Reports data connection files - this appears to be a confusion or very minor use; dominant meaning is Trados TTX.
Programs that open TTX files
Windows5 apps
SDL Trados Studio 2022 / 2021
Paid Open the TTX in Trados Studio via File → Open → Translation Documents; it converts TTX to SDLXLIFF internally for editing. Retranslate to re-export.
memoQ
Paid Import the TTX via Project → Import with Options; memoQ reads TTX natively. Translate and export as TTX or target language file.
Déjà Vu X3
Paid File → Import TTX (TRADOStag) to bring source/target segments into a Déjà Vu project.
Notepad (read-only)
Open-source Open for inspection as XML; use XML Tools plugin for pretty-print. Not for translation editing.
SDL Trados TagEditor (legacy)
Paid The original authoring tool (bundled with Trados Workbench). No longer sold separately; use Trados Studio instead. Technical details
deep spec| File structure | XML with <TRADOStag> root element; identified by the TRADOStag root tag or DOCTYPE declaration |
| Character encoding | UTF-16 LE with BOM (most common); also UTF-8 |
| Metadata section | <FrontMatter> element - stores language pair, job name, TM settings, and format version |
| Translation unit element | <Tu> (translation unit) containing <Tuv> variants (one per language), with inline formatting tags |
| Format version | TRADOStag v2.0 (most common), declared in FrontMatter |
| Inline formatting | Proprietary <ut> and <df> tags encode original document markup (bold, italic, hyperlinks, etc.) |
| Language identification | ISO language codes in Tuv lang attribute (e.g. EN-US, DE-DE) |
| TM integration | Designed for use with Trados Translation Memory (.tmw/.sdltm) during the CAT workflow |
| Platform support | Windows only (Trados TagEditor was Windows-exclusive) |
| MIME type | text/xml (or application/xml) |
| Superseded by | SDLXLIFF (.sdlxliff) in SDL Trados Studio 2009; XLIFF is the broader open-standard equivalent |
| Current maintainer | RWS Group (acquired SDL in November 2020) |
| Released | circa 1999-2002 (SDL Trados TagEditor / Translator's Workbench era) |
| Latest version | Legacy format; superseded by SDLXLIFF in SDL Trados Studio 2009 |
| Specification | support.phrase.com |
TTX conversions
Community Q&A
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