Merging and Editing Source Cells

The source editing and merging feature is particularly useful when working with machine-generated content or when source text has meanings spread across multiple cells that you want to translate together. It also allows you to make corrections to the source material before beginning translation.

Accessing Source Editing Mode

Step 1: Open the Command Palette

You can access source editing mode in two ways:

1. Using keyboard shortcut: Press Command-Shift-P (Mac) or Ctrl-Shift-P (Windows/Linux)
2. Using the menu: Click on "Help" in the top menu bar

Step 2: Enable Source Editing

1. In the command palette, type "Source"
2. Select "Toggle Source editing mode" from the dropdown
3. Click to activate the mode

Once enabled, you'll notice changes in the interface:

• Source cells will display small buttons on the left side
• A cursor will appear when you hover over text content
• Additional editing controls become available

Merging Cells

Merging Adjacent Cells

To combine two or more cells (useful when translating verses together):

1. Navigate to the second cell you want to merge
2. Click the "merge with previous cell" button (small merge icon on the left)
3. Confirm the merge action when prompted

The content from both cells will be combined, and you can see the original content preserved in the merged result.

Reverting Merges

If you need to undo a merge:

• Click the revert button that appears after merging
• Note that extra content may remain in the other cell and need manual cleanup

Editing Source Content

Making Text Corrections

1. Click on any source cell to begin editing
2. Make your corrections (fix spelling, add missing content, etc.)
3. Save your changes

Common use cases include:

• Correcting spelling errors in the source text
• Adding missing content that was omitted
• Separating content onto different lines for clarity
• Removing duplicate content (common in machine transcriptions)

Formatting Improvements

You can improve the formatting of source content:

• Add line breaks for better readability
• Remove duplicate text that appears twice
• Reorganize content for better translation flow

Working with Machine-Generated Content

Handling Duplicate Content

Machine translation or transcription software sometimes outputs the same text twice. To fix this:

1. Merge the duplicate cells together
2. Edit the merged content to remove the duplicate text
3. Save the corrected version

Cleaning Up Transcription Errors

When working with transcribed content:

• Merge cells that were incorrectly split
• Correct any transcription errors in the text
• Ensure proper punctuation and formatting

Synchronization and History

Target Synchronization

• Source and target content stay synchronized at all times
• When you merge source cells, the target cells merge automatically
• Any edits to source content are reflected in the target side

Audit Trail and History

• Every edit is saved in the file history
• You can view all changes that have been made
• Changes can be rolled back if something is done by accident
• The history works similarly to the target side editing history

Disabling Source Editing Mode

When you're finished editing:

1. Press Command-Shift-P (or Ctrl-Shift-P) again
2. Select "Toggle Source editing mode" (it may appear at the top of recent commands)
3. Click to disable the mode

The interface will return to normal view, hiding the source editing controls.

Best Practices

When to Use Source Editing

• Before starting translation: Clean up source content first
• Machine-generated content: Fix common transcription errors
• Multi-cell concepts: Merge related content for better translation context
• Quality control: Ensure source accuracy before translation begins

Safety Considerations

• Always review changes before saving
• Use the history feature to track what was modified
• Test merges with small sections first
• Keep backups of original source material when making extensive changes

This feature provides powerful tools for preparing source content, but should be used thoughtfully to maintain the integrity of your source documents.