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I was happy that I had an opportunity to explore Matecat and developed my translation skills. I developed a practical understanding of Matecat’s AI translation capabilities and limitations.

I improved my post-editing skills by reviewing and editing AI-generated translations.

I learnt how to handle different file formats within Matecat.

I learnt how to translate a PowerPoint Presentation and subtitles in SRT file.

I recognised the necessity of using OCR tools for translating embedded text in images.

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Step 1: Making and uploading a short PowerPoint presentation

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Step 1: Making and uploading a short PowerPoint presentation

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I wanted to see if Matecat will be able to translate a PowerPoint presentation without difficulties. I made a short PowerPoint presentation and added an image with text to a second slide. I uploaded my presentation into Matecat, the whole process can be seen on the video below.

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Challenge: The Aligner in Matecat wasn't working and I wasn't able to create a TM.

Solution: Luckily, I can create a TM in MemoQ, so I used the Aligner in Memoq and created a TM there.

Challenge: Matecat did not detect text in an image when I was translating a presentation.

Solution: In this project, I copied the text into a DOCX file and translated it in Matecat. However, I am aware that for longer texts using an OCR tool is necessary. Future translations involving images will require pre-processing through OCR tools before uploading into Matecat.

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This project allowed me to independently explore a CatTool (in this case Matecat) and real-world translation scenarios. I improved my technical competencies in handling various file formats and developed skills in post-editing, glossary management, and QA checks. I faced technical difficulties, such as non-functional features in Matecat, which I overcame by researching alternatives and switching tools where needed.

I also learned the value of documenting the learning process through screen recordings, as it forced me to reflect on my workflow critically.

In future learning tasks, I aim to deepen my understanding of translation project management tools, advanced TM and TB handling, and explore different CatTools. I also plan to gain fluency in using OCR software to handle complex content in multimedia files.

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This screen recording presents my process of translating a PowerPoint presentation in Matecat. I created a short PPTX file with embedded text in an image to test Matecat’s handling of such content. The tool correctly translated the regular text but failed to detect and translate the text within the image. I then used AI translation to manually translate the embedded text and inserted it into the translated version. I learned that Matecat does not support OCR functions, which limits its effectiveness for image-based content. In the future, I plan to use external OCR tools to extract such text before uploading to a CatTool. This task helped me develop problem-solving strategies and gave me insight into the technical limitations of CatTools.

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I was looking for various types of content for translation, including an article, a PowerPoint presentation and subtitles.

I chose different content types to learn how to operate with different types of formats and understand how Matecat processes them.

In my Padlet, the segments with files and materials are marked in blue for better navigation.

Below, there are materials which I used for translation:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgrgj51gl25o

https://tepis.org.pl/the-polish-society-of-sworn-and-specialized-translators/

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Translating subtitles - screen recording

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Translating subtitles - screen recording

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In this video, I use MateSub (Matecat’s subtitle tool) to translate a TED Talk subtitles (SRT format). I demonstrate how to upload the SRT file, edit time-coded segments, and adjust the translation for readability and accuracy. This was my first experience working with time-coded subtitles. I discovered that audiovisual translation requires specific skills such as precision and accuracy. This task motivated me to explore subtitling further and made me even more interested in audiovisual translation.

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Firstly, I had to register on Matecat, which was relatively easy and intuitive. I used my private Gmail account in order to register.

Then, I explored the platform and its key features such making a new project, AI translation, editing, revising, collaborative workflows, and integration with various file formats.

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During my internship in a translation cetre I realised how translation projects are organised and managed in real life, and I wanted to explore a cloud-based translation management platform for translation projects.

While I was looking for such a platform, I found Matecat - a a free and open-source online CAT tool. I decided to test Matecat and learn its functions, such as:

manual and AI-assisted translation - translating PDF, DOCX, PowerPoint presentation and subtitles in SRT

revising translations

creating a TB

creating a TM

running a QA

document processing and project management

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I wanted to translate various types of files in Matecat, not only DOCX file and PDF file. As I desired to learn something new that could be challenging, I also chose to translate a PowerPoint presentation and subtitles from a TedTalk in SRT file. I was excited to see how the process of translationg subtitles looks like, as I would like to work as an audiovisual translator. Additionally, I wanted to identify potential challenges, and I aimed to strenghten my ability to work efficiently with AI-powered translation in order to improve my translation competencies.

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Here is the link to the original BBC article that I converted into PDF and translated using Matecat.

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Trump says he ‘couldn’t care less’ if foreign car prices rise

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Trump says he hopes foreign carmakers raise prices as it means people will buy US-made cars.

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Here is the link to the website from which I took content for the PowerPoint presentation I translated in Matecat.

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The Polish Society of Sworn and Specialized Translators |

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Video with subtitles for translation - TED talk

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Video with subtitles for translation - TED talk

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Here is the link to a TED Talk that I used to practice subtitle translation. I downloaded the SRT file and translated it using MateSub (Matecat's tool for translating subtitles)

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Comedian Shalewa Sharpe recounts the hilarious tale of how capitalism broke her ankle, what’s going on with dive bar bathrooms and why she — a quiet soul who likes to sip chamomile tea — brings a tote bag to a wild night out.

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Step 2: Learning how to translate a PDF file

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Step 2: Learning how to translate a PDF file

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Later, I found a tutorial on Matecat's YouTube channel.

I learnt how to upload and translate a PDF file using Matecat AI translation.

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Step 3: Uploading the PDF file and translating an article

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Step 3: Uploading the PDF file and translating an article

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I converted the chosen article into a PDF and uploaded it into Matecat. I then used the built-in AI-assisted translation function, which provided an automatic English-to-Polish translation. During this process, I paid attention to how Matecat segmented the text, handled formatting, and preserved layout integrity. This allowed me to gain insight into how the tool handles structured texts and how it integrates translation memory and terminology suggestions during initial translation phases.

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Step 4: Editing translation - screen recording 

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Step 4: Editing translation - screen recording 

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https://screenrec.com/share/cvPWBbFlj5I

This screen recording (linked above) documents my process of post-editing an AI-generated translation in Matecat’s review mode. I worked through the document segment by segment, carefully checking for grammatical errors, unnatural phrasing, and missing tags. While the initial machine translation output was surprisingly coherent, it required human intervention to ensure terminological consistency and proper tag placement. In my audio commentary, I also reflect on how editing tools within Matecat (e.g., segment highlighting and context preview) support efficient post-editing workflows. This task significantly improved my awareness of the strengths and limitations of AI-powered translation tools.

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When I finished editing the text, I downloaded the final version of the article in Polish. It was very quick and intuitive.

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As I predicted, Matecat did not recognise text embedded within the image and did not translate it.

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I am happy that I gained new skills while working on this project. In the future, I would like to explore more advanced options in Matecat, and other CatTools in which I would be able to translate longer subtitles.

I also need to find and explore some reliable OCR tools to extract text from images before importing them into Matecat or other CatTools.

Additionally, I would like to gain deeper insights into project management features for large-scale collaborations and explore other CatTools that offfer collaboration with others, because I believe that I will need such skills in my future job.

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Here is the source text – a BBC article in PDF format that I translated in Matecat.

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Here is the translated version of the article that I created using Matecat and post-edited manually.

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Here is the link to a TED Talk that I used to practice subtitle translation. I downloaded the SRT file and translated it using MateSub.

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Comedian Shalewa Sharpe recounts the hilarious tale of how capitalism broke her ankle, what’s going on with dive bar bathrooms and why she — a quiet soul who likes to sip chamomile tea — brings a tote bag to a wild night out.

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Editing subtitles in Matesub - Matecat's tool

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Editing subtitles in Matesub - Matecat's tool

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Here is a screeshot from my screen recording video, presenting the proccess of editing translated subtitles.

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Here is the final translated subtitle file in SRT format.

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Here is a glossary that I created during the translation process in order to lkearn how to produce a TB in Matecat.

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The process of creating a TM - screen recording

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The process of creating a TM - screen recording

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In this recording, I demonstrate how I was trying to create a TM in Matecat. Due to a malfunction in Matecat’s Aligner feature (confirmed via GitHub threads), I exported my source (ST) and target (TT) texts and aligned them manually in MemoQ. This allowed me to generate a functional TMX file, which can be reused in future projects.

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I was disappointed that the Aligner in Matecat wasn't working. I tried several times with both PDF files and DOCX files, but with no success. I searched online for possible solutions and I found information on Github that this Aligner is not functioning. Therefore, I decided to create the TM in Memoq by aligning ST and TT.

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Here is a translation memory (TMX format) that I created in MemoQ by aligning my ST and TT files.

When I attempted to create a Translation Memory (TM) using the built-in Aligner in Matecat, I encountered a technical issue: the Aligner failed to process both PDF and DOCX files. After troubleshooting and searching for solutions online (e.g., GitHub discussions), I discovered this is a known malfunction. As a workaround, I exported the source and target texts and used the alignment function in MemoQ to manually align segments and generate a functional TM. This step helped me understand interoperability between tools and introduced me to TMX export formats and alignment best practices.

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In this recording, I demonstrate how I generated and interpreted a Quality Assurance (QA) report in Matecat. The tool automatically identified inconsistencies, tag mismatches, and missing translations. I reviewed each flag and corrected the corresponding segments. Understanding QA features helped me gain more awareness of error-checking mechanisms.

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Here is the QA report I downloaded from Matecat after reviewing the translation for errors.

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Here is the original version of the PowerPoint presentation that I translated.

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Tłumacze przysięgli prezentacja do Matecat

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Here is the translated version of the PowerPoint presentation in Polish.

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TÅ_umacze przysiÄ_gli prezentacja do Matecat (1)

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Here is the original version of the PowerPoint presentation that I translated.

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Tłumacze przysięgli prezentacja do Matecat

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Here is the translated text that was originally embedded in an image in the PowerPoint presentation. I extracted and translated it manually because Matecat could not process text within images.

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The Polish Society of Sworn and Specialized Translators - TT

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For better navigation, in my Padlet the segmats with files and materials are marked in blue and the segments with screen recording and my audio commentary are marked in yellow.