Step-by-step instructions
Navigate to Translation settings or guidelines management page
Click "New Guideline" button
Name guideline descriptively:
Good: "Notarial Dutch → French - Belgian Style"
Good: "Corporate Law EN → NL - Formal"
Bad: "Guideline 1", "Test"
Define translation preferences:
Preserve specific terms: List terms to keep in original language
Example: "notaris", "akte", "gemeente" (Dutch legal terms)
Example: "SA", "NV", "ASBL" (company abbreviations)
Style preference: Select formality level
Formal legal (default for notarial work)
Business formal
Conversational (for client communications)
Regional variations: Specify language variant
Belgian French vs. France French
Flemish Dutch vs. Netherlands Dutch
British English vs. American English
Add contextual instructions (optional):
Special handling for specific document sections
Client-specific terminology preferences
Industry-specific vocabulary to prioritize
Click "Save Guideline"
Guideline immediately available in translation dropdown for entire workspace
All team members can use consistent guideline for translations
Practical example
Senior notary Philippe Mercier creates office-standard translation guideline for their Brussels practice serving both French and Flemish clients. He names it "Notarial Dutch → French - Belgian Style", specifies preserve terms: "notaris" (don't translate to "notaire"), "akte" (keep as-is), "gemeente" (municipal term). He saves and shares with the workspace. Now all 8 notaries in the office use this guideline when translating Dutch deeds to French, ensuring consistency: every translation preserves the same terms, uses the same formality level, and follows Belgian French conventions - eliminating variations that previously confused clients.
Notes and limitations
Workspace sharing: Guidelines are workspace-wide - all team members can access and use
No approval workflow: Guidelines active immediately after creation
Preserved terms are exact: Case-sensitive matching - "Notaris" and "notaris" treated differently
Style is advisory: AI interprets style preference but may not follow strictly (legal precision prioritized)
No term limit: Can list unlimited preservation terms, but 20-30 recommended for performance
No version history: Editing guideline overwrites previous - no rollback capability
Cannot test guideline: No preview mode - must run actual translation to see results
Guideline portability: Cannot export/import guidelines between workspaces
FAQ
Q: Can I share guidelines with my team or are they personal?
A: Guidelines are automatically shared workspace-wide. When you create a guideline, all team members with access to Translation module can use it immediately. This ensures consistency - everyone uses the same terminology preservation and style preferences. There are no personal/private guidelines. If you need different preferences, create a separate guideline with descriptive name.
Q: How do guidelines improve translation quality?
A: Guidelines significantly improve translation quality by adapting the translation style to the one you want to emphasise.
Q: Can I edit guidelines after creation if client preferences change?
A: Yes, open the guideline and click "Edit". You can modify guidelines, and save changes to update. Note that editing overwrites the guideline with no version history - previously translated documents using the old guideline settings are not automatically updated. If you need to preserve old settings, create a new guideline with different name (e.g., "Notarial FR → NL v2").