QuickLauncher

QuickLauncher gives you one-click access to your most-used AI prompts directly from the Trados editor, without switching panels or typing anything.

How it works

1. Right-click anywhere in the editor (or press Ctrl+Q)
2. Click QuickLauncher in the context menu
3. Select a prompt from the list
4. The prompt is filled in with the current segment context and submitted to the Supervertaler Assistant chat

The QuickLauncher context menu with folder sections and keyboard shortcuts.

Note

The menu heading Supervertaler QuickLauncher is clickable – click it to open Settings → Prompts, where you can view, edit, and organise your QuickLauncher prompts.

The expanded prompt appears as a user message bubble in the Supervertaler Assistant chat panel, and the AI response follows immediately below it. The conversation continues from there – you can ask follow-up questions in the chat input as normal.

Keyboard shortcut

Shortcut (Windows)	Shortcut (Mac)	Action
Ctrl+Q	Control+Q	Open QuickLauncher prompt menu

Caution

Trados Studio assigns Ctrl+Q to View Internally Source by default. To use Ctrl+Q for QuickLauncher, go to File → Options → Keyboard Shortcuts, search for View Internally Source, and remove or reassign its shortcut.

Prompt variables

QuickLauncher prompts have access to the full segment and project context at the moment you trigger them.

Language variables

Variable	Replaced with	Example
{{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}}	Source language name, including locale	Dutch (Belgium)
{{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}	Target language name, including locale	English (United States)

Segment variables

Variable	Replaced with	Example
{{SOURCE_SEGMENT}}	Full text of the active source segment	De uitvinding heeft betrekking op...
{{TARGET_SEGMENT}}	Full text of the active target segment (your translation so far)	The invention relates to...
{{SELECTION}}	Text currently selected in the editor	werkwijze

Note

Segment vs selection: {{SOURCE_SEGMENT}} and {{TARGET_SEGMENT}} always give the entire active segment. {{SELECTION}} gives only the highlighted portion – useful for term lookups or focused questions. If nothing is selected, {{SELECTION}} is an empty string.

Project variables

Variable	Replaced with
{{PROJECT_NAME}}	Trados project name (e.g. Patent_NL_EN_2026)
{{DOCUMENT_NAME}}	Active file name (e.g. source_document.docx)
{{SURROUNDING_SEGMENTS}}	N source segments before and after the active segment, with their actual Trados segment numbers and the active segment marked ← ACTIVE
{{PROJECT}}	All source segments in the active document, numbered with their actual Trados segment numbers
{{TM_MATCHES}}	Translation memory fuzzy matches (≥70%) for the active segment, showing match percentage, source, and target text

{{SURROUNDING_SEGMENTS}} example output (with N = 2):

[11] Vorige zin hier.
[12] Nog een vorige zin.
[13 ← ACTIVE] De uitvinding heeft betrekking op een nieuwe werkwijze...
[14] Volgende zin hier.
[15] Nog een volgende zin.

{{PROJECT}} example output (single-file project):

[1] De uitvinding heeft betrekking op een nieuwe werkwijze...
[2] De conclusies omvatten de volgende kenmerken...
[3] ...

In a multi-file project, a file header is inserted at each boundary (because Trados restarts segment numbering per file):

=== File 1 ===
[1] Conclusie 1 omvat...
[2] Conclusie 2 omvat...

=== File 2 ===
[1] De beschrijving begint hier...

Caution

{{PROJECT}} sends all source segments to the AI. For a typical 10,000-word patent this costs roughly 4–5 cents per call with a Sonnet-class model – negligible for important work, but avoid using it in high-frequency prompts. The number of surrounding segments for {{SURROUNDING_SEGMENTS}} is configured in Settings → AI Settings → Surrounding segments (default: 5).

To keep the chat history readable, the chat bubble shows a compact summary (e.g. [source document – 47 segments]) instead of the full source text. The complete document is still sent to the AI.

Example: explain a selected term

Select a word in the source segment, press Ctrl+Q, and choose a prompt like this:

The user is translating from {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} to {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}.
The selected term is: {{SELECTION}}

Explain what this term means and suggest the best {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}} equivalent,
considering the full segment context below:

{{SOURCE_SEGMENT}}

Example: assess the current translation

Source ({{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}}):
{{SOURCE_SEGMENT}}

My translation ({{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}):
{{TARGET_SEGMENT}}

Assess how I translated the current segment. Point out any inaccuracies,
awkward phrasing, or terminology issues, and suggest improvements.

Example: translate a selected term using surrounding context

Uses {{SELECTION}} together with {{SURROUNDING_SEGMENTS}} so the AI sees the passage around the active segment, not just the active segment itself:

I am translating a {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} patent into {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}.

The selected term is: {{SELECTION}}

Here is the passage surrounding the active segment for context:

{{SURROUNDING_SEGMENTS}}

Suggest the best {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}} translation for "{{SELECTION}}" given the
surrounding context. Give a brief explanation of your reasoning.

Example: full-document term query

Uses {{PROJECT}} to give the AI the complete source text. Reserve this for high-stakes queries where full document context matters, such as a key term that appears in multiple places with different nuances:

I am translating a {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} patent ({{DOCUMENT_NAME}}) into {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}.
Project: {{PROJECT_NAME}}

Here is the complete source text, segment by segment:

{{PROJECT}}

Throughout this document, what is the most accurate and consistent {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}
translation for "{{SELECTION}}"? Consider all occurrences in context and note any
variation in meaning between them.

Example: check specific segments by number

After using {{PROJECT}} the AI knows the segment numbers, so you can follow up in the chat – or build a prompt that asks about specific segments from the start:

I am translating a {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} patent into {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}.

Here is the source document:

{{PROJECT}}

My translations so far:
- Segment 1: [paste your translation here]
- Segment 4: [paste your translation here]

Do you think these translations are accurate and consistent with the terminology
used elsewhere in the document?

Example: translate using TM fuzzy matches

Uses {{TM_MATCHES}} to give the AI any high fuzzy matches from the translation memory, so it can leverage existing translations as a starting point:

Translate the following segment from {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} to {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}}.

Source:
{{SOURCE_SEGMENT}}

Here are fuzzy matches from my translation memory:
{{TM_MATCHES}}

Use the fuzzy matches as reference where helpful, but produce an accurate
translation of the source segment – do not simply copy a fuzzy match.

Note

{{TM_MATCHES}} only includes matches of 70% or higher. If no matches meet this threshold, the variable is replaced with “(no fuzzy matches above 70%)”. The match data comes from the active segment’s translation origin in Trados – the same match shown in the Translation Results pane.

The plugin fills in all variables and sends the expanded prompt straight to the AI.

Folder display mode

By default, subfolders in the QuickLauncher menu appear as expandable submenus (hover to open). You can change any folder to display as a flat section instead – its prompts appear directly in the main menu under a bold header, with separators between sections.

To toggle the display mode:

1. Open Settings → Prompts
2. Right-click a QuickLauncher folder in the tree
3. Click Show as section in menu (a checkmark indicates the current state)

This setting is per-folder, so you can mix styles – for example, keep a large folder as an expandable submenu while showing a small one as a flat section.

Setting up QuickLauncher prompts

Set category: QuickLauncher in the YAML frontmatter, or place the file in a folder called QuickLauncher inside your prompt_library. See Prompts → Marking a prompt as a QuickLauncher shortcut for full details.

Shared with Supervertaler Workbench

QuickLauncher prompts live in the shared prompt_library folder used by both Supervertaler for Trados and Supervertaler Workbench. Any prompt you create in one application is immediately available in the other.

Routing prompts to Workbench Sidekick

By default, a QuickLauncher prompt’s response appears in the in-Trados Supervertaler Assistant chat panel. You can also have it land in Supervertaler Workbench’s Sidekick Chat instead.

Open Settings → AI Settings and find the QuickLauncher prompts go to: dropdown. Pick:

• In-Trados AI Assistant (default) – existing behaviour, prompt and response stay in the Trados Assistant chat.
• Workbench Sidekick – the prompt is sent to Supervertaler Workbench over a localhost bridge. The Sidekick window pops forward, maximises to the screen it’s on, switches to the Chat tab, and runs the prompt there.

When to pick which:

• In-Trados Assistant keeps everything in one window and is the right choice if you want chat history to stay alongside the segment you’re translating.
• Workbench Sidekick gives you a much larger reading area – useful for prompts whose responses are multi-paragraph explanations, full translation comparisons, or anything you want to read without squinting at the narrow Assistant panel.

Note

Workbench must be running for this to work. If it isn’t (or the Sidekick Bridge is unreachable), the QuickLauncher silently falls back to the in-Trados Assistant – your prompt is never lost.

Sending prompts to the clipboard (paste into claude.ai, ChatGPT, etc.)

Each QuickLauncher prompt can be configured to offer a Copy to clipboard destination alongside the usual Send to Assistant behaviour. This is useful when you want to paste the fully-expanded prompt – with all {{SOURCE_SEGMENT}}, {{PROJECT}}, {{TM_MATCHES}} etc. already filled in – into an external chat such as a claude.ai project, ChatGPT, or Gemini.

A common workflow: keep an ongoing project on claude.ai for the document you’re translating (with your style guide and reference material attached), and use a QuickLauncher prompt to send the active segment, surrounding context, and TM matches to that project with one keystroke.

Enabling clipboard mode for a prompt

1. Open Settings → Prompts and double-click the QuickLauncher prompt you want to configure (or create a new one)
2. In the Prompt Editor, find the Mode row
3. Tick Copy to clipboard alongside (or instead of) Send to Assistant
4. If both are ticked, pick which one should be the Default from the dropdown
5. Click Save

The Mode row in the Prompt Editor.

How it appears in the menu

• One mode ticked – the prompt appears as a flat menu item, exactly as before. Clicking it fires that single mode.
• Both modes ticked – the prompt appears as a cascading submenu. The default mode is shown first; hover or press the right arrow to reveal both options.

The submenu items have mnemonic keys, so once a prompt is highlighted you can press:

• S – Send to Supervertaler Assistant
• C – Copy prompt to clipboard

What happens when you pick clipboard

The plugin expands every {{VARIABLE}} against the current segment, project, and TM context (exactly as it would for the Assistant), then writes the resulting plain text to the Windows clipboard. The menu closes silently – there’s no confirmation toast. Switch to your browser tab and press Ctrl+V to paste.

Note

Clipboard mode and the QuickLauncher prompts go to: routing setting (above) are independent. Routing only controls where the Send to Assistant mode lands – clipboard mode always copies locally, regardless of whether the global routing is set to In-Trados Assistant or Workbench Sidekick.

YAML reference

If you prefer editing prompt files directly, the relevant frontmatter fields are:

---
name: Explain selected term
category: QuickLauncher
quicklauncher_modes: [assistant, clipboard]
default_mode: assistant
---

• quicklauncher_modes: – accepts an inline list [assistant, clipboard] or a comma-separated string assistant, clipboard. Unknown values are silently dropped. When omitted, defaults to [assistant].
• default_mode: – which mode appears first in the submenu when both are configured. Must be one of the values in quicklauncher_modes. Defaults to assistant.

---

See Also

• Text Transforms
• Prompts
• Supervertaler Assistant
• Keyboard Shortcuts