Annotated field headers address the problem that in a spreadsheet, you could not have the same field name on different levels. To solve this, field headers are by default exported with a prefix that defines their field type. A termbase with a Note field on entry, index and term level will create a spreadsheet like this:


>>E<<Note

>>L<<English

>>I<<Note

>>T<<Note

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Redefined in 2010


On import, the prefixes will be read to determine the field level. This also has the advantage that you don't have to define them in the field dialog any more.


Prefix headers are not required; you can still open plain spreadsheet, defining the level in a dialog. It's also possible to just prefix some of the headers and let the others go through the automatic detection; it's recommended, though, to annotate all columns, especially if you want to convert the file back to a termbase. Without prefixes, you do lose the option of having the same field (like Comments) on both index and term levels.


The prefixes are interpreted as follows:

  • >>E<<   Entry level
  • >>L<<   Language
  • >>I<<   Index level
  • >>T<<   Term level


If an annotation starts with an X, as in >>XT<<., the column will be ignored during conversion.

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