If an alignment project has been started but not yet finished, the project file or alignment workfile can be saved, closed and re-opened again later. After the project is finished and all alignments are reviewed, the results can be exported from the alignment tool and/or imported into a TM database.
Some TM systems offer an import feature to directly import the alignment results into their TM database. Other systems export the results first into various formats and then import this exported file into their own TM database or into a database of another TM system.
In the example above, the user can decide to export the alignment results in the proprietary format of the system, in the Translation Memory eXchange Format (TMX), which can be imported by almost all TM systems, or as a table or plain text. It is also possible to provide specific information on the user of the alignment file or to add user-defined information fields.
In the example above the result of the alignment process will be stored directly in an existing TM or in a newly created one. It is then possible to export the aligned data in different formats using the database maintenance features of the system.