Anyone using Trados is going to break a few tags at some point. It happens. There’s no way around it (that I’ve found), and it can be an extremely frustrating experience. If you are translating with Microsoft Word and you haven’t yet tried to close the segment or done any other Trados operation, you can undo your last action (Ctrl+Z) and hopefully fix it that way.

If you have however tried to use Trados, your best bet is the “Fix Document” command. This is the second to last option in the Trados menu ( Alt+Ctrl+U) and will usually fix small errors and broken tags. It finds the damaged tag, repairs it and then takes you back to the beginning of your document. Unfortunately, it is not always so “magical.” If it does not work for you, you can try to copy source and re-translate or try and copy a good tag and paste it over the damaged one.

Trados Fix Document should not be seen as a failsafe way to fix tags, but rather as a first attempt that will sometimes save you a big headache. In my experience, it has worked about 2/3 of the time. So keep it in mind, watch your tags and good luck!