This icon in the translation grid indicates that the item text is shared text, that is, identical text used by multiple items. For example, numerous survey questions might have the same possible answers, such as “Yes” or “No”. Shared items need to be translated only once. When you edit a shared item, the change is automatically applied to all instances of the item. Shared items are also contained in a separate section at the end of the document. You can edit shared items either in the shared list section or in any instance of the item.

Shared text is an attribute of the original .mdd file as specified by the authoring tool that created the file; you cannot add or delete shared items in Translation Utility.