Translating Flare: Questions and Answers
The following is an excerpt from a February 9, 2001 Webinar Q & A on the topic of Managing Content and Form for Translation with Flare.
- I’m interested in knowing how using global project and local projects affects the translation process. Would they need to be translated together?
Yes, typically both the global and local projects need to be translated, although any shared content only has to be translated once and “redistributed”.
- How many languages are supported here in this tool?
Flare and Lingo officially support over 39 languages. See http://webhelp.madcapsoftware.com/flare5…
- Does the Translation Memory [TM] also enable translators to only translate content that has changed from release to release? Or is that a different tool?
Lingo enables translators to assess which content has changed or been added. If you are using Lingo, you can use this feature to prepare a package for the translator that contains only new or added content. In general, TM tools can compare content to what has been previously translated, to reuse the translations, but they do not identify changes in the underlying code or structure of the files. That kind of comparison must be done manually, if Lingo isn’t used.
- Is it better to make the paragraphs in the source as small as possible?
In general, being concise is always best for translation. However, it’s most important for your content to be written clearly and free of ambiguity. If more detailed instructions or descriptions are better for the user in a given context, then your topics should be as long or as short as necessary.
- Can you give an example of how the DTP manipulation is easier in Flare?
For example, in Flare you don’t need to spend as much time fitting text or manually fixing paragraph-level formatting, as is more common in traditional DTP tools.
- Do the translated files still require DTP after being re-imported into Flare/Blaze? (or not at all?)
Yes, after the re-import, DTP work is typically required at the level of a tidy-up. Depending on the project and the targets, there may be language-specific adjustments to make (such as object width or font size/style). Also, on occasion translation memory tools can introduce errors that must be corrected. These types of DTP tasks may include text fitting in tables; rearranging tags or inserting missing formatting/tags; repairing broken links.
- How do you get a word count for estimating translation costs with Lingo, since it counts translation units instead of words? Is it the same for updating previously translated text?
Lingo does generate a log that includes both segments and words. It will also report how much text repetition exists. If a translation memory is used during analysis, it will also report partial and full matches. Please note that every translation memory tool, including Lingo, will always generate a slightly different word count than other tools.
- Will the translator need to have Flare and Lingo?
No, it is not required, but it depends on the level of service you need.
- Is there anything akin to a “Translating Flare Projects” that a Flare user can supply to a localication vendor? (Many vendors know only about FrameMaker or Word files, and so need instruction in workiing with Flare-based content.)
Nothing formally published. It’s also part of the competitive landscape to acquire new skills. In the translation industry, differentiation between service providers can be difficult to establish in the minds of buyers of translation. One way in which that is done is to proactively learn new technologies and support them well. Most companies are reticent to openly share knowledge acquired through such efforts.
- Can you further define, “below sentence level?”
Yes, when discussing the use of snippets, for example, you have the choice to create a snippet for a whole sentence or paragraph. But, you can also create a snippet for a word or phrase within a sentence—which is considered below the level of a sentence.
- Is it okay to use Variables or Snippets for UI elements like titles of dialog boxes or button text?
Yes, this is a case when single word substitutions can work well, since UI elements are fixed phrases that should not change when inserted into a sentence.
- If the tech writers are using Flare, do the translators also need to have Flare? Can we just hand them the source files to translate?
Yes, most translation service providers should be able to translate the raw source files, but a few may not be able to filter the files into their translation tools correctly. (The ease of doing that varies based on the tool they’re using and the service provider’s technical abilities.) And again, it depends on the level of support you need and how comfortable you will be when creating targets in another language.
- What is the advantage of translating the Flare project entirely as opposed to just translating the output?
The advantage to having a translated Flare project is the ability to output to different targets at will. You also lose the ability to easily update the foreign language versions at a later time.
- What about the InDesign Interchange formats (INX)?
Lingo does not support this format. Other translation memory tools may or may not support it; it depends on the tool.
- What is the difference between the terms Localization, Globalization, and Internationalization?
Good question. In the translation industry they are often used quite loosely and vary according to user. Objectively, localization is the adaptation of an existing product or text to meet the requirements and expectations of another market—making it appear that is was created locally. Globalization is the adaptation of processes, products and content to be used across borders and to function regardless of local differences. Internationalization is the process of transforming a product or text to remove locale-specific preferences or requirements. Internationalization is typically done to software products so that they can easily be localized. But documentation may require internationalization as well to remove local slang, regionalisms, metaphors that won’t translate, etc.
- I’m confused about what the technical writers give to the translators and then what we receive from the translators. Do they generate the final output, or do they supply us with the translated source and then we generate the final output?
This depends on which type of production model works best for you. If you are not comfortable with or don’t have the time to handle publishing in multiple languages, it may be to your benefit to work with a translation provider who can take your complete Flare project and handle the full process for you. If you prefer to manage your Flare projects directly, then you can provide only the raw content files, but this also puts the responsibility on your shoulders to provide ALL the content and to resolve any compilation issues.
- I’m new to Flare and am wondering if it’s best to include all translations in a single project or if I should have separate projects for each translation?
We generally recommend maintaining separate projects for each language.
- How does Lingo interact with SDL Trados Memory?
It doesn’t interact directly, but Lingo can import translation memories from SDL Trados using the TMX file format. Also, Lingo’s packaged files for translation can be processed through SDL Trados.
- You mentioned images and captions – can you share any tips or best practices for working with these?
Generally, it’s best to minimize the amount of text you are placing in images in order to reduce cost and time. When you do place text, consider using numbered callouts in which the labels are list in a tabular key outside the image. If that’s not possible then be sure that all layered artwork is available and that all text layers can be duplicated. Another good idea is to make sure that there is enough extra space to allow for languages that expand (take up more room). Using Capture and Mimic, you can save time and cost for translation, since the text is immediately accessible for translation via XML resource files, and the text boxes can be adjusted easily. If using Capture and Mimic, be sure not to delete the .props files for any images needing localization.
- Is there any match leverage lost when importing TMX files from Trados to Lingo?
Yes, it’s our experience that regardless of TM tools there is typically some match loss when converting between tools.
- Has Lingo ever been used for Ruby on Rails localization?
Hard to say. Lingo can likely import resource strings in text format, so depending how resources are configured for the application, it may be possible.
- I am a consulting tech writer who whenever possible convinces my customers to standardize on Flare. How can I help my customers shop for Flare-friendly localization vendors? (My customers almost always want to receive competitive bids from multiple localization vendors.)
MadCap has been referring to some of its partners. This is helpful because those translation vendors who are collaborating with MadCap are invariably MadCap customers. This shows a higher level of commitment to supporting Flare.
- Does lingo recreate the translated file automatically? or a DTP step is still required?
If a Flare project is imported into Lingo, a translated Flare project can then be exported from Lingo. DTP tidy-up is still required.
- What is the advantage using Lingo instead of Sizulizer (which we already have)?
I’m not familiar with Sisulizer, but after visiting their website, I see they make a .Net localization tool that does support other file formats sucht as HTML, WebHelp, etc. It may be possible to do translation within Sisulizer, but you would not have the benefit of Lingo’s project updating features. It is also unclear whether it would recognize MadCap-specific tags and features, or how it would handle them.
- Is the Termbase used to not translate technical terms?
Termbases are best used for defining critical technical terminology up-front (prior to translation of all the content) in order to improve accuracy and consistency during translation.
- How does this workflow change if neither the writers or the translators have Lingo?
If Lingo isn’t used, your options are to hand-off your complete Flare project to your translation provider, or to provide them with all the raw content files. (Or, if the other options are not possible, to provide them with only the output.)
- Our translation provider says they can work with XML output if we provide a DTD. Is there any way to provide a DTD or schema with the XHMTML output I can generate from Flare?
There is no DTD file within Flare, so this would have to be generated using a 3rd–party tool. The XHTML files do reference an XML schema file, but that’s property of MadCap and may not be available.
- When you say Flare streamlines the translation process, do you mean Flare on its own or Flare when used with Lingo? As a tech writer I’m not sure whether I need Lingo, or if it’s enough that the translators have it.
Flare inherently streamlines the process by making all content easily accessible but also because it decreases DTP time. Having Lingo helps tech writers with managing translation.
- Can you suggest reading material for TMs and termbases?
Here are three readings that may be of help:
¦ Alcina, A. (2008). Translation technologies: Scope, tools and resources. Target 20(1): 79–102. Link
¦ Bowker, L. (2002). Computer-aided translation technology: A practical introduction. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.
¦ Quah, C.K. (2006). Translation and technology. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
¦ Somers, H. (Ed) (2003). Computers and translation: A translator’s guide. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
- What is the best work flow for incorporating translation reviews when using Flare and Lingo with a 3rd party translation tool (for example, after the initial translation has been delivered, the translations sent for review, and translation reviews have been provided)?
For Flare projects, the MadCap’s Feedback server works well. It helps to give reviewers the option to access both source (English) and translated versions of the topics. Another option is to output to PDF, which can be marked-up. There are some 3rd–party tools for online client review, but these can be quite pricey and will likely require some customization to support Flare files.
- Do you have any best practice advise regarding tables?
Tables are tricky, but in general, yes. You should use table styles whenever possible (whether that means the stand-alone TableStyles or whether that simply means setting up your own styles in the main stylesheet). Also, try to avoid using fixed-width columns or cells. If you do need to set the widths and it’s a recurring table style, try to set the widths in the stylesheet, not locally. (If that particular table style/type only appears once, it doesn’t matter if the width is set in the stylesheet or locally.)
