Document Localization Process?

[Lisa M. Bronson]

Hi Sivia,

I am the translation coordinator where I work. Our translation vendor uses
TRADOS to build a translation memory for each language. We version control
at the chapter level, so when we make updates to a manual, I compare each of
the modified chapters (File > Utilities > Compare Documents) to its most
recently translated version. For example, if the current English version is
rev 4, and the most recent translation of that chapter is rev 2, I compare
rev 4 in English to rev 2 in English. I send all of the comparison documents
and summaries to the translator.

The compare documents feature is not perfect. It doesn't seem to compare
text in tables, and many times, it indicates that a graphic has changed, but
I can't see any difference between the graphic that's marked as "inserted"
and the one marked "deleted". Regardless of its quirks, it's still a
beneficial tool! Just last week, this process saved us a good chunk of
money. The translators charge a certain amount (per page or word, I think)
to run documents through the TRADOS translation memory. It turned out that
several of the files had changes that were so minor, it was more efficient
to do the changes manually. If I hadn't done the comparisons, the price
would have been much higher.

I hope this helps.

Warm regards,
Lisa B.



On 11/24/05, Sivia Atar <satar at mercury.com> wrote:
>
>
> I would like to hear how other companies manage the process of localizing
> documentation (workflow, communication, and tools).
>
>
>
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