[Framers] Authoring and distributing a manual for US and non-US customers

[Catherine Woods]

It's been some time since I created documents for translation, but
generally remember:

   - Stick to deadlines for English source documents and don't allow anyone
   to talk you into changing them
   - Some languages take longer to translate and are more expensive (i.e.,
   Chinese)
   - Some languages have options like European or Central and South
   American (CALA) Spanish and Portuguese, Traditional and Simplified Chinese,
   European or Canadian French. Try to pick just one.
   - Will you be tasked with finding in-country reviewers for the
   translations? This ended up being a big issue for me.
   - ezGlobe was the last company I worked with and was superior in all
   areas. Smoothed the whole process for me more than once.
   - Ask for RFP based a test document from at least 5 translation
   companies before choosing a finalist.
   - Realize that you're getting into a big job almost the size of the
   document creation and maintenance themselves.
   - Are you using a content management system to create the document? It
   will make your job easier.

Even though it sounds like I didn't like this aspects of the job, it opened
my eyes to many areas I'd never that of before. I can now tell the
differences between Traditional and Simplified Chinese and Korean, Spanish
and Portuguese, and some Scandinavian languages.

Catherine

On Fri, Nov 8, 2019 at 2:03 PM Richard Melanson <rmelanson at highresbio.com>
wrote:

> Tammy,
>
> I would recommend Googling FIGS and the word translation together.   FIGS
> = French Italian German Spanish.
>
> You will get so many answers to your questions below you won't know where
> to start  :-)
>
> Rick
>
>
> Richard Melanson
> Technical Writer|HighRes Biosolutions
> T:781.932.1912x1160|rmelanson at highresbio.com
> www.highresbio.com???
>
> This e-mail message may contain confidential information and may not be
> used by anyone but the intended recipient.  If you are not the intended
> recipient, you are hereby notified that any use or dissemination of this
> message is strictly prohibited. If you received this message in error,
> please notify HighRes Biosolutions immediately by reply email.  Then delete
> this message from your system.  Thank you.-----Original Message-----
> From: Framers [mailto:framers-bounces+rmelanson=
> highresbio.com at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of
> tammyvb at spectrumwritingllc.com
> Sent: Friday, November 08, 2019 4:52 PM
> To: framers at lists.frameusers.com; 'TECHWR-L' <techwr-l at techwr-l.com>
> Subject: [Framers] Authoring and distributing a manual for US and non-US
> customers
>
> A longtime client who initially distributed their product only in the US
> was acquired by a large international firm and now will be required to have
> their manuals available to customers in Europe, Asia, and A-Pac. Currently,
> I am developing in FM V12 and producing a PDF that is available online.
>
>
>
> The only information that I can gather right now is that this new customer
> base will also require PDFs.
>
>
>
> 1.      I need to consider that I might be the one handling the logistics
> of
> the translation process to an outside vendor versus any in-house staff.
> (They do have folks that deal w/ this issue but they are overworked and
> understaffed and right now, can't guarantee that they can take on another
> division's translation requirements.)
> 2.      The current source is manual is classic US-approved layout - 8.5 x
> 11 w/ crop marks for printing specified but my client briefly rattled off
> their concern about the A4 requirement for Europe.
>
>
>
> So, my questions:
>
>
>
> 1.      How does A4 and any other non-US requirements impact/affect my
> template in FM? What do I need to do/plan for/change the layout of so that
> I have one single source guide that serves all customers - US and on-US?
> 2.      I know I can learn the logistics of the translation process but
> first, any one company/person that you would recommend and what do I have
> to be aware of in my FM template knowing that the source will be translated?
> Any insight into the translation process/logistics of (what files I have
> to provide, what I get back, etc.) would be sincerely appreciated.
>
>
>
> Regards and TGIF,
>
>
>
> TVB
>
>
>
>
>
> Tammy Van Boening
>
> Tammy dot vanboening at spectrumwritingllc dot com
>
> www.spectrumwritingllc.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com Visit the list's homepage
> at  http://www.frameusers.com Archives located at
> http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
> _______________________________________________
>
> This message is from the Framers mailing list
>
> Send messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com
> Visit the list's homepage at  http://www.frameusers.com
> Archives located at
> http://www.mail-archive.com/framers%40lists.frameusers.com/
> Subscribe and unsubscribe at
> http://lists.frameusers.com/listinfo.cgi/framers-frameusers.com
> Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com
>