Single-Sourcing, Translation Savings

If you output your content into different formats, you know how important single-sourcing is in content creation. When you consolidate recurring information and build your files from a single source regardless of formats, you are also able to maximize the leveraging power from your translation memories and minimize your costs. For instance, if you have a lot of content for brochures and marketing materials, you can re-use a lot of it for websites without re-writing it for html files. Therefore, the translations used for those brochures are re-used for the website.

Many of the current authoring tools offer the flexibility to single-source. Quark 8® offers the option to create XML based content and output files in Flash. Adobe FrameMaker® also allows outputting content for help files when the structured content is stored as raw content in XML format instead of a manual. When you consolidate your material and start single-sourcing, you are able to save time and re-use your content across your output formats. Translation consistency is also enhanced, and you are able to maximize the use of translation memories.

Unwanted Files

The horror of digging through files that are not required for translation and localization has made the idea of driving of the bridge seem like a dream. I understand that sometimes people don't really know what files they are sending, they request it from a department in their company, that dude zips everything and forwards it to you; you send it of to us, and it's a mess.

This is particularly true for websites. Websites are usually composed of various files that are supplied by different groups and compiled by the webmaster. So, when it is sent for translation, the webmaster usually sends the entire package without indicating what needs translation. Usually, html, flash, xml, and graphic files are translated. PDFs that relate to another document are not translated unless specified. CSS and RESX files are excluded because they do not hold any literary content. Well, please try to specify what needs translation when you send a bunch of files. Accurate navigation will help the translation process, and keep my car from crashing through the guard rails.

The Update Nightmare

Every Technical Communicator knows this tale. The horrors of updating translations of manuals, or updating content on a website. Is there too much content that I might get charged full prices? Maybe there's recycled content in the memory? Should I just send the updated text and not the whole manual? These are the questions facing Technical Communicators as they decide what they want translated for their updated content. The job isn't any simpler for Project Managers at translation companies. We have to see how much content is in the memory, and figure out the best way to get the content translated and placed back into the document, if required without it costing our client an arm and a leg.

You have some options for waking up from this nightmare. You can build a glossary of terms that you frequently use in your manuals. Then get that glossary translated. If your content is constantly updated, those terms will probably remain the same and appear again, and now those terms are already translated. For websites, if you use a CMS or database driven website, you can ask your translation company to provide you with an authoring tool that links the memory or glossary file with your server (you may have to pay for the licensing, and it all depends on the compatibility of your CMS and the translation companies TMS). This authoring tool will enable you to access the memory and translated glossary as you write the updates. Now you can choose translated phrases or terms, and incorporate it instead of writing completely new phrases that you have to get translated. These options allow you to maximize your translations and ensure consistency on your website's updates.