Great news for terminology exchange…

Terminology Exchange... TBX… and this will be particularly good news for users working in SDL Trados Studio with SDL WorldServer.  Today the Glossary Converter was updated on the OpenExchange with a number of very cool enhancements.  These are support for users still working with SDL MultiTerm 2009, support for Microsoft Excel workbooks containing multiple worksheets, Spanish user interface, a number of smaller usability improvements and bugfixes and the one I’m most interested in here… support for TBX.  TBX is a TermBase eXchange format that was developed for sharing terminology between different tools.  The reason I’m so interested is because if you want to use a TBX file in Studio as a resource for your AutoSuggest then you have to use MultiTerm Convert in order to create a MultiTerm TermBase.  This is not too difficult, but it can take a little work if there is a complex structure in the TBX… and of course it can take a little while as it’s at least a two-step process.  So making this easier would be great.
Continue reading “Great news for terminology exchange…”

Translating Literature…

Cartoon by Martin RowsonAs I’m writing this I can hear the cry of “Use a CAT tool for translating literature, or prose… no way!”  This is a discussion I see from time to time and there are some pretty strong feelings on this subject for a number of reasons. One of the reasons given is that you cannot take this type of material sentence by sentence and just do a literal translation.  Other reasons may be more detail around this same point, and also touch on the need for a creative flow because this type of translation requires a very creative writing style rather than literally translating the words.
Continue reading “Translating Literature…”

My favourite OpenExchange apps in 2012…

When I started writing this blog the first article I wrote was about the SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore).  I thought I’d start this year off by sharing my favorite applications … my favourite FREE applications.  We had a fair few of these over the course of the year but I’ll pick out six that I think are well worth a look.  In no particular order (well… alphabetical order) these six are:

  • Glossary Converter
  • Package Reader
  • SDLTmReverseLangs
  • SDLXLIFF Compare
  • SDLXLIFF to Legacy Converter
  • Terminjector

Continue reading “My favourite OpenExchange apps in 2012…”

Working with Packages

A “Package”, sometimes referred to as a “Kit”, is the name given to a file produced by some Translation Tools that comprises of some or all of the following:

  • Bilingual files for translation (SDLXLIFF, XLIFF, ITD, TTX for example)
  • Any files as reference material (source files as PDF documents, image files, native versions of the source files, reference material etc.)
  • Translation Memories (SDLTM, TMX for example)
  • Termbases (SDLTB, TBX for example)
  • AutoSuggest Dictionaries
  • Analysis information and wordcounts
  • Project metadata (due date, QA settings, filetype settings, custom quick inserts, etc.)

Continue reading “Working with Packages”

Identifying numbers in your analysis

Handling number only segments is a question that comes up a fair bit, and for a number of reasons.  Mostly it’s the more simple question of how to handle them at all; sometimes they are recognised and Studio can auto-localize them; sometimes they aren’t recognised and you need to work around this a little.  This question I’ve addressed a few times, so here’s a few links as a reminder.

Continue reading “Identifying numbers in your analysis”

Working with placeables that are not automatically recognised

#01A few articles ago I spent time explaining how to use the TermInjector OpenExchange application from Tommi Nieminen which allows you to create dynamic variables based on regular expressions.
It is a pretty complex article and I had to reread it a couple of times to get my head around it again, and I needed expert help from Tommi, but it was worth the effort because this tool could prove to be invaluable for users who regularly have to deal with numbers in a document that are not recognised by Studio, or currencies that are not used in a way that Studio can automatically localize them for you.
Continue reading “Working with placeables that are not automatically recognised”

Aliens and widgets…

Widget, the World Watcher is a purple alien who came down to earth to teach children about the problems caused by pollution and the importance of protecting our planet for future generations. Of course he also battled with evil villains and could shape-shift into various forms that allowed him to do battle and prevent the earths valuable resources from being stolen.
Continue reading “Aliens and widgets…”

"Please translate this short paragraph and return by email"

These “quick” jobs are never that quick if you want to make sure you add the translation to your Translation Memory, or leverage the work you’ve done before.  You need to copy the text into a word document, or similar, then open the document in your favourite translation environment, translate the document, save the target translation, open the document and copy the text, finally paste it back into your email to return to your client.
Continue reading “"Please translate this short paragraph and return by email"”