Export Translations to Existing Flare Project

[techwriter14]

We just started using Lingo for some of our translations and have run into difficulties with the new process. I have a Flare project which contains files for several outputs/different documents. They're all part of the same project so we can single-source the content with Flare. Because of our timeline, certain documents must be translated and finalized before other documents are done being written. This leads me to the question: Is there a way to export translations from Lingo into an existing Flare project (instead of creating a new one each time you export)?

Here's a breakdown of our current process:
1. Create a Flare project for several documents/outputs. Let's call the documents "A" and "B."
2. Finish writing Document A in English (B is not yet done). Import the Flare project into Lingo.
3. Bundle files for Document A as an XLF, send to translators.
4. Document A translations come back to us - merge this bundle back into Lingo.
5. Export Lingo files into new, translated Flare project.
6. Finish up formatting and make other changes as as needed, then publish/finalize the translated Document A.
7. Finish Document B in the original (English) Flare project.
8. In Lingo, use File > Update Project to get the Lingo files up-to-date with the changes that have since been made in Document B files.
9. Bundle files for Document B as an XLF, send to translators.
10. Document B translations come back - merge this bundle into Lingo.
11. This is where I run into trouble. I want to merge the new Document B translations into the Flare project that was created when I exported Document A (in step 5). It's helpful to have all the files in one Flare project for single-sourcing. I know I could potentially export to a new translated Flare project - it would contain both Doc A & B translations - but it wouldn't have any of the changes I made prior to finalizing the translated Doc A (step 6).

Is there a way to do this? Or, is there a process change that could achieve the same result (while keeping our timeline intact)? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[kwag_myers]

I can't test this at the moment, but I wonder if you can submit the translated files into source control from the export folder, then check out the translated files into your project. My theory is that the source control processes the translated files just as though they were updated by someone else. When you check them out, it's as though you are getting someone else's updates.

[MattyQ]

Did you try using Flare's built-in project importer to import the files from translated Document B into the translated Document A? (Project tab, Import button.)

[JenShumate]

Were you able to find a way to do this? We haven't started doing translation yet, but we're about to. When I was reading through the quick start guide for Lingo, this is the exact concern that I had. It seems like any changes to the translated project will be lost every time there's an update. If there's a way to avoid that, I'd really like to know.

[MattyQ]

We don't run into any issues with changes being lost, but that may be related to workflow. We don't include the translated files, once they're created, in the original project. Instead, we maintain a directory of translated projects. Our workflow looks a little different. This workflow assumes you already have a project created that you want to translate.

First, assume you have an unfinished (source) project that you need to start translating...
Creating a Lingo project workflow:
1. In the source project, create a project bundle (.flprjzip) by right-clicking a target and selecting Export to new project. (We use a target that excludes content which should not be translated -- notes, etc.)
2. In Lingo, create a new project using the bundle.
3. Bundle files in project as XLfs and send to the translators.
4. Merge the translated bundle back into Lingo.
5. Export the Lingo project into a new, translated Flare project.

Now, assuming you've updated or finished the source project...
Updating a Lingo project workflow:
1. In the source project, create a project bundle by right-clicking a target and selecting Export to new project. (Again, to exclude any internal-only content)
2. In Lingo, use File > Update project to select the bundle and get the latest version of files.
3. Bundle un- and partially-translated files as XLFs, and send to translators.
4. Merge the translated bundle back into Lingo.
5. Export the Lingo project and overwrite the previously translated Flare project.

Using this workflow, our final output from Lingo is always a production-ready output, even if the source project isn't totally complete. This way, we're never in a position to make changes directly to the translated project (most changes should be managed by updating the project in Lingo and then exporting it again, in this workflow).

However, if I wanted to close the gap, and get the files from the translated project back into source project, I would do one of the following:
A) In the source project, create a Flare Project Import File that will bring over the translated topics and files from the translated Flare project.

or

B) In the source project, set up a set of synchronized files that correspond to the translated Flare project, so that when the translated Flare project is updated, the latest version of those files are brought into the source project, where they can be modified (and passed back to the translated project, if desired).


I will say that, best practice for us, keeping the translated content separate has been way less of a headache. If you make sure all changes are done in the source project, and then you use the File > Update project feature in Lingo, it makes management less crazy. If you're using a qualified third-party to do QC on the translation, it also feels easier to do that in the translated Flare project, rather than trying to negotiate all the content in a single project.

That said, this may be a numbers game. In our case, it's about 700,000 words across about 40 projects. If you're dealing with a single or a small subset of projects, importing the translated content back into the source project may be ideal. =)

All of this not to presume what you need for your work -- this is just how it's ended up working best for us.