Comparing two flare projects

[Eric Lachance]

Hi everyone!

We're currently getting our Flare projects translated externally and, while it took some work to get them to properly modify the output so it was workable "out of the box" (changing the project language so the webhelp skin was in the correct one, changing destination paths, etc), they're now able to do so with relative ease.

However, one thing that we haven't had to deal with yet is updates in the source and translation projects. We're going to be doing internal reviews of each language (in one of our international branches), and for the initial translation it's alright for the reviewer to look at the complete documentation. However, if in the near future we change a half-dozen pages, get them translated and then output them, how can we make sure our reviewers can have access only to the newly modified pages?

I'm thinking of something like a "diff" project from Lingo, however we don't actually use Lingo, neither does our translator. Even if it was just a straight-up list of the topic that had been changed I would be happy.

Does anyone have an easy way of doing this, or even better, a method that you're currently using to maximize the reviewers' time?

[ChoccieMuffin]

Your translators probably use something like Trados, an industry-standard tool in the localisation world. Have a chat with them to see if they can analyse your changed material to quickly identify the new stuff. They should then be able to produce files that the reviewers can work with, which may be PDFs of topics that have changed, or sections of the project marked with change bars, or some other file format.

Basically, use your localisation company's expertise for what they're good at. If they're worth their salt they'll be able to work with you to come up with the most cost-effective process that suits your needs and works in conjunction with your own internal processes. If they keep you happy, they'll be more likely to keep you as a happy customer so it's worth their while to do so.

Do let us know what you eventually come up with.

[Eric Lachance]

Thanks ChoccieMuffin , I spoke to our translator and they indeed use Trados, and they'll provide this for us.

Sometimes I just want to be in independent

[ChoccieMuffin]

Why keep a dog and bark yourself? That's what they're there for, so make use of 'em.

And glad I could make a sensible suggestion.

I get the impression that Lingo duplicates quite a lot of the functionality that is in Trados, though may well involve fewer hoops to jump through when working specifically with Flare projects. However, unless you're going to be organising your own translation work and working with translators rather than a localisation company I'm not convinced you'd get full use from the programme. That said, there are companies who either have internal translators or who manage teams of external translators directly so there is definitely a place for Lingo, and I'm not knocking it.