Working with Professional Translators

Hi All,

It's been a long time without post. For those who care, I'm still alive :-) It's simply that I didn't feel like writing that much anymore. But I'm back...

New in appTranslator: XLIFF

One of the things I've been adding to appTranslator lately is XLIFF support. XLIFF's full name does a pretty goof job at describing itself: XML Localisation Interchange File Format. iow, a standard format to exchange translation data between different tool vendors.

What's the purpose, you ask ? Well, the idea is that professional translators often have their own toolbox of translation tools. So when you call a translation agency and tell them about appTranslator, they often reply appTransWHAT ? You know, they are used to translating documents. But they're not used to translating GUIs _at all_. Their tools are very good at doing generic translation. But when it comes to extracting resources or fixing dialog layouts (to name only a few specific issues), these tools are nowhere. But no matter what, these translators are often not going to switch tools just for you.

XLIFF vs appTranslator Translator Edition

So how do you work with people who don't want to hear about appTranslator TE ? XLIFF is the answer. Just export the appTranslator project to an XLIFF file and send them the file. When you receive the file back (translated), just import it back into appTranslator. It's exactly the same process as working with appTranslator Translator Edition (TE). Except that translators use their own tools instead of appTranslator TE.
Of course, this means a little more work for you: Their tools don't do GUIs-specific checks such as dialog layouts. So you'll have to do these checks yourself. But OTOH, you may expect better productivity from your translators since they use their own tools.

Oh! By the way, XLIFF is not a take-it-or-leave-it: You can decide to use XLIFF with one translator and appTranslator TE with another translator. It's really up to you and the requirements of each translator.

Getting a translation quote

Another interesting use of XLIFF is to get a quote from these translation agencies: Their tools include powerful word and sentences counters that help them quote the work more accurately.

Interested?

XLIFF support in appTranslator Professional Edition is currently in beta. Feel free to drop me a line if you want to give it a try.

For the ones who care, here is more info about XLIFF.