Installing filters in Microsoft LocStudio

Johnny.speiermann — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:20:03 +0000

Today I received a mail via www.proz.com with a question about how to import a filter into LocStudio.

This is very easy to do:

Make sure LocSudio is not open.
Copy the filter file (.lsf) to the folder C:\%ProgramFiles%\LocStudio\filters.
Start LocStudio.

The filter is now available in the user filters.

LocCultures error in LocStudio 4.8

Johnny.speiermann — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 09:35:29 +0000

From time to time I get an error in LocStudio 4.8 that refers to the LocCultures.xml file.

Usually the error occurs when running the LocVer function, but sometimes the error occurs when editing a resource in LocStudio, and the content of the resource then cannot be changed.

The error can easily be fixed by deactivating LocVer verification when translating:

Select Software > Project Settings with the EDB file open in LocStudio.
Select the Translation Tests tab.
Scroll to the bottom of the list, deactivate Verify Localization Rules, and then click OK.

My thanks to Peter for this tip.

Translating PowerPoint notes

Johnny.speiermann — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 11:07:16 +0000

If you are using Trados TagEditor to translate PowerPoint files you will notice that comments cannot be edited, and the comments are also not included in the word count in your file analysis.

In Trados 2007 the solution to this is very simple:

Select SDL International in the Start menu, and select the folder for your version of Trados (for example SDL Trados 2007 Freelance).
Select the folder Filters, and then select Filter Settings to open the dialog SDL Trados Filter Settings.
Select your version of PowerPoint in the left pane, for example PowerPoint 2007.
Select Hyperlink and comment processing.
Select the check box Process comments in PowerPoint 2007.
Click Save to save the new filter settings, and Exit the dialog.

Trados Filter Settings - PowerPoint

You should now be able to translate comments in your PowerPoint file.

Installing Microsoft LocStudio 4.8 on Windows 7

Johnny.speiermann — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:53:13 +0000

I have experienced problems installing LocStudio 4.8 on Windows 7.

When installing I get an error that .NET Framework 2.0 must be installed, but when installing .NET Framework 2.0 I get an error that this is already part of the operating system.

I found out that the problem is related to .NET Framework 4.

To solve the problem I uninstalled .NET Framework 4.0 Client Profile. After this I could install LocStudio 4.8.

This does not solve the problem completely though.

After installing LocStudio 4.8 it still didn’t run, and I got the error ‘Localization Studio Entry Program stopped working’.

The problem can be solved by installing the .NET Framework 4.0 Standalone Installer (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a391abd-25c1-4fc0-919f-b21f31ab88b7&displaylang=en) instead of installing .NET Framework 4.0 using Microsoft Web Installer (or do not install .NET Framework 4.0 unless it is required for other software).

Update (Nov. 23, 2010):

This is the process to follow if you install LocStudio 4.8 on Windows 7 and get the error that .NET Framework 2 is required:

Ignore and forget the error.
Uninstall .NET Framework 4.0 if it is already installed.
Install .NET Framework 4.0 Standalone Installer (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a391abd-25c1-4fc0-919f-b21f31ab88b7&displaylang=en).
Uninstall .NET Framework 4.0 Client Profile.
Install LocStudio 4.8.

Copying between Excel and Word

Johnny.speiermann — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:42:19 +0000

In translation you often receive Excel files for translation that aren’t easily prepared for translation.

A common solution is to copy the columns in the Excel sheet to Word, translate the text using Word and your favorite TM tool, and then copy the translations back into Excel.

A problem that often occur is that the rows in Excel are messed up when pasting into Excel.

This usually happens if the writer used manual line breaks in cells in Excel (Alt+Enter). When pasting the translation back into Excel the manual line break is interpreted as a new row, and your spreadsheet ends up in a big mess.

Example of Excel content with manual line break in the cell in row 2:

The text copied to Word:

The icon represents the manual line break.

Here you can see the result when copying directly back to Excel. The manual line break in the second cell being divided into two cells:

To solve the issue you can use Search & Replace in Word to replace the manual line breaks using a character combination. To allow the translation tool to handle sentences correctly this should be done after the translation and just before copying the translation to Excel.

I usually do this by searching for ‘^l’ (lower case L) and replacing with ‘££’ or another character combination that is not used in the text (in Word).

When pasting the translation into Excel the rows will now be correct.

To replace the ‘££’ character combination to manual line breaks I use Search & Replace in Excel searching for ‘££’ and replacing with a manual line break. The manual line break can be inserted into the Replace box by selecting the text box, holding the Alt key and typing 0010 using the numeric keys.

The translations should now use the same structure as the original text.

Filtering in Translation Workspace XLIFF Editor

Johnny.speiermann — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:48:49 +0000

Filtering in the XLIFF Editor for Translation Workspace is a brilliant solution, and I think it’s the first translation tool that really helps the proofing process.

It can be a difficult task to make a translation tool that is useful for all translators as we all work in different ways, but the filters in the Translation Workspace XLIFF Editor can be used no matter how you process the files.

Depending on the files and the file analysis we even work in different ways on different projects. If the project consists of mainly no matches and low fuzzy matches the files are translated and then proofed by another person.

If a project consists of many 100% matches and 90-99% matches the translator often does the proofing of these while editing the strings. But handling this can be difficult when the files are being proofed, and we don’t want to spend time proofing the same strings twice.

We have previously developed our own tool where you can color the text in a document using different colors depending on the match percentage. This way we can easily filter out for example 90-100% matches if the translator have already done the proofing of these. The main problem with this proces is that the tool runs in Word only, so we have been using it for files translated using Logoport and Trados with Word and for files translated in TagEditor where we have to copy and paste the files to Word before running the tool.

In XLIFF Editor we can now save a lot of steps and time.

How to filter in XLIFF Editor

In XLIFF Editor there are two types of filters: Document Filter and Source/Target filter.

The first filter is the drop down Filter in the top left of the XLIFF Editor window. You use the filter by selecting the appropriate filter in the drop down and then click Filter in front of the drop down and select Apply Document Filter.

The Filter drop down in XLIFF Editor

The filter Translatable will show all strings that have already been translated and all untranslated strings. The filter Untranslated will hide all translated strings, so that you as a translator can concentrate on new content.

As described earlier we often need a filter to hide all 90-100% matches, and for that we need to create a custom filter. See How to: Create a custom filter in XLIFF Editor. When using this filter the proofreader can concentrate on the strings that the translator haven’t already proofread.

The Source/Target filter can be used to either show only the source texts (the ‘S’ icon), show only the target texts (the ‘T’ icon) or show both source and target (the ‘B’ icon). This is also helpful during proofreading and editing. When proofreading your own translations it can be a huge benefit to hide the source texts if you are sure that you have interpreted the content correctly. If you are proofreading or editing a file that was translated by another person you need to check the translations against the source, and then you can click ‘B’ to show both the source and the translations.

Source/Target filter in XLIFF Editor

How to: Create a custom filter in XLIFF Editor

Johnny.speiermann — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:43:05 +0000

Read more about why you should be using filters in XLIFF Editor in Filtering in Translation Workspace XLIFF Editor.

How to create a custom filter

As described in Filtering in Translation Workspace XLIFF Editor we often need a filter to filter out 100% matches and high fuzzy matches. Here’s how to create the filter.

Select Edit > Edit Filters
Click Add in the top of the dialog to open the dialog Add New
Type the name of the filter, for example 0-90% matches
Click Add on the left of the dialog Edit filters
Click the drop down has target and select the value match percent value.
Select is on the third drop down
Type the value <90 in the fourth drop down
Click Close.

The new filter is now available in the Filter drop down in the top left of the XLIFF Editor window.

How to: Generate LocVer reports in Microsoft LocStudio

Johnny.speiermann — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:35:46 +0000

If you work in LocStudio you know that you should run LocVer to check that some defined rules are followed.

Often you will be asked to deliver the LocVer report, but often the report is not generated as a file, and if you have several files in the same folder you risk that they are named the same and that existing LocVer reports are overwritten.

How to generate LocVer reports in LocStudio 6.x:

Open the LSPKG file in LocStudio
Select Software > Project Settings
Select the Translation Platform tab
Find the section Localization Verification (LocVer) Settings > Logging Settings in the list area
Select Output to log file, remove the check mark from Use User Settings in the Project Settings section, and then select On on the drop down in the Project Settings section
Select Log file name in the Logging Settings section in the list area
Remove the check mark from Use User Settings in the Project Settings section, and then change the file name from locver.log to locver_%EDBNAME%.log.

The Project Settings dialog should look something like this:

When you run LocVer on the resources in the file, LocStudio generates a log file where ‘%EDBNAME%’ is replaced by the file name of the LSPKG file.

How to: Autotranslate files in Microsoft Helium

Johnny.speiermann — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:21:22 +0000

Autotranslating files in a Helium project is fairly straightforward, but here’s a tip that might save you some time.

Preparing autotranslation in Helium

In your open Helium project you must attach a glossary/TM to the project by selecting Tools > Options > Lookup > Add. Keep the remaining settings as default, and close the dialog.

Autotranslation in Helium

Even if the customer has already autotranslated the files in the project I usually autotranslate the files with one or more of my own TMs if I have a TM from a similar project (the customer TM might not be as recent as your own, or they have left it to you to do the autotranslation.)

Autotranslating 100% matches in the files makes it faster to proofread the files after finishing the translation.

I always autotranslate 100% matches only. Autotranslating fuzzy matches can result in a mess that takes longer to fix.

In addition I set the status for autotranslated strings to Review, so that I can distinguish them from Reviewed strings and from repetitions. And remember, you are still 100% responsible for a 100% match.

How to autotranslate:

Select Translate > AutoTranslate Files
Select the files to be autotranslated in the Files section
Select Term and Sentence and check 100% Matches Only in the Lookup Options section
Select Review on the drop down Set the Term Status on “long” 100% matches to.

This is where most people accept the files as being autotranslated, but in some cases you can optimize this.

The reason you can get more out of the proces is that the TM can contain strings with and without tags. If the TM contains strings with tags only then the first autotranslation will only autotranslate strings with the same tags in the new strings. But often files contain for example headings both with and without tags – especially if a file contains a TOC.

So to get more out of this you should export the autotranslated strings to the TM to ensure that it contains all strings both with and without tags and then run the autotranslation one more time.

How to export translations:

Select Translate > Export Glossary
Select the relevant files in the Files section
Click Browse in Export Glossary File, and select your TM
Select all options in the Export Term with States except for Non-Edited
Select Both in the sections Export Options and Export Tags in Terms
Click OK.

Go through the steps or autotranslation as described above in How to autotranslate.