Download - Putting DITA Localization into Practice

© 2010 JustSystems

Episode 16Episode 16Putting DITA Localization into Putting DITA Localization into

PracticePractice

Su-Laine Yeo, Solutions Consultant

in 37 minutes

© 2010 JustSystems

Agenda

• What’s new at JustSystems

• How to set up, how to manage files

• Guidelines for writing

• Choosing and working with translators

• Choosing tools

• What things will take more time than you think

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What’s New

• OASIS has officially released the DITA 1.2 specification

• Patch available for McAfee Antivirus conflict: See http://forums.xmetal.com and search for “McAfee”

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Why DITA for localization?

• Desktop publishing takes minutes, not days, per language

• Topic-oriented structure enables incremental translation

• Reuse leads to less content to translate

• Time savings enable simultaneous shipping

• Efficiency gains of up to 30-50%

• Makes it possible to deliver in more languages

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How it all works

Parallel folder systems for each language

English:

French:

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Use the xml:lang attribute

<map xml:lang = “fr-fr”>

<title>Guide de l’utilisateur</title>

…

</map>

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How it all works (cont’d)

Identical structural markup in each language

<topic xml:lang = "en-us">...

<note type = “attention"> Watch your step as you disembark. </note>

...</topic>

<topic xml:lang = "en-us">...

<note type = “attention"> Watch your step as you disembark. </note>

...</topic>

<topic xml:lang = “fr-fr">...

<note type = “attention"> Attention à la marche en descendant du train.</note>

...</topic>

<topic xml:lang = “fr-fr">...

<note type = “attention"> Attention à la marche en descendant du train.</note>

...</topic>

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How it all works (cont’d)

• Publishing system produces production-quality output automatically

• Publishing system adjusts output for each language

Avertissement: Attention à la marche en descendant du train.

Attention: Watch your step as you disembark.

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LOCALIZATION-FRIENDLY WRITING

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Use elements, not attributes

• Some translation software does not allow translating attribute values

• Examples:– <image> alt text– <map> title

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Inline elements

• Remove extra spaces

• Use semantic elements

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Images: Using numbered callouts

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Images: Using SVG

• Lets you use text within callouts

• Send the SVG file to the translator to have callouts translated

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Index markers and glossary entries

• For Japanese and Chinese, use <index-sort-as> elements

• If needed, specialize DITA to create a <glossary-sort-as> element type

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Identify what not to translate

• Tell translators what types of elements should not be translated, e.g. <codeblock>

• On most elements, you can set ‘translate = “no”’

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LOCALIZATION AND REUSE

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Conditional text and conref

• Languages often require words in a sentence to “agree” with words which come before or after– E.g. “a” vs “an” in English

• Conditionalize only whole sentences

• Use conref only for whole sentences and proper nouns such as product names

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WORKING WITH TRANSLATORS

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Rule #1

Your translator MUST work in DITA XML

Picture: Fir0002

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Use XLIFF

• XML Localization Interchange File Format

• Packages all topic and map files into a single file for easier back-and-forth

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Watch “white space”

• White space (“pretty printing”) makes XML easier to read in Plain Text View, but can confuse translation memory systems

• Turn off automatic insertion of white space if needed:– Tools > Macros– DITA Configuration: Turn OFF Pretty-Printing

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Checklist: Communicating with your translator

• Give XSD/DTD files to your translator

• Which attribute values should be translated?– Typically, “navtitle” and nothing else

• What shouldn’t be translated?:– List of element types– Use of “translate” attribute

• Who will set the xml:lang attribute?

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Clean content in, clean content out

You:

• fix validation errors

• fix broken links

• remove extra spaces

Translator:

• sends you the same markup you sent them

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Select localization-friendly tools

• All tools must be Unicode-compliant

• Authoring tools must support localization-friendly markup:– “xml:lang” attribute– “translate” attribute– no junk that will confuse translation memory

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Tools will need configuration

In publishing tools:

• Generated text strings

• Fonts (especially for non-Latin alphabets)

• Index sorting rules

• Page sizes

• Help system buttons, tabs, menus

Experts are useful!

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DITA Open Toolkit (Version 1.5)

• Methods for customizing the toolkit vary by output format (e.g. PDF vs. HTML)

• Methods for identifying the language vary

• Some strings files have poor translations, and/or contain English

Picture: ZeroOne

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Heads-up: Font issues

• In PDF output, the default behaviour is for text to not appear

• Only characters from explicitly declared ranges will appear

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Summary

• Potentially huge cost and time savings– Enables simultaneous shipping

• The main things to get right are:– Writers follow guidelines for localization-friendly

writing– Translators work directly in XML– Translators know what to translate – Time is allocated to DITA Open Toolkit configuration

© 2010 JustSystems

• Global Presence– 1,000 employees, ‘07 revenues of $110M

– HQ in Japan; Corporate Offices in Vancouver and London; Sales Offices Worldwide

• Our Experience– Established in 1979

– Market leader with over 2,500 customers

• Our Expertise– Global provider of office productivity, information

management, consumer & enterprise software

– Framework for XML-based content creation, integration, visualization and delivery

• Our Credibility

– eContent 100 member in 2009

– KMWorld Trend-Setting Product Award 2009

– KM World “100 Companies that Matter” 2010

2,500 Customers,Marquee Brands

About JustSystemsAbout JustSystems

© 2010 JustSystems

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Download - Putting DITA Localization into Practice

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