putting dita localization into practice
DESCRIPTION
Using the DITA XML standard can bring enormous improvements in the efficiency of localizing documentation. Some organizations report efficiency gains of 30-50% over traditional desktop publishing systems, and use the savings to expand further into global markets. This session gives a practical set of steps and guidelines for delivering your content smoothly and quickly in multiple languages. We will cover how to mark up content, how localization affects reuse, how to work with translators, and issues in generating localized deliverables. You'll learn about the big picture of how translation works in DITA, what steps you need to include in your process in order to get high-quality results, and exactly how to avoid common pitfalls that tend to make localization tricky.TRANSCRIPT
© 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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TOOLS
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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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Consider tools for controlled language
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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
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Further reading
“Using DITA for Successful Localization”: http://na.justsystems.com/whitepapers.php
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• 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
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