Using Lingo as Translation Management Solution

You can use Lingo as a translation management solution. In other words, you plan to use Lingo to consolidate the files to be translated and then send them to a translator, who may be using a different tool than Lingo. See Bundles.

  1. Create Lingo Project (Author) The author creates a Lingo project based on the project or files that require translation. See Creating Projects.
  2. (Optional) Create/Import Translation Memory (Author) You can create a new translation memory (TM) database for the project and import a Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) file from the translator. Your translator's quote should take into account previous translations from the TMX file (which makes translation work less expensive than translating brand new segments). You can view statistics (Step 6 below) on the project to see how many translations from the TMX file match segments in your source documents. See Translation Memory, Creating a Translation Memory Database, and Importing TMX Files.
  3. Prepare and Send Bundle (Author) In Lingo, the author bundles the necessary files in the project. You can bundle all files or only selected files. To do this, open the File List window pane, select the appropriate files, and click the Prepare Translation Bundle button . Then send the bundle—which is either a ZIP file (if the translator will be using a third-party tool) or an LIPRJZIP file (if the translator will be using Lingo). This bundle file consists of the content files requiring translation, and can also consist of translation memory databases or termbases. See Preparing Translation Bundles.

  4. Translate Content, Send ZIP or LIPRJZIP File (Translator) Using a third-party tool or Lingo, the translator performs the translation work, puts the completed files into a ZIP or LIPRJZIP file, and sends it back to the author. See Exporting Translated Projects.

    Note Translators must return a bundle in the same file format as the original bundle they received. If you sent the translator a Lingo project file (*.LIPRJZIP), you should receive an LIPRJZIP file back from the translator. Likewise, if you sent the translator a ZIP file, should receive a ZIP file back.

  5. Merge Completed Bundle (Author) The author reintegrates the translator's work with the Lingo project (by clicking the Merge Completed Bundle button in the File List window pane). See Merging Completed Bundles.

  6. Ensure Completeness (Author)  There are a few ways that the author can ensure completeness of the translations.

    • Statistics You can select File > Compute Statistics. This displays a statistics report showing detailed information for the project and each file. Using this report, the content developer can see exactly how many words and segments were translated. See Computing Statistics.
    • Reports In addition to running a statistics report, you can also run quality assurance (QA) reports to find any discrepancies between the source and target segments in your project. To do this, you can select File > Project QA, then select the type of QA report you want to run. Using these reports, the content developer can find errors the translator may have missed, such as formatting or punctuation inaccuracies, misuse of the termbase, or repeated segments.
    • Status The File List window pane lists each content file and various information for each. One of the columns in this window pane is named "Status." This column displays the translation status of each file (e.g., Untranslated, In Progress, Completed, Reviewed, Approved). The translation status can be set manually, or when certain actions are performed, the status is set automatically. After a translator returns a bundle and you merge it back into a Lingo project, the status of each file is updated, depending on the situation. If the translator only partially translates a file, the status changes to "In Progress." If the translator finishes translating all segments in a file, the status changes to "Completed." If the translator returns the file untouched, the status remains "Untranslated."
    • Review You can export translated content to a MadCap Contributor review archive file (LIREV) and send it to a third party for review. See Sending Translated Content for Review.
  7. Export Translated Projects (Author) After ensuring that everything is completely translated, the author exports the Lingo project to the necessary file(s) (e.g., a new Flare project, a new Word document). See Exporting Translated Projects.