App Happy in Studio — Translation Project Management

This is the second of our Project Management Blog posts from our Translations and Training Manager Gemma Smith – please also see our post on Glossaries.

We hope that the posts are helpful to translation project managers and translators - this post gives an insight into how project managers use the latest tools and technology to offer the best service. We hope that this will also give buyers of translation services an insight into how we work.

CAT tools (computer-assisted translation) are at the heart of what we do here at Alexika for the majority of our projects.

There are many examples of CAT tools. Whilst Studio, our tool of choice, has plenty of out-of-the-box features, there are times when the ability to add extra features is beneficial to help make some tasks that bit easier (and who doesn’t want that?). 

This is where the SDL AppStore comes to the rescue. With over 600 apps available (at the time of writing), the key question is: which apps will be most useful in relation to the tasks you carry out?

As a Translation Project Manager, I have various apps installed and I often add new ones to my setup.  Let’s have a look at a few of the key apps that assist me the most on a daily basis in the translation process. 

1) SDLXLIFFCompare – Comparison of bilingual files

If you’ve ever had a revised Word file where you need to see all changes made, you’ll understand the usefulness of MS Word’s ‘Compare’ feature. Put simply, this compares an old version of a file with a new version of the same file, showing the differences using tracked changes. In Studio, the SDLXLIFF Compare app makes it possible to carry out a similar comparison with Studio’s own bilingual format, SDLXLIFF. 

How does the app work?

The app will appear in the lower window of the Projects view and Files view (and also as a button on the View tab within the Information section). On the Compare single file tab, select the original SDLXLIFF and then select the updated SDLXLIFF, choose where you would like the report to be saved by clicking the box next to Report directory, and then click the ‘play’ button (arrow symbol to top left). Changes are shown in an HTML report using tracked changes.

Tip: As well as single files, switch to the Compare directory of files tab to select multiple SDLXLIFFs to be compared.

When could it help me?

You send some queries to a translator and the translator returns an amended SDLXLIFF – changes have been made without using tracked changes. Use this app to compare the version you sent with the translator’s updated one to easily see all changes.

2) TuToTm - Speedy (and file-less) Translation Memory updates

Have you ever wanted to add a single sentence or two to a Translation Memory (TM)? If so, then you’ll appreciate that it’s quite fiddly. 

First the source sentences must be saved as a file, before then opening the file for translation in Studio, attaching the TM(s), inserting the translations into the target segments and then confirming them. Phew! This can seem quite a laborious process for such a small task. This is where the TuToTm app is a real time-saver. 

How does the app work?

Launch the app (it will open in its own separate window) by clicking the TuToTm button on the Add Ins tab (available from all views: Projects, Files, Editor, etc). Select the TM (or TMs) you want to update by selecting Add TM (then make sure you check the box next to the TM name), type in the source and target text to the 2 boxes underneath and click Update TM. If you have multiple segments to add, simply repeat by changing the Source and Target fields. 

Having updated TMs the long way for many years, it’s fair to say that I was very pleased when this app was released!

Tip: You can even select several TMs and update them all in one go (just remember that checkbox for each).

When could it help me?

Handy for those times when you receive a couple of sentences by email to be translated and there isn’t an ongoing project to which they can be added. Use this app to copy and paste the translations supplied by your translation team from your email inbox into the TM very easily, with minimal fuss.

3) DSI Viewer - Context is crucial

Like other CAT tools, Studio does a fantastic job of displaying only the text for translation in the Editor, really enabling the translator to focus on the source text. Perhaps a downside to this is that important contextual and structural information – crucial to an accurate rendering in the translated language –  is not always visible to the translator, or at least not in an obvious manner. 

What do I mean by this? Well, if we take Word files, they can contain list items neatly formatted using bulleted points, tables, headings and so on; and custom XML files can be, well, customised and set up to the author’s preferences, to name but two file types. 

This information is conveyed by Studio to the user by means of the Document Structure Information, and although accessible, you need to click on the letter code in the right-hand column appearing alongside the target segments in the Editor for the information to then appear in a separate temporary window.

This must then be closed to translate the segment. And you need to do this each time you move to a different segment. Sounds like a lot of extra clicks, right? Despair not, the DSI Viewer app will convert this DSI information into a neat little window in the Editor, which remains visible constantly while you work and also changes as you move between segments. 

Now, strictly speaking, this may be more useful to translators, however, as many PMs carry out reviewing/checking of translations, it could be equally useful as a PM tool - it’s certainly one I use often.

How does the app work?

In the Editor, go to the View tab and click the app icon in the Information section. A window will appear, which can be moved around to your preferred position on-screen, showing the DSI for the current segment. And that’s really all there is to it!

Tip: Try it with different file types in Studio to display the different types of extra information. 

When could it help me?

Although this app is mainly useful for file types with little context displaying in the native source file (think DITA files, custom XML files, etc), it can be just as nifty with more basic file types (such as Word, Excel), to display easily information about bullet points, tables, headings, etc.

4) Comment View Plugin – Export comments into Excel format

I use comments to discuss source content and queries with our translators in SDLXLIFF files. Whilst such comments can be viewed in Studio to anyone opening the SDLXLIFF, there are times when the option to export all comments into another (non-Studio) format is useful. The Comment View Plugin allows you to do just that, using Excel as the export format. 

How does the app work?

You’ll see it appear in the lower window of the Files view. Make sure you have the relevant files selected, then click Export comments. You can decide which information you want to be included in the exported file on the ExportForm, as follows:

Don’t worry if you forget or change your mind about your choice as you can always delete columns in the Excel file itself. Click Export, then give the Excel file a name and choose the location, before pressing Save. Your exported file will now be ready.

Tip: Studio needs a little time to load all the comments, so with large files it can sometimes take a little while from selecting the file(s) until the Export Comments button works. It will be clear when this is complete and you can export, as you’ll see a summary of the comments in the app itself.

When could it help me?

There are several scenarios that spring to mind: where the sdlxliff is of a large size and it would be simpler to send the queries just by email (the resulting Excel file should be small enough to send by normal email rather than having to resort to FTPs); where a translator does not have access to their CAT tool at that particular moment; where some of your comments are lengthy (it’s not always easy to view longer comments in Studio, even if you enlarge the Comments window); and plenty more.

5) WordCountCopy – Copy a neat TM analysis summary for pasting anywhere

This final app is quite possibly one of the simplest but also, having had it installed for several years and in many Studio versions, one of my personal favourites. It is often the little features that make some tasks so much easier.

How does the app work?

Very simply! Once WordCountCopy is installed, the menu option Copy Word Counts is added to the right-click context menu on a project in the Projects view or on a file(s) in the Files view. Once pressed, a short version of the TM analysis is saved to your clipboard which can then be pasted anywhere as a neat table. Not only that, but the analysis for all project files is copied from Projects, whereas just the analysis from the selected file or files is copied from the Files view (with no need to run separate analyses).

Tip: If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, use ALT + F5 instead of the button Copy Word Counts.

When could it help me?

I often paste this into the email offering a new project to a translator. It’s concise and allows the linguist to see the amount of work involved very quickly (ideal for anyone out and about on a mobile device). It’s also useful for multilingual projects as it saves looking through each individual language report separately. If you’re splitting some files in a project over more than one translator, I find this an easy way to send the analysis to the individual translators, as you can select files 1-5 and use Copy Word Counts to copy the relevant analysis for the 1st translator, then select files 6-10 and use Copy Word Counts to copy the relevant analysis to the 2nd translator, or any other combination of files (just use CTRL to select).

A long post, but there is so much to say it was tricky to shorten. Thank you for making it to the end! 

Do you have any Studio apps that you find useful for project management? Or have you got more usage scenarios to add for the above apps? I’d love to hear your suggestions. Send me a tweet or start a LinkedIn conversation with me. 

Be sure to look out for my translation version list of apps coming up next month: ‘App Happy in Studio — Translation’.

Gemma Smith, March 2021