Studio 2011 SP1 & Trados 2007 bilingual files – Part II

Studio 2011 now integrates a bilingual Microsoft Word file filter, which offers the possibility of working on and/or delivering bilingual .doc files.

Scenario 1: Client sends source files in Word format (.doc) and needs bilingual .doc and target .doc back

Here is the workflow to follow:

STEP 1: CREATE A TM IN TRANSLATOR’S WORKBENCH

If the client did not provide a Trados 2007 translation memory (.tmw), the first step is to create one using the requested source and target languages in Translator’s Workbench. If the client provided an exported TM (.txt), import it into your newly created TM.

STEP 2: CONVERT THE SOURCE FILES TO BILINGUAL FILES

Note: If the client sent bilingual files (pre-translated .doc files), you can skip this step.

1. If the Word files have not been pre-translated yet, convert them to bilingual files in Trados 2007. First, get sure to select the workflow for bilingual word files. Select Options > Translation Memory Options from the menu, select the Tools tab and get sure the checkbox here below is disabled. This will ensure the Word files are not converted into TTX files during pretranslation.

2. Select Tools > Translate from the menu and get sure to select the Segment unknown sentences to ensure the files will be fully segmented even if no match is found in the 2007 TM.

3. Click Add, browse for your .doc files, click Open to load them. Then, click Translate to convert them to bilingual files with the correct source and target languages. If your TM contains data, your files are also pre-translated.

STEP 3: TRANSLATE YOUR BILINGUAL FILES IN STUDIO 2011

Open your file in Studio or create a project if you have several files and create a new Studio file-based TM upgrading the TM (.tmw) you received from the client or the one you created in Step 1. It will be upgraded to a Studio TM (.sdltm). The upgrading process creates a new TM based on the 2007 TM but it does not overwrite nor delete it. This way, you will be able to deliver an updated 2007 TM to your client at the end of the process.

STEP 4: GENERATE THE BILINGUAL .DOC FILES

After translating the file(s), use one of the following to convert the files back to the bilingual .doc format.

1. Select File > Save Target As from the Studio menu to generate the target translated document for a single file. The result is a fully translated bilingual .doc file.

2. If you are working with a project, select Project > Batch Tasks > Finalize from the Studio menu. The Finalize task generates .doc bilingual files in the target folder or your project.

STEP 5: CLEAN UP YOUR BILINGUAL FILE(S) USING THE TRANSLATOR’S WORKBENCH

Note: Make a copy of the bilingual files before cleaning them up and add the “_unclean” suffix to their name.

Clean the .doc bilingual files using Trados 2007 Translator’s Workbench. Select Tools > Clean Up. Select the Update TM option if you want to update your 2007 TM.

Click on Add, browse for your bilingual files (the ones with the original name, not the ones marked “_unclean”) and click on Clean Up.

Now you have:

– A backup copy of your bilingual files (called “_unclean.doc”). You could also have .bak files, which are basically the same.

– A copy of your target documents with no source (the “clean” files, with a .doc extension)

– The updated translation memory (.tmw)

We are all done! Just send the files requested by your client. Thanks to this workaround, you can now take advantage of all the Studio functionality, such as Autosuggest, auto-propagation, etc.