tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post4649117728101709468..comments2024-03-06T02:46:19.929+00:00Comments on Translation Tribulations: Translating Trados TTX files with MemoQKevin Lossnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-58391925295271924992013-10-30T18:30:44.991+00:002013-10-30T18:30:44.991+00:00There have been quite a few changes in TTX handlin...There have been quite a few changes in TTX handling in the past year or two. Are you using a current version (which?) and have you shared this with Support? I haven't done much with TTX in a long time myself, so I've only followed the discussions at a bit of a distance. This the format is still of interest to Kilgray, so I would report anything troubling and expect it will be dealt with.Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-81825246369418656762013-10-30T16:13:53.432+00:002013-10-30T16:13:53.432+00:00This post is a few years old, but it's very he...This post is a few years old, but it's very helpful. I prefer translating TTX files with MemoQ to run the QA plugin and flag double spaces and wrong numbers, but I just realized there's a glitch.<br /><br />Has anyone translated large TTX files with MemoQ and found that all the ">" and "<" signs have been inverted? <br /><br />It only happens to me when the file is very large, but not small files. It also only happens if the sign is proceeded or followed by a space. I only work with medical documents, so even one inverted sign is too many!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-16035599726725526012009-12-30T22:39:05.095+00:002009-12-30T22:39:05.095+00:00You've got it, Mark. Linux versions of MemoQ, ...You've got it, Mark. Linux versions of MemoQ, Trados, etc. aren't available, but (quoting from the VMWare FAQ) "VMware Player is software that enables users to easily create and run virtual machines on a Windows or Linux PC." <br /><br />The Player (or Server for that matter) are free, and you can run a virtual machine with Win XP or whatever you prefer to use any applications you need for processing and compatibility. I've used this solution (with a full VMWare license actually) for years for ensuring that I can keep using my ancient electronic dictionaries. If Trados will function under VMWare then you could do all your preprocessing in the XP virtual machine, move the file to your fave tool in Linux (OmegaT or whatever), send it back to the virtual machine for exporting a target file & you're done.<br /><br />With regard to your comment that "... the efficiency penalty of having to work in half a dozen different environments rather than just the one... is only <i>really an issue if I actually have to work in the tool</i>, as distinct from using it simply to preprocess files" (emphasis mine) is quite correct. I used to go bonkers switching back and forth between Trados and Déjà Vu to translate, because the ergonomics are so different. I can manage it with MemoQ and DVX only because MemoQ allows me to reprogram all the major keyboard shortcuts so that the application behaves like Déjà Vu (an absolutely <i>wonderful</i> feature). I really only work in "one" ergonomically unified environment (MQ/DVX) for translation, but I pre-and post-process in Trados or Star Transit all the time.Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-2813251763138767732009-12-30T20:17:05.117+00:002009-12-30T20:17:05.117+00:00OK, this is becoming clearer now – I think.
So fa...OK, this is becoming clearer now – I think.<br /><br />So far, I have encountered three types of TTX file: Source=Target, Source≠Target (that's "not equal to", if the symbol doesn't make it: this is the case where the target segments have been "pretranslated"), and "zero target", i.e. no target segments. Toxic can only handle the first kind, i.e. where source and target segments are both present and identical.<br /><br />From your description of an "unsegmented" TTX file, I suspect that it's what I'm calling the "zero target" TTX. (Because of the way Toxic is written, it's the fact that there are no target segments that is the crucial point and the reason it can't handle this form. Toxic simply extracts translatable content, and it handles TTX by regarding the target segments as the translatable content.) You can probably confirm this, but if not I will have to dig out some samples from my growing repository of sample TTX files.<br /><br />So far, the solution to Toxic's inability to handle the other two forms of TTX has been documentation: the readme file contains clear instructions on how to create the desired form of TTX in Trados, and these can be passed on to the customer, which is what some Toxic users have done, apparently with success. It would be ideal if the functionality for handling them as-is could be included in Toxic, but that's something for the future. In the meantime, if the instructions are completely foolproof, it's not a bad alternative, or at least so I thought.<br /><br />I wasn't aware that Trados could/would segment TTX as you worked. "Pretranslation" of a file against a TM is clear: that is something that can be done by the customer (and could then be reverted by Toxic), or the Source=Target form can be created by the customer and the TM simply supplied (in TMX format) for reference. The issue is, if I understand you correctly, that Trados actually adjusts segmentation according to the existing TM. That would make it more urgent for Toxic to support the "pretranslated" format.<br /><br />On having a whole raft of tools to deal with different proprietary formats: the problem isn't always cost. Much more significant, to me personally, are a) that Linux versions of most of the proprietary CAT tools aren't available, and b) the efficiency penalty of having to work in half a dozen different environments rather than just the one. The former I appreciate is not an issue to most people; the latter is only really an issue if I actually have to work in the tool, as distinct from using it simply to preprocess files.<br /><br />MarcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-37197967682658797272009-12-30T19:14:28.481+00:002009-12-30T19:14:28.481+00:00For those who don't know, Marc is the guy who ...For those who don't know, Marc is the guy who launched the TOXIC project to enable OmegaT to work with TTX files. Nice piece of work.<br /><br />@Marc: Usually that's a safe assumption, yes. However I have seen kitchen table agencies without any Trados license or skill who pass through such requests, occasionally prepared files, from the end customer. Often the customer will create the TTX. However, it is <i>not</i> common at all for this TTX to be pre-segmented unless you ASK (and often you'll have to provide instructions on how you want it done!). That's because most assume the work will be done in Trados, and Tageditor segments the content of the TTX as you work. The parts you haven't worked on yet are not segmented. Also, if the file is being pretranslated using an existing TM, stuff that isn't at least a fuzzy match won't be segmented with the default settings. You have to specify explicitly in Trados Workbench that the source is to be copied to the target if there is no match. Otherwise you can pretty much forget making the translation of TTX with non-Trados tools work in a way that will satisfy the client.<br /><br />I do this work with Trados licenses that I own (two of them). You can do a lot with demo (unlicensed) versions or have other people (clients, colleagues) help you out, but I like the <b>control</b> of having my own full license and not depending on anyone else. It also lets me do extra testing or experiments if I run into a difficulty. There are also some useful QA features for verifying tags, etc. that Trados offers; it's not a bad idea to use these before you deliver to avoid sending trouble to your client. <br /><br />My main interest is getting jobs donr right, as efficiently as possible, and giving the client exactly what the client wants and/or needs. I want maximum flexibility to do this. So I don't worry about pinching a few euros or a few hundred more on a license, because one way or another it will pay for itself in preparing and processing files or testing. I have one client who drives me nuts by sending me his reviews in the form of TagEditor comments. I grumble about this, but it's really not a big deal, because I have Trados and I can read these comments and go straight to the commented section with just a click. <br /><br />Do I recommend translating with Trados 8.3 or earlier? Generally no. But for those of us who use other tools, it's still often very useful to have a reasonably updated full license available, if only for exporting TM content to TMX. I'll bet if you were to poll 10 agency PMs at random on how to do this, at least several would not know.Kevin Lossnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14727800526216764023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20155610.post-5151033723402807642009-12-30T17:37:49.553+00:002009-12-30T17:37:49.553+00:00Two questions for you, Kevin, from a Trados non-us...Two questions for you, Kevin, from a Trados non-user:<br /><br />If a customer asks you to deliver a TTX file, isn't it safe to assume that he has Trados? Otherwise, what would be the point? <br /><br />Assuming that the customer has Trados, isn't it better for him to create the TTX file for you? I was under the impression that this would safely avoid any variation in segmentation settings and the resulting problems.<br /><br />Or have I missed something obvious?<br /><br />Marc P.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com