This tutorial shows how to use Translation Assistant to translate Help & Manual projects. When we’re done, we’ll have several Help & Manual projects, each one in a different language.
This video, shows all these steps in action on Help and Manual and Translation Assistant.
Creating the translation project
1) Create an account and download Translation Assistant
Translation Assistant is available to download for all users. To create an account, go to the new account page.
Once you’re logged in to your account, click on the Download Translation Assistant button, located at the top of every page. Then, install Translation Assistant on your PC.
2) Log in through Translation Assistant to your account
When Translation Assistant starts it will ask you to log in. Use the same email and password you use to log in to icanlocalize.com.
3) Create a new Help & Manual translation project from Translation Assistant.
First, you’ll be asked to name the project.
Then, Translation Assistant will ask you to select the Help & Manual project file (.hmxp). This fill will be in the root folder of your Help & Manual project.
Note: if your Help and Manual project is saved with an extension .hmxz, you first need to convert it to an uncompressed project. Open the project in Help and Manual, click File->Save as… and choose uncompressed (hmxp).
Next, you’ll select the language you’re translating from.
The last step of the project setup wizard lets you choose what pages on the Help & Manual project need to be translated. Normally, you should leave all pages selected.
Click on Finish to complete the setup wizard.
Choose translators and pay for the work
4) Upload the project to ICanLocalize and complete the project setup
Click on the Upload button in the project control panel.
Translation Assistant will upload the project to your ICanLocalize account. Then, you need to complete its settings.
These include:
- Description for the project (so that translators will know what the help manual is for).
- Translation languages.
- Required fields of expertise.
- Bidding restrictions.
At the end of that page, you’ll find a button to release to translators. Once a project is released, you’ll start getting applications from qualified translators.
Choose the translators you prefer and deposit the payment for the work.
Then, translation begins.
Creating the translated Help & Manual projects
When translation is complete, you will receive a notification from our system.
Translation Assistant will download the completed project. Click on Output Help & Manual to create the translated help project.
You will receive an identical project to your original, only with translated contents.
Updating the translations when the help project changes
Over time, your help project is likely to update. Translation Assistant can detect what’s new and help you update the translations.
Click on New revision to scan for changes in your help project.
Translation Assistant will identify new and updated texts in the help project and will mark only those for translation.
Repeat the same process as before for uploading and releasing the project for translation.
Getting started
To translate your Help & Manual project using Translation Assistant you’ll need to have an account at ICanLocalize. You only need to pay when you choose translators and the work begins.
Suppose I want to update a manual that has already been translated outside icanlocalize.com. Can I load the old version into the Translation Assistant and use the New Revision button to detect the changes?
I’m sorry, but we don’t have an automated import from raw H&M projects. It’s very difficult, technically, to match between translated segments and original texts.
When translating in our system, we keep the data in sync, so it’s easy to update.
You can create a new project in ICanLocalize and send the existing translation to the translator. In this case, you’ll need to negotiate with the new translator how he/she discounts for the existing work. The translator will need to match between the translation and the original text. Then, future updates will be done fully-automated via our system.
What if you’re bilangual? Can you do the translation yourself or do you alway have to send it to someone else?
I’m a freelancer translator and I have a help and manual projecto to do.
the customer wants me to use a CAT. I use wordfast. Can I translate the project with this tool. if not, which cat can I use.
Regards, Fábio
Hi Staffan! WPML allows you to enter translations manually which can be done by yourself or any private translator you have.
Hi Fábio, this may be useful for you and your client. Please, check this out: http://wpml.org/documentation/translating-your-contents/using-desktop-cat-tools/
Regards!
User Note:
Although Help & Manual has a good price point for its functionality, remember you do get what you pay for. After several years of using H&M, I would not advise anyone to purchase if unless they are going to use it as a single editor and not in a team environment. The development and support team refuse to keep the products souce control integration up to date, and have chosen to abandon the now obsolete Visual Source Save integration, refusing to give any indication of mitigating this major flaw and enable it for use with Team Foundation Server, other than its is on our list. They have, instead chosen to spend effort on the open source SVN system wich is clunky, very difficult to use and does not integrate well with their product.
We can’t comment on how H&M is built and maintained. Our system provides the interface to H&M format. We’re open to creating other interfaces if interest is high enough.