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Subject:RE: Can I convert Framemaker docs into rtf??? From:"Glenn Maxey" <glenn -dot- maxey -at- voyanttech -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Mon, 14 May 2001 09:04:12 -0600
I do NOT recommend just saving your FM documents as RTF and handing them to
the translators... no, no, no...
When you get it back, you'll have a tough time trying to get it back into FM
in order to produce the same quality manual in the foreign language that you
do in English.
Instead, you need to become familiar with translation memory software (such
as Trados). I would recommend that any company doing any translation have at
least one seat of Trados in-house.
In any event, the proper technique to get translations of FM manuals is:
- Save your FM files as MIF.
- Run Trados S-tagger on the MIF. (This creates the needed RTF files while
remembering important formatting information.)
- Send the RTF to the translators.
- When the translated RTF returns, you run the S-tagger on it.
- Eventually you get the FM book in the translated language.
[Alternatively, you have the translator run S-tagger on it. As was mentioned
in other postings, any reputable translator will have these tools and know
how to use them.]
If you use the FM RTF filter -- which isn't the best --, not only will you
lose information, but you'll never get the translation back into FM. If you
use mif2go or some other tool to get RTF, you'll get a more faithful
document in Word, but you still lose the ability to bring it back into FM
without losing or re-formatting things.
The more languages you need translations for, the more money you'll save if
you do some of the work in house, such as doing the S-Tagger work.
Glenn Maxey
Voyant Technologies, Inc.
Tel. +1 303.223.5164
Fax. +1 303.223.5275
glenn -dot- maxey -at- voyanttech -dot- com
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bounce-techwr-l-58477 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
> [mailto:bounce-techwr-l-58477 -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com]On Behalf Of Marcus
> Cumming
> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 7:25 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Can I convert Framemaker docs into rtf???
>
> I need to get manuals translated into several languages. Is it
> possible to convert Framemaker documents into rich text format so
> the translators can type in their translations?
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