One approach to localization problems is to move to an XML-based solution. This involves a considerable effort, but in the case of a large volume of documentation, such as the 35,000 pages a year and large number of localized versions at Mercury mentioned earlier, the eventual savings could be justify the costs involved.
As XML files are plain text files rather than compiled files (like .fm or .doc), changes to them can be tracked more easily by content management systems. XML offers many other advantages for documentation particularly when combined with a content management system, but I would imagine that this is not the best forum to discuss them. However, FrameMaker users may like to consider moving to Structured FrameMaker as a first step towards an-XML-centric solution. David Farbey