Hello Jan, One possible solution for your customer is a Content Management System (CMS), which manages content in a database. CMSes promise to save money by enabling you to isolate only new or changed material, so your content is "translated only once."
I looked into a CMS for my company, but the extra cost of "foreign language" modules made the proposal difficult to justify. And a CMS requires you have to write structured documents. FrameMaker does that, of course, but if you are new to Frame, you have to learn Frame, how to create structured documents, and how to use the CMS all at the same time. The customer can also send just the new or modified text for translation, then manually place the translated material into an existing document. This action will save some money but it could take a lot more time. The benefits of a CMS notwithstanding, I think that your customer might be better off sending the full document for translation. As you well know, full-service translation firms like TI use tools such as translation memory, to enable you to identify exact and fuzzy matches in words and phrases. Then you give the customer a substantial discount for those portions of the document. So when a previously translated document comes in with a 20% change, you only charge the full rate for 20% of the material. As a result, the customer is not really "retranslating all documentation." It is certainly possible to translate new material, then add the new material into an existing document, either manually or using a CMS. But when you assemble a document written in a language you cannot read, how do you quality check the document? If you assembled the document correctly, it SHOULD be correct. But how do you KNOW? A major advantage of having a full-service translator prepare your documents is that the translator can actually read and verify the final output. Each customer must examine their resources, requirements, and the alternatives, then determine the best solution. For my company, the traditional method of translation is best. Daniel Doornbos Technical Writer Promise Technology, Inc. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:framers-bounces+danield=promise.com at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf Of Jan Gosen Sent: Friday, February 02, 2007 8:13 AM To: framers at lists.frameusers.com Subject: how to manage multilingual documentation with frequent updates Hello Framers, One of my customers is thinking of switching to FrameMaker for creating and maintaining their multilingual user documentation (9 languages). They will be having three to four updates per year, with 10 to 20% changes in content. In order to keep costs down (= not having to retranslate (recycle) all documentation), we are looking for an efficient (and cost saving)way to handle this type of documentation. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. _______________________ Jan Gosen Translators International BV Phone (+31) 40 255 10 10 Fax (+31) 40 257 12 12 _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to Framers as danield at promise.com. Send list messages to framers at lists.frameusers.com. To unsubscribe send a blank email to framers-unsubscribe at lists.frameusers.com or visit http://lists.frameusers.com/mailman/options/framers/danield%40promise.co m Send administrative questions to listadmin at frameusers.com. Visit http://www.frameusers.com/ for more resources and info.
