Forum: CAT Tools Technical Help
Topic: Converting TMs and glossaries between CATs
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: These CAT formats are one-way intermediary formats
[quote]Louise TAYLOR wrote:
The file that the client sent to me was a .docx file. So it looks like this will not work. [/quote]
Yes, no, that won't work. But it's actually quite logical that you can/can't do the following:
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF
then SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Wordfast --> TXML --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF
then SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> TXML --> Wordfast --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> either Wordfast OR Trados --> DOCX = [b]no[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast ([u]not Trados[/u]) --> DOCX = [b]no[/b]
Some CAT tools attempt to do this anyway, if their developers think that they can figure out the other tool's secret formula for creating the file, but your mileage will vary.
SDLXLIFF is Trados' own special format. Wordfast can read SDLXLIFF and it can edit SDLXLIFF, but it can't create SDLXLIFF (e.g. from DOCX). Only Trados knows how to create SDLXLIFF from DOCX, and only Trados knows how to convert SDLXLIFF back to DOCX.
The TXML file that you sent to the client is not created from a DOCX file, but from an SDLXLIFF file. The client can use Wordfast to convert the TXML file back to SDLXLIFF, but then... then what? Wordfast can't convert the SDLXLIFF to DOCX.
You said that the client's system did not accept the file. It's possible that the client's system tries to generate the final DOCX file, and when it fails, it rejects the file.
[quote]The only reason I didn't do the work in Wordfast this weekend was that storms in the region caused damage to our phone services. Of course Wordfast is online! So I used my standalone package. [/quote]
You should have done this:
1. Upload the DOCX to Wordfast Anywhere, and download a TXML file.
2. Convert the TXML to SDLXLIFF using Trados, then translate the SDLXLIFF file, and then create the translated document (which is will be a TXML file).
You did this: DOCX --> SDLXLIFF --> TXML.
You should have done this: DOCX --> TXML --> SDLXLIFF --> TXML.
[quote]Would aligning the input and output Word documents give me something to work with? [/quote]
Yes, but what about tags? (-:
Since you've already translated the SDLXLIFF file in Trados, why not just add the TXML file (that you will create by uploading the DOCX file to Wordfast Anywhere) to the Trados project? The SDLXLIFF file's translations should be in the project's TM, right? Except for tag differences, you should be able to translate the TXML file using the same TM.
Note: I don't know how good Trados' support of TXML is.
[Edited at 2017-02-06 22:32 GMT]
Topic: Converting TMs and glossaries between CATs
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: These CAT formats are one-way intermediary formats
[quote]Louise TAYLOR wrote:
The file that the client sent to me was a .docx file. So it looks like this will not work. [/quote]
Yes, no, that won't work. But it's actually quite logical that you can/can't do the following:
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF
then SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Wordfast --> TXML --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF
then SDLXLIFF --> Trados --> TXML --> Wordfast --> DOCX = [b]yes[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> either Wordfast OR Trados --> DOCX = [b]no[/b]
DOCX --> Trados --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast --> TXML
then TXML --> Wordfast --> SDLXLIFF --> Wordfast ([u]not Trados[/u]) --> DOCX = [b]no[/b]
Some CAT tools attempt to do this anyway, if their developers think that they can figure out the other tool's secret formula for creating the file, but your mileage will vary.
SDLXLIFF is Trados' own special format. Wordfast can read SDLXLIFF and it can edit SDLXLIFF, but it can't create SDLXLIFF (e.g. from DOCX). Only Trados knows how to create SDLXLIFF from DOCX, and only Trados knows how to convert SDLXLIFF back to DOCX.
The TXML file that you sent to the client is not created from a DOCX file, but from an SDLXLIFF file. The client can use Wordfast to convert the TXML file back to SDLXLIFF, but then... then what? Wordfast can't convert the SDLXLIFF to DOCX.
You said that the client's system did not accept the file. It's possible that the client's system tries to generate the final DOCX file, and when it fails, it rejects the file.
[quote]The only reason I didn't do the work in Wordfast this weekend was that storms in the region caused damage to our phone services. Of course Wordfast is online! So I used my standalone package. [/quote]
You should have done this:
1. Upload the DOCX to Wordfast Anywhere, and download a TXML file.
2. Convert the TXML to SDLXLIFF using Trados, then translate the SDLXLIFF file, and then create the translated document (which is will be a TXML file).
You did this: DOCX --> SDLXLIFF --> TXML.
You should have done this: DOCX --> TXML --> SDLXLIFF --> TXML.
[quote]Would aligning the input and output Word documents give me something to work with? [/quote]
Yes, but what about tags? (-:
Since you've already translated the SDLXLIFF file in Trados, why not just add the TXML file (that you will create by uploading the DOCX file to Wordfast Anywhere) to the Trados project? The SDLXLIFF file's translations should be in the project's TM, right? Except for tag differences, you should be able to translate the TXML file using the same TM.
Note: I don't know how good Trados' support of TXML is.
[Edited at 2017-02-06 22:32 GMT]