Studio compatibility
Thread poster: Edward Potter
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:50
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Nov 12, 2020

I've been a WF user for many years but I'm considering ditching it.

I upgraded to WF Pro 5 recently and it has done nothing but slow me down and give compatibility problems with Studio.

My problem: I imported a Studio package (SDLPPX) for postediting. I did all the editing, did a Commit All, and saved it. I did a cleanup and got an SDLXLIFF file in XML format out of it.

I then exported the TMX. When I import the TMX back in (using the Word source file for
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I've been a WF user for many years but I'm considering ditching it.

I upgraded to WF Pro 5 recently and it has done nothing but slow me down and give compatibility problems with Studio.

My problem: I imported a Studio package (SDLPPX) for postediting. I did all the editing, did a Commit All, and saved it. I did a cleanup and got an SDLXLIFF file in XML format out of it.

I then exported the TMX. When I import the TMX back in (using the Word source file for populating) about 10% of the segments are left empty.

I am now going to manually insert all the missing segments.

Can someone tell me what is going on here?

[Edited at 2020-11-12 20:35 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 17:50
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Edward Nov 12, 2020

Edward Potter wrote:
1. I did all the editing, did a Commit All, and saved it.
2. I did a cleanup and got an SDLXLIFF file in XML format out of it.
3. I then exported the TMX. When I import the TMX back in (using the Word source file for populating) about 10% of the segments are left empty.


Were all the segments in the SDLXLIFF file properly translated?

In WFP5, when you're in the main screen, press F9 (settings) and go to "Translation Memory" on the left. Check the options on the right. Could any of them possibly explain why some segments were not added to the TM? For example, by default, unedited MT matches are not written to the TM.


John Di Rico
 
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:50
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
It worked! F9 then check the boxes. Nov 12, 2020


Were all the segments in the SDLXLIFF file properly translated?

I don't have Studio on my computer so I couldn't tell you. I sent it off the client and they didn't seem to know what to do with it and requested a Word file. That is when I exported the TMX and called in the source Word file, imported the TMX, ending up with all the blank segments.


In WFP5, when you're in the main screen, press F9 (settings) and go to "Translation Memory" on the left. Check the options on the right. Could any of them possibly explain why some segments were not added to the TM? For example, by default, unedited MT matches are not written to the TM.


screen shot

Bingo! My TM updated properly after checking the boxes. They were unchecked as can be seen in my screen shot.

WF Pro 5 still has me miffed. I never would have thought to hit F9 or look for those memory options. I couldn't find this in the manual, at least not quickly. When issues like this pop up I need to resolve them quickly and intuitively. I spent a lot of time learning WF Pro 3, and now they want me to go through another learning curve. WF Pro 5 has everything in a different place and seems like a confusing fjumble.

Thanks for helping, Samuel. If I ever see you at a conference I'll buy you a beer. See ya!

[Edited at 2020-11-12 22:07 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-11-12 22:08 GMT]


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 17:50
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Edward Nov 12, 2020

Edward Potter wrote:
I imported a Studio package (SDLPPX)...
I did a cleanup and got an SDLXLIFF file.


Yes, that is what was supposed to happen. Your source file is SDLXLIFF, so the translated file that WFP5 creates is an SDLXLIFF file. However, WFP5 can't convert the SDLXLIFF file to the format that it was originally converted from -- only Trados can do that. So, you can translate SDLXLIFF files in WFP5 but you can't convert SDLXLIFF files back to the original original format (in your case, presumably a DOCX file).

Edward Potter wrote:
I sent the SDLXLIFF file off the client and they didn't seem to know what to do with it and requested a Word file. That is when I exported the TMX and called in the source Word file, imported the TMX, ending up with all the blank segments.


Odd that the client did not know how to generate the DOCX file from the SDLXLIFF file. (Perhaps your client is an intermediary client who doesn't have Trados, because SDLPPX packages can only be created with the agency version of Trados, so somewhere in the upstream there must have been an agency with Trados Professional who created the file.)

It is also possible that your client doesn't understand that although you can translate SDLXLIFF files with your non-Trados CAT tool, you are not able to generate e.g. a Trados TM or the the final file in the original format.

Bingo! My TM updated properly after checking the boxes. They were unchecked as can be seen in my screen shot.


You're not the first translator I've met who was miffed to discover this, but if you think about it, this is a safety feature and it's best that it is active (i.e. disabled in the settings) by default.

I spent a lot of time learning WF Pro 3, and now they want me to go through another learning curve.


I use both WFP3 and WFP5. They are utterly different programs. They're as different as Trados and MemoQ. Both have their strong and weak points. WFP5 is more cumbersome to use, though.

I suggest you browse through all the settings to get an idea of some of the hidden "gems". To access the settings, press F9 or click the frogger icon on the bottom left. The frogger icon used to have a name, but the WFP5 developers are fans of mystery meat navigation, so in a recent update they removed most of the labels and left only the icons. Fortunately, hovering with your mouse over icons still yields a tool-tip (to be removed in an upcoming update, for sure).


 
Edward Potter
Edward Potter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:50
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
@Samuel Nov 12, 2020

Odd that the client did not know how to generate the DOCX file from the SDLXLIFF file.


I think the PM was new. He was asking for a Word file, which I thought was odd, but I didn't know enough about Trados to assert that I couldn't send it back in that format. I did have the source file which I could turn into a TXLF, do a Translate All, then do a Cleanup. In the end that is what I did.

I suggest you browse through all the settings to get an idea of some of the hidden "gems". To access the settings, press F9 or click the frogger icon on the bottom left. The frogger icon used to have a name, but the WFP5 developers are fans of mystery meat navigation, so in a recent update they removed most of the labels and left only the icons. Fortunately, hovering with your mouse over icons still yields a tool-tip (to be removed in an upcoming update, for sure).


I just started poking around those screens. I wish they could have put at least a few things in the old places. C'est la vie.


 


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