Translator Key Features

The Project window is the primary window of a translation project; it has a main view which is known as the Text Table view and four secondary (tab) views: the Repetitions view, the All Translations view, the Group Items view, and the Source File view.

The Text Table view lists all the data contained in the project along with other relevant information such as the resource type, item name/ID, and translation state.  Convenient color coding (indicating translation state) and symbols (markers, notes, etc.) distinguish items requiring special attention. Translations can also be entered/modified directly in the view via inline editing.

The Source File view shows the formatting of the original source file (with text selection and highlighting capabilities) while the Group Items view shows only those items contained within a particular group. These views will most likely be of less interest to translators than the Repetitions and All Translations views, described below.

The Repetitions view (Figure 1) displays all repeated occurrences of the currently selected item. Entering a translation for an item with repetitions automatically enters the same translation for all the repetitions (when you press the OK ( _ ) button in the Translation Edit bar), thereby eliminating the need to translate identical texts multiple times.  RC-WinTrans allows for items to be excluded from this procedure if the item is to be translated differently in certain contexts.

The All Translations view (Figure 2) displays the source text of the currently selected item along with its translation and translation status in all the project's target languages.

The Workspace bar's Project Data tab view (Figure 3) shows the contents of the current translation project in a detailed and interactive tree view.  Translation status information is also shown here so you can easily monitor the progress of the project and the items contained therein.  Use the command buttons found in the view to filter the project's data in different ways (e.g., show only items with text, show all non-translated items, etc.).

Use selected data sources (dictionaries/translation memories and/or open translation projects) to automatically translate text items.  Minimum match values can be determined and the data sources selected in the Dictionary Options dialog box.  You can even assign a specific state (e.g., "needs review translation") or a marker to items that are translated automatically so that they'll be easy to find and review.

The translation process may be supported by dictionaries (find, get, save, auto-translate, etc.).  These are managed in the Workspace bar's Dictionaries tab (Figure 5).  Translations that have been found for a given source text in one or more dictionaries are listed below the Target edit field in the Translation Edit bar.  The translation with the highest match value is automatically entered; insert another found translation by clicking on the arrow that appears between the "Source" and "Target" columns in the Dictionary Found Results list (Figure 4).

RC-WinTrans X8 can make use of a Trados translation memory (TM) by interacting directly with the Trados Translator's Workbench (as an OLE automation server).  The Trados integration is such that one or more Trados translation memories can be used to find and save translations within RC-WinTrans while translating an RC-WinTrans translation project.

Trados translation memories are also handled through the Workspace bar's Dictionaries tab view and are treated just like dictionaries for all relevant operations (e.g., find, get, automatic translation, etc.).

See also:  "Trados" under "Solutions."

Menus:  Menu resources are displayed/listed in a tree view structure for viewing and editing (Figure 6). The Menu view features both translation state (colored bar) and (automatic) hotkey error indication, and can be adjusted to show both the source and target menus or just the target menu by itself.  The menu preview option gives an approximation of how the menu will appear in the target file.

Dialog boxes:  WYSIWYG display (target/source and target) plus integrated Layout Editor for resizing/repositioning dialog boxes and dialog box items.  Numerous tab views to handle individual aspects of dialog box localization plus easy navigation for reviewing all the dialog boxes contained in a translation project.  See Figure 7.

.NET Forms:  Displayed and handled within RC-WinTrans as above in the description for dialog box resources.  The External .NET Forms Editor (Figure 8) is also available for displaying and modifying a selected Form and all its localizable properties in a more specialized environment.

RC-WinTrans X8 has over a dozen different check functions to eliminate the need for manual checks and to support high-quality software localization.  The Checks toolbar and menu provide easy access to individual check functions and to the Multi-Check command which performs a number of selected checks simultaneously.  Click the arrow on the Multi-Check toolbar button to open the Multi-Check Options dialog box (Figure 9) where you can determine which checks will be run when the multi-check command is executed.

Hotkeys, or the keyboard shortcuts used to perform certain functions, are an important part of software localization, and RC-WinTrans comes with several features to handle them as efficiently as possible. Hotkey errors (missing or doubled hotkeys) are automatically detected and indicated to the user in both the Menu view and the Hotkey Check tab view.  These views also have a command for "hotkey suggestion" to help find a suitable hotkey for the text in question.  Finally, the Hotkeys: Suggestions and Conflict Resolution HTML page (opened from the Checks menu) is available to show you all the hotkey characters currently assigned within the selected menu or dialog box as well as any hotkey errors which have been found along with options for resolving these (see Figure 10).

Whenever changes are made to the source text (in the original file), RC-WinTrans automatically detects and indicates this to the user right away.  Changes include text that has been added, modified, or deleted.  You may generate a changes preview to see what changes have been made before updating the database, or you can just proceed with the update for all or a selection of the files contained in the translation project.  The database update is performed with absolutely no loss of information.  Affected items are listed in the Workspace bar's Changed Source view and are clearly marked in both the Text Table view the Translation Edit bar (Figure 11).  Plus RC-WinTrans' filter for isolating changed items is just a mouse-click away, making it easy to find and review changes.

See also:  "Changes Handling."

Supplementary information can be attached to a single translation unit to specify its translation status or to alert users to special circumstances pertaining to a particular item by adding things like notes or re-check markers.  Bookmarks can be set and tasks can be assigned.  A translation unit can also be locked to prevent it from being changed.

The Task List tab in the Miscellaneous bar (Figure 13) lists all the bookmarks, task markers, and re-check markers contained in the project.  It is an interactive view where you can find, or "jump to" items by double-clicking on them with the mouse, check items off to indicate their completion, and/or modify the description text for a particular marker.

State flags are used to specify the (translation) status of a translation unit.  The predefined state flags available for translation units are as defined in the XLIFF Specification 1.1 (which is the underlying data structure of RC-WinTrans X8).  The primary (visual) indicator of an item's state is the colored bar shown in the Text Table and other views (colors used can be specified in the Options dialog box).

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