RE: [csforum] documentation issues, including translations

[Andrei Link]

Hi Roger,   There is no single solution that will support really well development and localization of manuals, on-line docs and software help files. We have used Framemaker extensively for English and non-English manuals including localization into Asian languages (which is as non-Latin as it gets :), but found that for help files Robohelp works better for us. For software user interface we have used commercially available products and internally developed tools.   As a general comment, choosing a documentation/localization solution is (perhaps unexpectedly) a big decision. One needs to take into account impact on the core development, cost of software licenses, translator training, update management issues etc. Therefore a word of caution: this decision should not be delegated fully to a technical author because this person may not have enough information to identify and resolve tradeoffs.   Without knowing specific details of your needs, here are some pointers to localization solutions:   For documentation:   - Trados - www.trados.com - market leader for documentation translation solutions. Expensive and difficult to use but is an industry standard nevertheless. If your future system has Trados import/export abilities, this will be a plus.   - Star Transit - http://www.star-ag.ch/eng/home.html - a competitor to Trados.   - SDL - see below.   For software and help files:   - SDL product line - www.sdlintl.com - they have products for documentation and for software. This includes quality assurance tools (we have used one for checking translated Help files with great results).   - Catalyst - www.alchemysoftware.ie - another industry standard. Expensive but boasts supporting all major type formats including Windows files, help, HTML, and (perhaps importantly for you) XML. Not very easy to use but does the job. Extensible through an SDK (separate license required).   - Multilizer - www.multilizer.com - a competitor to Catalyst. Cheaper and more user-friendly. Supports a variety of file formats including Java and XML.   There are some other products on the market but I would start with looking at the above.   If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me off-line.   Regards,   Andrei Link Trimble Navigation     -----Original Message----- From: Roger McNaught [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, 25 March 2002 11:02 a.m. To: Canterbury Software Email Forum Subject: [csforum] documentation issues, including translations Hi all,   We design industrial instruments and software, and we have a continuing issue with our documentation - manuals for the instruments and on-line docs and help files for the software - with the added complication that we need to also consider translation into non-latin character sets.   Although we have pretty much decided upon LaTex for the internal standard (but we're not committed to it), I'd be interested to know what everyone else does about these things.   Also, we've thought about getting hold of a technical author who could take responsibility for these matters, and I'd be interested to know whether theres anyone out there who might be useful to us.   Any suggestions?   Roger McNaught   Commtest Instruments Limited 28b Moorhouse Ave Christchurch New Zealand +64 3 374 2337