[Translating with Smartling]
[A video guide for translators, editors and reviewers]
Smartling is a web-based translation management platform
that can be accessed from most browsers.
It lets you easily get to content needing translation
but also gives you access to an area of tools and features
that speeds up translation time with no loss in quality.
Our solution is able to capture content from a file or website
and import it into the Smartling Dashboard where it's put into a project
and managed throughout the translation process.
After the content is placed in the dashboard,
the content owner or project manager will authorize it for translation
by language and workflow,
at which point that content will be available for you to work on.
At the end of the translation process,
the translated content is sent back to the content owner or project manager
who will then in turn authorize it to be published
under a localized site or file.
Once you have been granted access to the Dashboard
by an account owner or project manager, you'll be notified by email.
Click on the link to set up your Smartling profile.
Please note that you might be given access
before there is content available for you to work on,
in which case you should expect a second email notification
informing you once content has been placed in your queue.
Go to dashboard.smartling.com to log in.
In the Project View, you will find a list of all the projects
that you have been given access to.
Use the filter and search options to get to the project of your choice,
then click "View Project" to access the project itself.
The project "Summary" view is where you'll find basic information on your project.
Words available for work,
a list of jobs which are used by account owners
to bracket and prioritize content.
And finally, a Word Count Report for the current month.
For a complete Word Count Report, just go to Reports.
There you can generate a Word Count Report in a date range of your choice
and then download it as a CSV.
The Word Count Report will include a break-down by fuzzy match brackets.
In addition, Smartling lets you generate fuzzy match estimates.
You can create an estimate at the Job level.
Under fuzzy estimates, you have the ability
to create an estimate for all strings in your queue.
Estimates can be viewed or downloaded as a CSV.
In a few minutes, I'll also show you
how to create fuzzy estimates for strings of your choice.
[Translations]
From the Summary view, click on Translations
to access all of your content.
Use Jobs or Translate to access a specific content only.
The content you need to work on is displayed
as a list of strings grouped by file or URL.
The In Progress view is the best place for you to manage that content.
At the top of the page is where you'll find
a number of filters and search options,
so that even though you might be dealing with a lot of content
you can easily access the one that you need to be working on.
With the Status filter, select from Untranslated, Translated strings
or Strings with issues.
The Workflow filter lets you access a specific workflow step
you've been assigned to in the project.
You also have the option to search your content by keyword
and filter by String assets, URL, file names, jobs, domain and more.
From the Actions drop-down,
apply an action to any number of selected strings,
create a Fuzzy Match report,
or submit all of your translated strings to the next step of the workflow.
With each string, Smartling displays job information, instructions,
issues if any.
Click the String drop-down menu to copy the link to your cliplboard
or open the Issues window.
[Translate]
Click on Translate to access the translation interface,
which is where you'll enter and save your translation.
The translation interface is divided into two sections:
the contextual view in the top half and the workspace in the bottom half,
where you'll enter your translation and access a number of tools, such as:
Style Guide, Glossary, Translation Memory or spellcheck.
There are 3 types of contextual views, depending on how the project was set up:
the Web Page view, where you can see your translation on the web page
as you are typing it;
a screenshot view, commonly used with film applications,
whereas you can use the screenshot as a visual reference
to see how your translation is going to fit.
Finally, it happens so that Smartling cannot display context, in which case
you'll see a list view of the source content on the left hand side
and your translation on the right hand side.
Before diving in, check your translation interface settings.
First, customize your shortcuts,
then go to Translation Settings
to manage things like spellcheck, placeholders or fonts.
Also, don't forget to check the style guide.
Now you're ready to translate.
In the workspace, you'll find your string divided into segments
and to the right of each segment, the target field
where you're going to enter your translation.
Notice that while some segments only have one target field,
others may have multiple.
Smartling divides segments into small entities called snippets.
Each snippet corresponds to a change in formatting in the source content.
For example, a new snippet is created
when the source content goes from normal to bold
or maybe a part of the segment is hyperlinked.
When you are translating, snippets are highlighted in blue in the segment
and you only enter the translation for the highlighted content
in your target field.
As you enter the translation, Smartling appends the original formatting
to your translation.
You can then drag and drop target fields to reorder your translation,
depending on your target language's requirement,
while the formatting sticks to the translation.
You can see the formatting of your translation
both in the contextual view or in the code view
located to the right of your translation.
Now, enter your translation and then click Save and go to the next string.
[Translation tools]
You are also welcome to use any of the tools Smartling has to offer.
On top of the string, you'll find any open issues, instructions
and other information that relate to the string.
Glossary can be accessed and searched from a new window,
or by using the green and red brackets.
A red bracket indicates that a term has not yet been translated.
To add add a translation, click on Untranslated definition,
add your translation and save.
Once a translation is added, the bracket turns to green.
Click on that green bracket to copy the translation to the target field
or edit the Glossary entry.
Same with the Translation Memory.
Search from a new window,
or use the drop-down located above the target field.
On the right hand side you'll find a code view,
which also includes a character count,
versions of the translation
and a full history of the string.
Then you have insertables that you can customize
for inserting formatting markers, glossary terms and placeholders
when typing in the translation field.
And finally, Issues, which enables the entire translation team
to communicate with one another about the source content and translated content
in the project, without having to leave the Smartling platform.
All issues are saved to the string and can be accessed
by anyone working on that string.
You'll also get an email notification each time an issue is created
or commented on.
Click on the issue itself to add a comment or close it.
And note that issues are available throughout the string's life cycle.
[Submit your translation]
Once you are done translating content,
exit (check) of the translation interface.
Select Translated in the Status drop-down
and click "Submit".
Strings are then removed from your queue and placed in the queue of the next person
in the translation workflow.
That person will also be notified by email
that there is now new content in their queue.