Using XML Notepad 2007 for translations?

Softland · Unread post by **Softland** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:00 pm

Hi,
Does the XML Notepad 2007 from Microsoft work with XML files generated by H&M (for translation purposes)? I tried opening one with it and got a "invalid xsi type" error, and before starting to figure out whether I need to look further into this I wanted to ask if anyone tried using it.

In case this isn't a good solution, any recommendations for an XML editor that works with H&M (preferable free)?

Thank you.

Unread post by **Tim Green** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:45 pm

I'm not familiar with Microsoft's XML Notepad but if it is complaining then it probably doesn't (just like Microsoft Internet Explorer can't really display websites). The XML files and XSL stylesheets generated by H&M are checked for syntax and well-formedness and will work in real XML editors.

However, you should be aware that you will not get WYSIWYG editing with H&M's XML in any XML editor at the present time. This is because every single editor uses a different WYSIWYG system for XML and every single editor needs its own customized template for every XML schema. Creating these customized templates is a complex programming job, unfortunately.

There is one great XML editor with which you can edit all the features in Help & Manual projects with full WYSIWYG editing. It is called Help & Manual, and it is a lot cheaper than most good XML editors.

Most of the free XML editors will only provide straight XML code editing, without even having any support for tag protection or tag hiding.

Softland · Unread post by **Softland** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 3:17 pm

Thanks for the answer Tim. Reading other similar topics in the forum I've found this one http://helpman.it-authoring.com/viewtopic.php?t=4645

I've installed Altova Authentic but now in the edit mode the formatting is not recognized - in the topic above a template is mentioned, do you have something that we could use?

I know that the best solution would be for the translator to have H&M, but since that's not in-house we cannot do things this way.

Unread post by **Tim Green** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:01 pm

Softland wrote:I've installed Altova Authentic but now in the edit mode the formatting is not recognized - in the topic above a template is mentioned, do you have something that we could use?

The template in question wasn't really a template, it was just a little ini file that didn't really do anything. Unfortunately XML editors and WYSIWYG are still in a state of Babylonian confusion. Every editor has its own WYSIWYG editing template format that is completely incompatible with anything else in the known universe. You can get WYSIWYG previews with the XSL stylesheets exported with Help & Manual's XML but WYSIWYG editing is not possible with any editor except Help & Manual at the moment. Editing has to be done in the code, and only the really expensive XML editors hide and protect the tags so that you can edit the text without damaging the code.

The only other alternative here are aided translation programs like Trados or Across, which also allow the translator to work directly on the text while protecting the code. These solutions are all much more expensive than Help & Manual however, and they are difficult to learn if you are not already using them.

All in all, the best and cheapest tool for efficient translation is generally Help & Manual itself. The translator only needs the Standard version, which can also edit all projects created with the Pro version without problems, it just can't compile them.

You can find a detailed two-part tutorial on translation and localization of Help & Manual projects in the Tutorials & Guides section of the forum.

jmayall · Unread post by **jmayall** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:08 am

Tim Green wrote:You can find a detailed two-part tutorial on translation and localization of Help & Manual projects in the Tutorials & Guides section of the forum.

I was reading that today, as we're preparing to localize the help file. It talks about synchronization. Can you export the XML and give it to a translator, and then reimport it and re-synchronize it? Or to use this feature does the whole help file need to be maintained in H&M?

Thanks,

Jim

Softland · Unread post by **Softland** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:52 am

Tim Green wrote:All in all, the best and cheapest tool for efficient translation is generally Help & Manual itself. The translator only needs the Standard version, which can also edit all projects created with the Pro version without problems, it just can't compile them.

Ok I understand. I know others suggested this too, but it would be useful for some of us to have some sort of translation assistant (basically a lite edition of H&M), more or less like Fast-Help has.

Unread post by **Tim Green** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:16 am

Hi Jim,

jmayall wrote:Can you export the XML and give it to a translator, and then reimport it and re-synchronize it? Or to use this feature does the whole help file need to be maintained in H&M?

Absolutely, that's not a problem. The XML is really already an alternative save format at one remove. It contains everything that the .HMX file contains. When you get the XML back and import it you can synchronize the project as though the translation had been done in the HMX file.

jmayall · Unread post by **jmayall** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 6:25 pm

Tim Green wrote:Hi Jim,
Absolutely, that's not a problem. The XML is really already an alternative save format at one remove. It contains everything that the .HMX file contains. When you get the XML back and import it you can synchronize the project as though the translation had been done in the HMX file.

Awesome, that's what I hoped. I'm planning to lobby for them to use H&M whenever possible, but it's tough sometimes to dictate tools. Thanks for making it so flexible!

One additional question. If between the time we export the XML and the time we get it back the original has changed, does that present problems? Is this something we should avoid? Does it even track meta data?

Jim

Unread post by **Tim Green** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 9:25 am

Hi Jim,

jmayall wrote:One additional question. If between the time we export the XML and the time we get it back the original has changed, does that present problems? Is this something we should avoid? Does it even track meta data?

This should be avoided. If you import the XML back into the original project all topics with the same IDs will be completely overwritten with the versions in the XML package, no merging takes place here. New topics in the original will not be affected but any editing in topics matching topics in the XML package will be lost.

jmayall · Unread post by **jmayall** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:59 pm

Thanks Tim. That helps a lot in planning for the translations!

Jim