SolidWorks and GlobalVision Follow Localization Process
by Nabil Freij


It is necessary to establish a localization methodology when creating international products, a strategy forged and followed in the partnership between SolidWorks Corp., a leading provider of mechanical CAD software tools on the Windows platforms, and GlobalVision International, Inc., a specialist in software and internet localization services.

Why should one establish a localization process?
As software companies focus on their core competencies, they steadily become more receptive to the idea of outsourcing non-salient requirements to partners and vendors. With time-to-market pressures increasing, one area of obvious consideration is the outsourcing of some or all of the localization activities.

Localization vendors create and maintain voluminous glossary databases and specialize in localization issues. Therefore, they are well equipped to handle large volumes of translation in short periods of time. Since translation is often the critical path in all localization projects, outsourcing will help expedite the completion of the localization efforts and possibly enable simultaneous releases of English and foreign language versions.

A typical localization project may include some or all of the following steps:

1-Translation. Translation of UI resource files, online help, manuals, release notes, install files, etc…
2-Resizing dialog boxes. Resizing the UI dialog boxes, since often foreign languages are more verbose than English.
3-Review. The review of all translations by a second translator and/or translation project manager.
4-Compilation. Compilation of DLLs, HLP files, CHM files...
5-Glossary/Translation database generation. Glossaries/Translation databases aid in maintaining consistency and reducing the translation workload.
6-Bitmap Localization. Translation of bitmaps and graphics.
7-Desktop Publishing (DTP). Preparation of manuals for printing vendor.
8-HTML/PDF generation. Conversion of manuals from other formats for easy end-user access, either electronically or on the Internet.
9-Testing. Testing the localized application on the target operating system.
10-Quality Assurance (QA). Documentation of tests and issues related to the localization effort.

A Success Story
SolidWorks, a leading provider of Mechanical CAD tools on the Windows platforms, has permanent staff assigned to the localization of the resource files and online help. Through its partnership with GlobalVision International, Inc., SolidWorks out-sources some of the localization efforts (manuals), and is able to simultaneously release its software in nine languages. The software used in the localization process described here includes: Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0, Adobe FrameMaker 6, Adobe Acrobat, Trados Workbench 5.5, Trados MultiTerm, Trados S-Tagger, Trados Win-Align, Collage Complete and/or Full Shot99, Corel Catalyst 4.0, HelpQA, HTMLQA and RoboHelp.

To insure that the efforts of SolidWorks and GlobalVision are synchronized and to minimize unnecessary translation efforts, we adopted a localization methodology that integrates our tasks together while leveraging each company's work and expertise.

1 SolidWorks staff translates the English GUI resource files using Microsoft Developing Studio. SolidWorks staff compiles the resource files and sends the localized GUI DLLs to GlobalVision.

2 GlobalVision uses Catalyst to parse DLL files and generate text format glossaries. Once these glossaries are generated, they are processed to eliminate control characters and converted by customized programs to a special format required by MultiTerm, the terminology manager used by the GlobalVision translators. The use of these glossaries insures consistency between the Graphical User Interface (GUI), the supporting online help and other documentation, while minimizing translators' uncertainty and research of terminology. A properly prepared glossary can save translators as much as 20 percent of the translation time necessary to perform research, cutting down significantly on the translation period.

3 SolidWorks staff localizes bitmaps and graphics in the manuals using Collage Complete and/or Full Shot. The bitmaps and graphics are then sent to GlobalVision to insure consistency between the manuals and the GUI and to be later used by the GlobalVision DTP staff to finalize the manuals.

4 GlobalVision uses the glossary in conjunction with Trados Translation Workbench, a translation manager tool, to build a database while translating the manuals. Using a Translation Manager, with database building and searching is a major efficiency enabler for the translation team. The benefits include:

One tool to use regardless of the input format: This will enable translators to master one environment very well and continue to use it regardless of the format of the text needing translation. Translators can ignore the intricate working details of FrameMaker, Quark, PageMaker… or any other DTP tool. They will not have to deal with different font, layout, formats, or other DTP related issues, other than working around the markup present in the text. This will save much time during the final DTP stages
Consistency: As the text is translated, it is automatically placed in a database that is continuously searched for matches. This insures consistency in the translation, within one translator's work and between different translators, when they are commonly sharing databases.
Repeat and reuse: Identical sentence segments that occur throughout the text do not need to be constantly retranslated. Since the database is always searched, they are automatically found and translated. If the match is fuzzy (i.e. not exact), the translator can reuse the text, often with slight modifications.

All the translators involved in each of the languages can leverage the translation database throughout the entire project. Once a database is available it can be processed by eliminating any unnecessary tags and then reused in the translation of other supporting manuals or online help files.

Once the manuals' translations are finished, they are reviewed and the final result is optimized for layout in the proper DTP tool.

5 GlobalVision delivers translated manuals in FrameMaker format to SolidWorks. SolidWorks staff edits the manuals and informs GlobalVision of any terminology changes.

6 GlobalVision updates the translation database and sends the corrected version to SolidWorks.

7 SolidWorks staff uses Trados, the translation database, in conjunction with RoboHelp to translate and subsequently compile the online help. Online Help files have much in common with other manuals since they all describe the operation of the same application. Much of the database via exact or fuzzy matches can be reused expediting the translation of the online help files. This process has saved SolidWorks 50 percent of the time previously required to translate and/or update the online help files.

8 Final QA. Although RoboHelp provides excellent debugging features for online help files, it does not compare source and target files effectively. While doing the final QA, the localized Help projects are compared with the English project using HtmlQA. During this process, all differences between the source and target that are related to layout, structure, context sensitive links, and hypertext… are fully checked. This saves much tedious manual testing time while insuring accuracy of the Help files. Once the localized online help HTML files pass the QA, the files are compiled into the CHM files with RoboHelp.

Conclusion: Process is King
Establishing a comprehensive process between a software company and its localization vendor is critical to reducing costs and time to market, while maintaining the desired quality level and control.

A localization process may not be a core competency for a software company. Don't you think however that it is a core competency that your localization vendor should have?

Nabil Freij, president of GlobalVision International, Inc., software and internet localization specialists with offices in the US, Europe, Mid-East and Japan. Nabil holds an MSEE from Brown University and an MBA from Bryant College.

With three overseas production centers and a vast network of localization partners and professionals, GlobalVision has abundant access to resources world-wide. Couple that with a localization process based on the latest software and communication tools and you have the ultimate means to fulfil your toughest localization requirements, while keeping expenses in check. Our project managers' attention to our customers' needs is second to none with a laser-sharp focus to deliver on time, on budget and with the highest achievable quality.

Contact GlobalVision International, Inc.USA at www.globalvis.com

Contact GlobalVision International, Inc. Japan SO Bldg., Nakagawa 1-6-1, Tsuduki-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 224, Japan, +81-45-910-3522, FAX +81-45-910-3523