Not Considering

Based on the conversation, it's best to set this to "Not Considering" as it is not realistic nor desirable to do a conversion between IDML to Word and back or then to PDF. It's best to stick to the same file format throughout the translation process and then output PDF as required at the end.

Export the translation of a Indesign File from Trados Studio in Word format

I receive Indesign files, in idml format, I upload them to SDL Trados Studio, and once translated I need to export them in Word format so that I can make the final editing, and then send it to the client. I do not have the Indesign software, therefore I can't open the export file if it is in idml-format.  

Mariña Tatter Schacht
  • in reply to Mariña Tatter Schacht

      

    "wthout the Indesgn software I can't create a "polished" PDF."

    Exactly!  This is the reality of working with InDesign.  To do this professionally you need to have InDesign yourself, or work more closely with your end customer so they do the "polishing" after you return the translated IDML files.

    All this discussion around trying to solve this with Microsoft Word and converting PDFs is absolutely the wrong way to do this.  I think the solutions you need to be aiming for have been mentioned already... in order of the best approach:

    1. Your customer uses one of the cloud solutions Daniel mentioned so they can offer you an InDesign Preview while you translate.  Useful for improving the translation, but won't remove the need to for a final check in InDesign anyway, or for correcting layout issues.
    2. You purchase InDesign so you can provide a full "chargable" service for your client.  You can provide the translated IDML files (which is also going to be useful for them), and polished PDFs.
    3. Try your luck with Scribus as a way to get PDFs from the IDML and possibly make minor layout changes as needed.

    Even the last one is a push, but conversion to Word to try and manage the solution may only damage your own reputation with your client since the layout will most likely not be of a good enough quality.

  • in reply to Paul

    Hi Paul, they use InDesign given the structure and the images included in the document. It allows them to generate the document in an easier way and with more quality than Word, because InDesign has much more features when it comes to creating layout. And InDeisgn creations are normaly distributed in PDF because no one has Indesign software to visualizar it there. If I had Indesign and provided them with the "polished" version in idml format, and also the finshed PDF version they would be glad. But wthout the Indesgn software I can't create a "polished" PDF. If I send the idml file they have to do the finishing. So Word is the closest thing to being able to delvier  a finished version.  
    But the scribus sound interesting. I will try it out and maybe it is enough for the needs I have. Thank you for the tipp :-)

  • in reply to Mariña Tatter Schacht

    The layout in a Word export would not match the final InDesign file either, so even if you could export it to a Word document and make final layout adjustments, things would still be different in InDesign. Those two applications are so incredibly different, that this does not make sense.

    To accomplish what you want to do, you really need InDesign. Was this a requirement for the translation job? If it was not a requirement, your client is most likely aware of this workflow and has someone in-house to do final layout adjustments. If it was a requirement, this was perhaps not the right job fit.

  • in reply to Mariña Tatter Schacht

     

    I'm also wondering, if this is all your client wants, why they don't use Word in the first place?  What is the point of using InDesign if all they want is PDF files of the translation to distribute amongst their team; and more importantly if they don't want to have polished versions of the translated files in InDesign either?

    I guess you could have a play with Scribus - https://www.scribus.net/ - which can open an IDML, and export it as a PDF.  You can do some basic DTP work in it before exporting to PDF so perhaps it'll suffice for your needs?  It's also an open source product and it's free ;-)

  • in reply to Paul

    Hi Paul, I understand, but when you translate a document into another language the formatting may change (you need more or less space due to the change in the number of words) and the document becomes misformatted and loses its original layout. Therefore I need to edit the final file and rearrange it to resemble the original file and its structure, separate sentences where it makes sense etc. And I can't do this inside Trados.  If I send the idml file back to the customer without doing this work, they will have to do it, before they generate the PDF,  and they don't have the language knowledge to do so with the required quality, nor do they want to do the finishing. They want to receive a "finished product". Therefore, having a Word export (not a PDF export), is what would allow me to do so easily, without having to purchase a InDesign license.  I don't have this type of situation often; if I would work often with idml files, then you are right, it would make sense to purchase a license. If other Trados users also work occasionally with idml files, it might be useful for them too. If there are very few other translators in this situation, then I understand that it might not be worth RWS’s resources to invest in developing this.