Mark Owens 

Mark Owens said:

Additionally, can the error message be improved so it is actually useful?

Actually it is quite useful although I would agree the information based on the info you shared is sparse!  Maybe Patrik Mazanek can offer some advice on this?

You have a file with a MadCap:variable tag nested within another tag, which is not correct according to the structure rules of MadCap Flare. 

• The MadCap:variable tag is inside a notrans tag.
• The notrans tag might be considered non-translatable and not intended to contain other inline tags, which causes the error.

<p>This is a sample text with a non-translatable tag 
  <notrans><MadCap:variable name="VariableName"/></notrans> 
  inside it.
</p>

In this example, the MadCap:variable tag is nested within a proper inline tag such as span.

• The MadCap:variable tag is inside a span tag, which is a standard inline tag.
• This structure ensures that the MadCap:variable tag is properly nested within an appropriate inline tag, resolving the error.

<p>This is a sample text with an inline tag 
  <span><MadCap:variable name="VariableName"/></span> 
  inside it.
</p>

To correct it, because the files themselves are fine and well formed which is why you don't see anything wrong with them, you need to do something like this.

1. Open the File in  text editor:

   • Open the file(s) where the issue might be occurring in a text editor (e.g., EditPadPro, Notepad++, VS Code).
     
     

2. Use the Search Function:

   • Press Ctrl + F to open the search dialogue.
   • Type MadCap:variable into the search box.
   • Click "Find All" or "Find Next" to locate instances of the 'MadCap' tag.
     
     

3. Examine the Tags:

   • Navigate to each instance of the 'MadCap' tag.
   • Check the surrounding tags to ensure that the 'MadCap' tag is correctly placed within an inline tag.
     
     

4. Correct the Structure:

   • If you find 'MadCap' tags within inappropriate parent tags, move or adjust the tags to follow the correct structure.
   • Save the changes once you have corrected the structure.

Mark Owens said:

My theory is Trados is treating the file as a plain HTML file - which is NOT what I want.

I don't think that's what it's doing.  If it was you probably would not get this problem as the files are well formed.  But because these are Madcap files they need to follow the rules defined by Madcap and by the sounds of it they don't.

So you have a bit of a task ahead of you if you have many files and they are large with heavy use of this variable.

Thanks for your detailed reply Paul.

I've just realised the error message refers to "Structure tag MadCap:variable" - when according to the parser it is an inline tag - I definitely have issues with that error message

I've checked the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant" file parser in the Trados options (not project settings) and looking down the list of parent tags of "MadCap:variable" these are defined as in-line:

MadCap:toggler - a - cite - code - em

According to the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant" file parser all 5 of these are "Translatable (except in protected content)" - the help says this means "Translatable unless the parent element is not translatable. Effectively the same as Not Specified". I've followed each descendent tag back to HTML tag and all are translatable. 

The error says the MadCap:variable is  "inside inline not translatable tag code" (my interpretation of this is to say that MadCap:variable is inside an in-line tag which is configured as not translatable) - maybe that's not correct?

The parser says all parent tags where MadCap:variable is used are indeed translatable.

Both can't be right can they?

Thanks

Mark

Thanks for your detailed reply Paul.

I've just realised the error message refers to "Structure tag MadCap:variable" - when according to the parser it is an inline tag - I definitely have issues with that error message

I've checked the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant" file parser in the Trados options (not project settings) and looking down the list of parent tags of "MadCap:variable" these are defined as in-line:

MadCap:toggler - a - cite - code - em

According to the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant" file parser all 5 of these are "Translatable (except in protected content)" - the help says this means "Translatable unless the parent element is not translatable. Effectively the same as Not Specified". I've followed each descendent tag back to HTML tag and all are translatable. 

The error says the MadCap:variable is  "inside inline not translatable tag code" (my interpretation of this is to say that MadCap:variable is inside an in-line tag which is configured as not translatable) - maybe that's not correct?

The parser says all parent tags where MadCap:variable is used are indeed translatable.

Both can't be right can they?

Thanks

Mark

I've found the problem. A Trados gotcha!

I always use templates for my projects. In each of the templates I use, I always put the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant"  parser 2nd in the list of filetypes - this is the order by which Trados identifies file types and applies the correct parser.

The alignment process does not use project settings (as far as I can tell). I have discovered that the "XML 2:MadCap Compliant" parser in the Trados Options dialog is way down the list, meaning it's not the first choice parser used...

Once I moved it to 2nd in the list, it's now accepting the alignment files.

Lesson learnt!