Turn Certain Text into Inline Tags

Question

We currently have the problem that our product names should not be translated. Using MultiTerm I can provide the translator with the information how to &ldquo;translate or not translate&rdquo; a product name. However this is not fool-proof and the translator can still translate a product name. Unfortunately, not all of our source documents are in XML. So I can&rsquo;t define a parser to &ldquo;hide&rdquo; all product names, if they were defined as separate elements. So I am looking for a solution to &ldquo;identify&rdquo; the product names within Studio, i.e. to turn them into tags that cannot be edited. At the same time it is important that the translator can still the product name so he can apply the appropriate agreement (gender/case). 
 Has anyone got any ideas what I could use/abuse in Studio to achieve this? I am looking for a solution that is file format independent. Just a pointer in the right direction would help. The old Word parser had the Option to define non-translatable text, however this applies to one format only. I want to avoid having to update multiple file types when the list of names changes. 
 Any assisstance would be much appreciated. 
 Kind regards, 
 Robert

Paul · Accepted Answer

Hi Robert, 
 
A bit of a hack, but you could do two things: 
 
1. Search and replace the sdlxliff files to add locked tag pairs around your words. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to write a small app for this and maybe launch it from the ribbon on the project? 
2. Convert your sdlxliff files to Bilingual DOC with the Legacy Converter and then do the hidden style solution in Word 
 
Maybe these might help for any filetype? probably the first idea is the best one and may not be too hard to manage. You could even add something into the UI to hold a list of product names to use for this. 
 
Regards 
 
Paul

Daniel Brockmann · Answer

Hi Robert, 
 
Do these need to be tags, or are placeables good enough? If the latter, variables come to mind. If the former, we have done bespoke work for a customer recently where we turn certain words in capital letters into tags by hooking into the stream coming from the file type, and then turning the words into tags (while still keeping the word as tag display content so you know the word behind the tag). This was file type specific but generic in nature - so it can be easily added to any file type you wish (but this kind of thing happens at file type level). This was a Professional Services engagement. 
 
Thanks 
Daniel

Paul · Answer

Hi Robert, 
 I like the idea of using the batch task API. This will be available with the next update and with any luck we'll have a Beta build of that to play with very soon. Actually this conversation has given me some ideas to play with in addition to the things we are doing to help developers get started and make something useful for Studio users as well. 
 Romulus Crisan (former member) is the best person to help you with the most appropriate API to solve your requirement. 
 Cheers 
 Paul

Paul · Answer

Hi Chen, I'd recommend you create a couple of small sample files, first look at them without locking the words and then lock them, save them and look at the locked version. That would probably point you in the right direction. You are going to have to look at these files in order to do this yourself so this would be the best approach to make sure you understand what you are doing and why. I haven't done this before but I don't think it'll be too hard... but note that we are talking about using the API for this. Regards Paul

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Turn Certain Text into Inline Tags