Issues with Auto-propagation function

Most often it's required to translate references to UI following this format: "Source" (translation). In case UI reference has a number which variates between similar UI references, Auto-propagate function fails with other instances. See example bellow (red marks incorrectly propagated numbers).

I propose to update Auto-propagate feature to fix these issues. The algorithm could be as follows:

1) If translation has two times more number placebles than source and if each number placeble has at least one counterpart with equal value - we have detected instance where translation follows "Source" (translation) format.

2) By updating each number placeble, its counterpart with equal value should also be updated and then both removed from enumerated placebles. Repeating this step to update all values.

SDL team, do you think this makes sense?

Parents
  • Hi Vilius,

    I don't think it makes sense to change Studio to handle this kind of situation. In your example the AP is working correctly, and the change you propose is far too specific to this problem you are encountering to warrant a complex change like this.

    I think, if it was me, I'd be inclined to try a different approach to resolve a problem like this.

    1. Translate the source correctly into the target file.
    2. Export for bilingual review
    3. Export to Excel
    4. Concatenate the source and target, adding the brackets, into a new column in Excel
    5. Copy this new column and then open the bilingual review file, now paste the new excel column into the target column of the bilingual review file
    6. Update the bilingual review to Studio
    7. Accept all changes and update the TM

    Sounds like a lot of steps, but it's only once at the end, and might be faster than having to edit every segment manually as you go.

    Anyone got a better idea? Anyone else ever come across this problem before? If it's a common problem another useful solution would be to create a new Batch Task using the API. This could do the following:

    1. Translate the source correctly into the target file.
    2. Run the new Batch Task that encloses the target into brackets, and copies the source in front of it for every segment.
    3. It then also exports the target translation

    Probably fairly simple for a developer to achieve this I think and it would ensure the TMs were kept nice and clean and usable for other things too.

    Regards

    Paul

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • I've given clean example just to illustrate problem with the function. In real life its never this simple, see below:

    As you can see quoted UI references can be in any location of the sentence, thus simple concatenation wouldn't work. Furthermore, these steps would never be approved by translation agencies, because usually there is a translator->proofreader->second editor->in country reviewer involved in the process, where any person may change any part and just expect that Auto-propagation function apply his/hers edits throughout the document.

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