Video: Don’t Translate in Studio If You Don’t Want to

This video explains the basics of translating SDL Trados Studio files in OmegaT to give you a general idea of the process:

Two filters

OmegaT has two XLIFF filters: the native one and the one from the Okapi plugin. The native filter requires that the text to be translated is placed between the “target” tags within the file or, put simply, source is copied into target. This is the filter that I am going to work with.

Preparing the SDLXLIFF file for translation in OmegaT

1. Open the SDLXLIFF file in Studio.
2. Use the Copy All Sources to Target command to insert the original text into the right column. This creates the “source equals target” format expected by OmegaT. For pre-translated segments, you will need to use the Clear Target Segment command first, or else Studio will not populate those segments with the original text.
3. Save and close the file.

Translating the file in OmegaT

1. Open the project in OmegaT and make sure the native XLIFF filter is used. The text for translation will appear in the Editor pane.
2. Translate the text.
3. Create the translated file.

Checking the translated file

1. Open the translated file in Studio and watch for any errors during opening.
2. Run QA Checker.
3. Save the target file in Studio to make sure the SDLXLIFF was not corrupted while translating with OmegaT.

What I showed is a very basic process. There are quite a few nuances and ways to automate the process, including the ability to forgo using Studio.

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