When the first service pack of SDL Trados Studio was released in March of this year, the beta version of SDL OpenExchange was also announced. This is what I wrote back then:

All right, so it took SDL quite a while to get it going. Until very recently the same three not particularly exciting applications were to be found on the website, but SDL OpenExchange has now truly opened and there are more applications available, some of them more interesting.

But let's talk a little about OpenExchange before looking at some of the apps that are currently offered.

Overall, I see OpenExchange as both an interesting and promising project for building up a framework of functionality around a tool (Trados Studio) that the tool itself does not support but that the user community clamors for. So far so good. The danger I see in this is the attempt to build an infrastructure that will make it ever so much harder for others to compete (and that's clearly SDL's vision here). This is where others -- the Kilgrays, Acrosses, Atrils, Wordfasts, and others -- will have to step up and follow suit (along the lines of the Android app store that is now very quickly catching up to the iPhone app store).

The first APIs (application programming interfaces -- the technical layer that allows other programs to interact with a program) were released by SDL in October. According to the folks at SDL who I talked to, about 100 developers have signed up so far and none was rejected in the application process (hold that thought for now).

Developers need to own a Professional version of Trados Studio and pay a one-time fee of 250 Euro for "security and functional review" (though this will be waived if the developed app is offered for free). After the end of June of next year there will be an annual 100 Euro listing charge as well as a 30% royalty fee of the revenue (again, these fees do not apply if you only offer free applications). Some have criticized these conditions as unfair and too expensive, but I'm not sure that I completely agree with that assessment since it seems that this is the average fee that app store owners charge app developers. The OpenExchange site will not actually sell any apps -- the sales will be made on the sites of the individual app owners (and an "honesty approach" applied to applicable loyalties).

So far a handful of tools developed by SDL have emerged, and two look especially intriguing: the SubRip File Type to process subtitle files and the SDL XLIFF Converter for MS Office that proofs Trados files in MS Word or Excel and reimports them back into Trados (I had erroneously announced the latter a few weeks ago, but now it's finally available). There is also a free tool by MyMemory that allows you to connect to its large online translation memory (it'll be interesting to see whether the TAUS Data Association will develop its tool as well) and a couple of paid ones by the Austrian company Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope is a translation company that has developed a number of Trados- and MultiTerm-centric solutions. Two of the MultiTerm solutions (one to publish MultiTerm content in external formats and another to modify MultiTerm content in Excel and reimport that later) are now offered on OpenExchange -- but, again, sold through Kaleidoscope's website.

(Once there, you might want to check out some of the other tools they offer, including a tool to break large Trados 2007 .ttx files into smaller, more manageable chunks, another to fix Trados 2007 TMX translation memories, and one to check for duplicates in Trados TMs or MultiTerm termbases. Kaleidoscope also offer two full-fledged products: quickTerm and globalReview -- more on these in a later newsletter.)

These OpenExchange apps and those that will likely be offered in the next few weeks and months are interesting tools but not game-changers. The tools that will have a more lasting impact on the industry will only appear after two more APIs are released: the PowerShell Toolkit and the Server API (both are slated for release sometimes next year.) Why are these two APIs more important than others?

Well, the PowerShell Toolkit will be needed to provide plugin capabilities for Trados to content management systems (CMS), a sorely needed functionality for many LSPs. Most of today's web-based content is no longer stored on static HTML pages but sits in these databases. And while there are lots of workarounds to get to that data, ideally you want a direct communication channel between your translation environment and the content management system.

The Server API is needed so competitors can plug into the server-based translation memory and termbase workflow of products like Trados TeamServer or SDL TMS. I have long said that this is the one area where there is virtually no way for third-party tools to interact (this applies the other way around as well); all the talk about exchange formats only makes sense if there are ways to "hook" into the ever-more-important server-based workflows.

(And again, even though there is an application process to download the APIs, the folks from SDL have made it very clear that they have not rejected anyone yet. They even pointed out that they had offered access to the guys from Kilgray, the makers of memoQ.)

This one was a long time coming -- I've been talking about working on the latest version of my book for how long? Six months? Anyway, it's finally done and released and it's all good. I'm really happy with it, and the fact that it ended up being exactly 400 pages just confirmed it: it's just right.

And there is lots of good new stuff in there. There's a new 30-page chapter on dealing with PDFs and a comprehensive update on all things new in regard to Office 2010 and new versions of InDesign and other tools, but I spent the most time on the section on translation environment tools, covering many new TEnTs and updating things that needed to be updated.

You can buy the Translator's Tool Box: A Computer Primer for Translators ebook for only $50, and this even includes a one-year subscription to the Premium version of this newsletter. It's good holiday reading (that is, after you've finished all your exciting new novels) or a great gift for colleagues.

Also, I would be remiss not to mention that beginning in January, the pricing structure for the Premium version of this newsletter will change. The subscription will be decoupled from the book, the length of the Standard edition will be significantly reduced (call it loving intervention), and the price for the Premium edition will be raised from $15 to $25 a year (with new to-be-announced pricing for companies as well). Why? So I can devote even more time to creating an excellent newsletter, so those who received this as a Christmas gift from one of their agencies can be even prouder of their generous gift givers, and so I can offer extra features like archives of previous versions.

Tool Kit reader Kevin Lossner is the owner of the enjoyable blog Translation Tribulations. (By the way, Kevin might not have been aware of this, but translation and tribulation are two of only seven English words that start with t and end with lation! How do I know? Go to the site that always makes me feel really stupid -- the über-smart Wolfram Alpha -- and type in words starting with t and ending with lation. Do you also like "tintinnabulation"?)

All right, let's start again. Kevin Lossner and others have been asking me to write something about the Online Translation Manager, or OTM. Last week I finally had a chance to talk to Ulrich Scheffler, one of the main guys behind it all and to someone else who has implemented it for his company (plus, I had a quick look at it myself).

I have investigated quite a few business and project management products, and there is something that strikes me as different about this one. Most other vendors will promise you that they can modify their software for you, adjust it to your particular workflow, and accommodate virtually every need (sometimes they can, and sometimes they can't). Not so OTM.

OTM offers itself as a mature project management and accounting solution (it's been in development since 1999) for small and medium-size translation agencies and even freelancers. It's provided for companies and people that need help in these areas but a) don't want to be overburdened with it and b) don't want to overpay (the system costs 29 Euro per month and user if you just use it for yourself and don't outsource, and 49 Euro per month and user if you manage projects).

OTM is a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution that cannot be installed on your server but will always be hosted by LSP.net, the developers of OTM. You will be given space on OTM's server for all your data (presently 50 GB, but that's easily adjustable), and that space includes a client interface where clients can ask for quotes that you can integrate into your website (see, for instance, this page for that site). The complete user interface (which includes all the controls behind the scenes as well as all client-facing materials) is presently available in German, English, and Spanish. The "small" localization -- i.e., just the client-facing materials -- is also available in Portuguese, Catalan, and Dutch, but it's relatively easy to do that for your own language. There is a fairly wide range of existing international clients that are able to use the system with their home currencies and accounting practices.

Any communication with the client is managed through the system, whether this is email communication or files that are exchanged. The system has no facilities to count words or do TEnT-specific tasks, but of course it's possible to do these things outside the system and then save the analytical data inside the system once the quote or the invoice needs to be written.

Obviously, the system allows for the management of translators, including the recording of their respective data and scheduling. What's not possible through the system is the creation of automated process chains (i.e., once a file is translated, sending it automatically to the editor or formatter), which would be a desirable feature at some point I would think. Changes to the whole system are being made (about five to seven times a year), but only after careful deliberation since any change affects all system users. This does not include changes that you make to your own customizable settings, including any adjustments to client communications; standard fields and dropdown lists; any accounting or payment terms; country-specific information about taxes, currencies, etc.; or naturally any data about partners, vendors, and clients. According to Ralf Lemster, who set up the system for his own small company, the whole setup takes between 8 and 12 hours of work. 

While there is a preconfigured process (request for quote, quote, approval of quote, scheduling of translators, etc., delivery, invoice, payment), it is possible to skip certain steps of the process.

My feeling is that if you are a freelancer who never outsources anything, the system would work for you but it might also be overkill. I think you would get more benefit from it if you do outsource some jobs at least every once in a while. Also, it seems to me that the type of client you work for makes a big difference. If you work only for translation agencies that don't have a quoting process, a large part of the program will be irrelevant, providing less benefit than if you mainly work with a variety of end clients.

And if you are an LSP? I asked Ulrich, the OTM developer, about the maximum size of agency that OTM can support. He said agencies with up to 10 million Euro in sales each year are using it.

There is a free trial period, so you might want to have a look at the system. Also, there are no support contracts. What? Well, as a matter of principle, support is given for free, and I was assured that this would stay that way. (I'll let you know if that changes. . . . )

SDL just released the latest version of its localization tool Passolo.

(It still seems somewhat strange to talk about SDL and Passolo in one breath. I remember literally screaming into the phone in surprise when SDL called me with the news of its pending acquisition of Passolo three years ago -- the company cultures seemed to be so contrary to each other. But at least two of the principals of Passolo are still with the company, so my incredulity and skepticism must have been unfounded.)

And y'all know what Passolo is, right? Those among you who own one of the recent versions of SDL Trados most likely have a pared-down version of Passolo on your computer. But just in case you are neither an SDL customer nor have ever inquired about that weird-looking tool on your computer: Passolo is a localization tool, one in a long line of many (others include Catalyst, RC-WinTrans, Multilizer, Sisulizer, or Tranquilizer -- no, wait, I just made that last one up) that localizes software development files.

These tools entered the market at a time when virtually everything that was to be localized in Windows software was sitting in file formats that could not be easily opened and edited (for instance, DLL and EXE files). In fact, it was virtually impossible to edit these formats without a development tool of sorts. Today things have changed a little. Companies that have been around for a while might still use the old DLL/EXE scheme, but companies that started to develop software within the last few years are typically using either Java or .NET as their development platform, meaning that the files which need to be translated are in some kind of text format (XML or .properties). Still, the benefit that you have with using a localization tool is significant: it allows you to see things in context and fit/fix them accordingly. The localization process includes translation, of course, but it also includes software development tasks, including fixing any functional conflicts, resizing dialogs and other items, testing code pages, etc.

If the average translator has anything to do with a localization tool, it is typically through the free translator or freelance editions that provide limited functionality, including the translation and resizing of project files (or: bundles) that were prepped by expensive corporate editions. However, some translators who are also actively involved in localization own a professional edition of one of the tools that allows them to go through the whole process of localizing software files, minus the project bundle preparation part. And for LSPs that work in software-related translation, it is typically advisable to have some kind of corporate edition of one or several of these tools to be able to give out files to their translators. (Note: It is also possible to work on these tools' projects without the actual tool through XLIFF or TMX exports. Passolo guesses that about half of all translators choose that route.)

I had a chance to talk with one of the principals, Achim Herrmann, last week about the new version, and here is what he said about the new product as well as other things of interest.

Let's check off some of the more technical new features of Passolo 2011:

• The latest version of .NET (4.0) is now supported.
• HTMLHelp (.chm) files are now supported directly rather than through the source HTML files. (Allow me this comment: when competitors Sisulizer and Catalyst introduced this feature, Passolo's development team had nothing but ridicule for this feature: "For good localization practices you'll need to work in the source files directly." However, market demands seem to have adjusted that perspective. . . .)
• "Diagnostic Reports" can be run to find problematic interdependencies between the localizable file(s) and the software application and problems they might cause even before they occur.
• Projects (bundles) can be split and merged to match the capacity of individual translators, and you can now search in multiple projects at a time.
• Projects can be chained when there is a translation correlation of language A -> language B -> language C and any change occurs anywhere in the project (this will actually only come in the upcoming Service Pack 1).
• Not surprisingly, machine translation is now integrated (Google Translate, SDL's old engine, and LanguageWeaver). And just for the record: Achim made very clear that he personally was not happy with this feature.

The "big" new feature is the Collaboration Edition, though. This edition allows for a quasi-dynamic update of project files during the translation process.

Anyone who has ever worked in software localization knows that no project is ever fixed at any point. Changes are constantly being introduced, and while previous translations of previous versions of projects are stored in translation memories, it would be much easier if the update incorporated itself quasi automatically and you just kept on working on the original file. This is what the new version allows you to do. (The new version's price point is about 3000 Euro above the old Corporate Edition.)

Strangely enough, this is being done via FTP: the client uploads a new update sub-package to the whole project package to an FTP server, which then is downloaded by either the translator or the language service provider. If it's an LSP, they then will upload the updates to the FTP server the translators have access to (for which the LSP of course also needs the Collaborative Edition).

Obvious question: why not a server-based implementation rather than using relatively outdated FTP technology? Achim explained that the attempt was to provide a very easy system without any overhead and virtually no implementation overhead.

It sounds to me as though this new feature addresses a real need that has not been addressed before. It'll be interesting to see how clients respond to this and how this works itself into the workflow chain (i.e., are LSPs willing to purchase a new and more expensive edition of Passolo?).

This is particularly interesting because there was no beta phase for this version of Passolo -- one of the drawbacks of being part in a larger organization: you don't dictate your release schedule anymore.

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