Translation for 3.0

This page summarizes useful information on the localization work needed for the OpenOffice.org 3.0 version.

Translation Schedule

• January 30th - Translation start date
  
• April 3rd - Translation delivery date for BETA - integrated into CWS localization28
  
• April 17th - Beta Readme: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=88345
• April 22nd - Beta Readme to submit via issue: http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=88345
• June 5th - Translation start date for latest translations (approx. 5,000 words)
• June 27th - Translation delivery date for OOo 3.0 final
• July 4th - last delivery date for translation and language fixes
  

Total Estimated Translation Volume

GUI approx. 80,000 words
Help approx. 425,000 words

New/Changed Estimated Translation Volume since 2.4

GUI approx. 4,000 words
Help approx. 35,000 words

How to deliver translated files

• provide sdf files that contain translated strings only (please remove non translated strings from the sdf file)

• provide a GSI / SDF file containing both the translated strings and the corresponding en-US source strings. Remove untranslated strings from the sdf file. Please note that the en-US strings have to be the same milestone like your translation.

• please make sure that the GSI / SDF file format is not violated (format errors like wrong amount of tabs, shifted columns, ... ) by using "gsicheck". Please use the latest version at: http://ooo.services.openoffice.org/gsicheck/ usage: gsicheck -c myfile.sdf. In case of errors please use the log file to fix them.

• file an issuezilla bug to "vg@openoffice.org", assign the issue to "vg@openoffice.org", Target milestone to "OOo 3.0" , Component "l10n" , Subcomponent "code" , Issue type "ENHANCEMENT". Please don't attach your file directly to the issue, but provide an URL / link pointing to your file. Please do attach only if you don't have any other web space available (http://qa.openoffice.org/issue_handling/project_issues.html)

Release Map

Release map with translation deadlines specific for the 3.0 release can be found at: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OOoRelease30.

Translation Schedule for Pootle Users

• January 30th - Translation start date
• February 19th - Translators upload all complete translated files to Pootle and stop translating
• February 20th - Pootle admistrators update Pootle with new content
• February 21st - Translators can start translating again
• March 12th - Translators upload all complete translated files and stop translating
• March 13th - Pootle admistrators update Pootle with new content
• March 14th - Translators can start translating again
• April 3rd - Final translation delivery date for Beta
• April 17th - POOTLE DOWNTIME for Beta Readme and smaller updates
• April 18th - Translation start date (approx. 1,000 words)
• April 22nd - POOTLE UPLOAD for Beta Readme and smaller updates Translation delivery for Beta

June 5th - Translation start date for latest translations (approx. 5,000 words) June 27th - Translation delivery date for OOo 3.0 final July 4th - last delivery date for translation and language fixes

New/Changed Translation Volume - 1st handover

GUI approx. 200 words
Help approx. 18,000 words

New/Changed Translation Volume - 2nd handover

Help approx. 5,800 words

New/Changed Translation Volume - 3rd handover

GUI approx. 1,000
Help approx. 5,000

Translating with Pootle

• http://www.sunvirtuallab.com:32300/
• Pootle administrators make sure Pootle content is updated according to translation schedule
• L10n lead give the Go to start translation on Pootle (announcement to the dev@l10n list)
• Native Language leads make translation assignments following the Pootle User's Guide
• Translation teams work with Language team to make sure the translation is reviewed
• Native Language/translation leads make sure translation is complete within the deadlines
• Native Language/translation leads communicate translation completion to l10n lead
• Pootle administrator downloads the translated files and provide them to release engineering

It is recommended to use Pootle to manage the translation process and assignments. For translation it is recommended to download the files and translate them with a translation editor which support translation memory functionality. Linguistic review can be then performed right after translation. It is recommended to use the online translation editor for corrections and for small translation volume only.

Teams translating with Pootle

More and more teams are using Pootle on the sunvirtuallab to translate. Here the complete list.

Tips and Tools

Team

build a team of translators and 1-2 reviewers to work on the project. I recommend to keep the number of the reviewers to 1-2 people, since the more translators and reviewers working on the project, the less you can ensure quality and consistency.

Glossary

SunGloss (https://g11nportal.sun.com/sungloss) is the repository of the latest terminology used in the StarOffice/OpenOffice.org product. You can request access to consult the tool. We recommend to use SunGloss instead of a spreadsheet because it shows all entries (including deleted entries that were used but not anymore). In this way it's possible for all to look at the evolution of a translation, and discuss about it when it's needed, especially during the review process.

Translation Memories

Latest TMX files can be found at: http://ooo.services.openoffice.org/pub/OpenOffice.org/cws/upload/localization/tmx24/

TMX can also be created as follows:

• download po files from Pootle
• run po2tmx

For more information please refer to below page for how to create TM: http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Pootle_Glossary_Guide#Translation_Memory_in_Pootle

SDF to PO Convertion Tools

The .sdf file can be converted to .po files using the oo2po tool and converted back to .sdf format using the po2oo tool from the Translate Toolkit package: http://translate.sourceforge.net/

Documentation with examples for conversion and backconversion can be found at: http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/oo2po

PO files provided on the Pootle deployment for OpenOffice.org handle duplicate messages using KDE style (oo2po --duplicates=msgid_comment). For more information see here : http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/duplicates_duplicatestyle

It is important that if you are uploading and merging batches of PO content to the Pootle server that your content conforms to this style, otherwise it may not merge correctly with the content already present on the server.

Gsicheck Tool

gsicheck to make sure the translated .sdf files are not corrupted can be found at: http://ooo.services.openoffice.org/gsicheck/

Translation Editors

The most used translation editors supporting the gettext .po file format are:

• Kbabel
• Pootling
• PoEdit
• gTranslator
• Omega-T
• LocFactoryEditor
• Entrans

PoEdit, Kbabel and Pootling run on both Linux and Windows. Kbabel has long been the most popular PO editor for these platforms, but gTranslator and PoEdit have planned improvements which may make them more competitive, and Pootling is a new editor which is rapidly becoming popular.

gTranslator runs on Linux and some BSD platforms.

LocFactoryEditor runs only on Mac OSX. It handles XLIFF natively, and supports Apple formats, gettext formats, SVN submission and submission by email to projects like the TP (TP Robot) and Debian (Debian BTS). It also converts between PO compendia and TMX.

Please make sure you are running the latest version of gettext, to benefit from its new features, like contextual handling and comparison with previous original strings.

Don't forget that spellcheckers like Aspell have a wide range of dictionaries for well over 70 languages. Spellcheckers not only check your spelling: they are great for catching typos. ;)

Please add further information on these and other tools that may help other translators to perform their job.